Recent content by sbmumford

Wow, that's a tough one. It sounds like the first problem is figuring out how to leave a toxic relationship, or there's no firm base/safe space for healing. Your dependency isn't doing you any good; at least it doesn't sound like his watching out for you is worth the anger it's generating on...

Thanks, Andy. I like what you say in your story, about an invitation to “come back to yourself”. Do you believe that therapy (mental) is an important tool?

Thanks for the suggestion, Mind/Body. I’ll look into that.

I’m not sure if you’ve already addressed this suggestion, but your phrase “I believe that a man must suck it” really caught my eye! Isn’t that the very essence of how TMS gets its power? The belief that we must push down, repress, ignore or otherwise not deign to take these emotional signals...

I’m 57 year old man who’s successfully treated my severe lower back pain (with two herniated discs) through Dr Sarno’s book and recommendations. I’m a believer in TMS. I recently developed a bad case of plantar fasciitis, which is keeping me from my usual exercise routine. I attributed it to...

Just thought I'd post an update. It's interesting to see my frustration in this thread after 2 months of pain, in light of my subsequent fairly rapid healing. Even getting a little better day by day, with occasional bad days, constitutes good progress, but is difficult to see when you're in the...

LOTL, thanks for your honest reply. I completely agree with your take on tramadol - "energetic happiness" is spot on. I got off it after my last bout of back pain a few years ago more quickly - in fact, very quickly - when I read that it (and other opiates) suppress testosterone. I wanted that...

Thanks Richard, that's interesting, and I think you're right about trusting the general thrust of Sarno's thinking, even if the details remain elusive or fuzzy or contradictory. It still puzzles me that some people have only to see or hear Sarno to have an immediate cure, while others struggle...

I think you're right about the different paths to recovery, and I will certainly take that to heart. Re, herniated discs, that's actually the heart of Sarno's TMS: that is, that herniated discs, degenerated discs and even disc material pushing against nerves are actually common occurrences in...

Thanks, JanA. When I said 40 years I meant that I've had episodes for that long, not continuous pain. I tend to have serious episodes every 4 years, about. They start out completely debilitating, then the pain gradually subsides over 6 months or so. I guess with Sarno I was hoping to cut that 6...

I should add that I only got immersed in Dr Sarno's theory 2 months ago. I've been reading and rereading Healing Back Pain, as well as seeing a TMS doc and a TMS therapist.

JanA, you bring up issues which are my stumbling blocks around TMS. Clearly there are people who are unaware of the rage that's built up in their unconscious minds. With some of them a little therapy to unearth some of their memories and triggers is all it takes to make them pain-free, the...

Well, now I'm confused. I thought Sarno said that he doesn't believe NSAIDS do any good - except, I guess, as a placebo, because he doesn't think there is inflammation in TMS. Inflammation would be consistent with some sort of trauma to the tissues, and Sarno says that our backs are healthy with...

Thanks, Richard, that makes sense. Not sure I have the willpower to commit totally to treating the mind over the body, but I'll keep working at it. In fact I am a heck of a lot better than I was even a month ago, so perhaps the issue is working itself out little by little.