Overcoming emotionally induced pain should I see a therapist/psychologist ?

Hey all. I am completely new here. I am currently reading the mind body prescription (about 75% through). I am discovering that I am suffering from an emotionally induced physical ailment. I have had severe pain in my wrist and Palm area for the last year chronic. I am young and healthy (25 years old). I used to live an extremely active life, working out six days a week. My chronic pain ruin my life (or so I thought). After I started reading the book, as well as a few physical therapy visits, my pain is 90% gone in my hand. It has been over a year since it has felt like this. I would like to see a professional to perhaps uncover what emotional trauma I may be experiencing in my subconscious mind. But I've no idea where to start.

My mother sees a counselor and asked if I want to see one. But I'm not sure if a counselor is what I need. Frankly, I am happy with my life (at the conscious level). I merely am experiencing something in the subconscious that must be uncovered and confronted before it causes me any more harm. When I heard counselor I was thinking I may need something like a therapist or a psychologist. Frankly, not even sure the difference between all those. Or is there a way I could locate a Doctor Who practices the same medicine pioneered by Sarno? Any advice for me?

 

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums, and glad you've already gotten so much relief from just reading! Its an intimidating process to start figuring out some of the underlying causes of your pain lingering around your unconscious. Have you tried doing the Structured Education Program on this website or one of the other programs? Howard Schubiner, David Schecter and Georgie Oldfield all have programs around TMS theory. The SEP has worked well for many of us on the site. A lot of journaling and self-reflection is involved. My suggestion is to go through one of these and see what happens!

Regarding a counselor, that would be anyone who practices psychotherapy, which could be a psychologist, licensed counselor or social worker. It is possible that could help you although would be better to work with someone familiar with TMS, like Alan Gordon's clinic does. Depending on where you live you may have therapists or doctors near you who have a TMS practice. Check out the list on the forums that has practitioners grouped by region: http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Find_a_TMS_Doctor_or_Therapist (Find a TMS Doctor or Therapist) and some of them do Skype too, if you're not in an area near someone! A lot of people have success doing a TMS program independently without consulting with a therapist or doctor, but everyone is individual about that.

 

Hi, I just joined, so sorry if this isn't a timely response. I just wanted to give you my experience. When I initially read the Mindbody Prescription (in 2006), I had been in really bad pain for almost a year and I got a little relief for a few days from just reading the book. But because it didn't "cure" me like it had so many, I put it aside and went to other things. I ended up doing myfoascial release bodywork, which made me and my body truly understand the mindbody connection. The seed had been planted from reading Sarno, but it took having someone gently put pressure on my fascial restrictions for my deeply buried emotions to finally surface.

It ends up I had a 32-year old repressed memory that was feeding my chronic pain. After the bodywork and re-reading The Mindbody Rx 4 more times, and then reading The Divided Mind and Brady's Pain Free for Life, my pain greatly diminished to where I was no longer suicidal. But I still had significant pain that I knew could be resolved if I continued to address my emotions. Since I had no clue about this repressed memory until I was 40 years old and always thought I had such a "perfect" life, I thought maybe I should see a psychologist to help me resolve the rest of my pain. So I went to psychotherapy for about 10 months and while it helped me intellectually understand what had happened to me, it didn't reduce my physical pain. But maybe it was necessary as part of this long letting go process that is probably still going on in my body.

But the therapist I saw was not a Sarno-trained therapist. She was, however, completely understanding of the mindbody connection. But since the talk therapy didn't resolve my pain, I continued to read more Sarno-related books, and books on trauma and pain, and I went to have more bodywork done (along with doing a lot of therapeutic writing), and I was (am) still stuck with daily pain (albiet much less than it was before).

I also tried tapping (EFT--Emotional Freedom technique), a psychology-based approach, and EMDR which is used to treat trauma. Given all this, I'm still sort of stuck in this "not nearly as bad as I was" place, but in an "I know I can be better" place. So I don't know that I'm being of any help except to give you my experience with a non-Sarno talk therapist and other therapy-related approaches.

I just read Nicole Sach's book last week and I've decided I need to focus on journaling as she suggests it. I never really did it systematically as she lays it out. I've done a lot of general writing and journaling about my past, but maybe I haven't addressed the present and personality issues enough. I'm going to try to force myself to do this instead of going to a therapist again. But the truth is, I find myself not wanting to. When I would go for bodywork or talk therapy, I was sort of forced to address this stuff that my subconscious SO DOES NOT WANT TO FACE. I'm finding myself avoiding starting the journaling. So sometimes going to see someone helps us dig in when our subconscious is so resistant. So maybe it's worth trying? It really is an individual thing. (P.S., if you want to know more details of things I've tried, I've described them at: http://www.healingfromchronicpain.com/ (Healing from Chronic Myofascial Pain--Support for chronic pain sufferers: Defying Gravity--An Athlete's Journey of Healing from Chronic Myofascial Pain). And even though I haven't necessarily followed Sarno to a T, I know my pain is from emotions and trauma, and because I felt like my pain was so deep from past trauma, I've tried other things and had success with things like myofascial release bodywork, which is a mind-body centered approach.)

Good luck to you!!