alan gordon

Alan Gordon (author of The Way Out) once mentioned carrying around with him a brain-shaped stress ball and looking at it kindly, thinking, ‘This poor little primitive brain,’ to help calm the fear response behind his chronic pain. He’s also described the primitive brain as a scared kitten that...

“The part of your body where you have stored your anger is the part that has to express it” – John Lee I finally am getting round to posting my recovery story on here - been a long time lurker and have been inspired by so many of the wonderful regular contributors on this website. I...

My how time passes. This article is already 7 years old, and 100% in line with our work. It quotes Tor Wager of the Boulder Pain Study, it quotes Alan Gordon and mentions PRT being trial-tested, talks about the power of the placebo effect, and even briefly mentions Dr Sarno as a pioneer...

Hi. I am new to this platform. I have read Dr. Sarno book, "Healing Back Pain", and I am interested in learning more about TMS. There seems to be two Alan Gordon programs - Pain Recovery Program https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/ (Pain Recovery Program) or TMS Recovery Program...

Hi All, I wanted to post this with an invitation to send to others who might benefit from a quick introduction to the "TMS" work of this Forum. The guests on the video don't use the phrase TMS, but they're talking about the same thing with different names. We're trying to get the word out. Good...

Just finished reading the Alan Gordon book, The Way Out. One thing that seems different that I don't remember him saying explicitly on the online program here is about pain avoidance (pages 89-91): "When your pain is high it is pretty much impossible to have a corrective experience. So we're...

I've been scouring the internet and cannot find this study; the one with 50 people where 49 were improved and 66% dramatically from "The Way Out" , which I just finished, excellent book. I want to see the details of the study and share it with some people who have TMS symptoms but are...

Hey everyone - Here's a just-in-time podcast from our wonderful Alan Gordon, LCSW on the Curable podcast, Like Mind, Like Body. The title is How Do I Manage Chronic Pain In the Wake of Coronavirus? (Episode 1 of Tell Me About Your Pain) Here's the Stitcher page for it. It popped up in my...

Hi, I’ve trying to figure out the following: “In order to overcome your symptoms you need to teach your brain that psychological stressors (in my case anger) are not dangerous.” You should ‘feel the anger’ and not fear it. On the other hand I should also practice self-love, self-compassion...

Hi All, Here is a description, to be held in Santa Cruz California, January 24 to 26. Highly recommended for learning how to help others! https://www.1440.org/programs/faculty-led-programs/personal-growth/self-discovery/beyond-pain-management-help-patients-unlearn-their-pain-2020 (Beyond Pain...

I recently came across this video of Alan Gordon talking a patient through conditioned responses. I found it via Feelings & Stuff and hadn’t seen it here, so I thought I’d share it. This is kind of an extended example of what he included on days 9 and 10 in the recovery program. Is he saying...

Age: 44 Pain first started: 2008 Diagnoses received: sciatica, piriformis syndrome, gluten intolerance, anxiety, PTSD MRI's or tests taken: Normal Lower Back X-ray, Normal gallbladder ultrasound. Time to recovery from first hearing about TMS: About a year Any relapses: More like a false start...

This article was posted by Vox in August, but I only just came across it. It quotes Alan Gordon, mentions Dr. Sarno, and interviews a number of researchers who are working on the FACT that our experience of pain is created in our brains, and that there is a growing body of evidence showing that...

I'm brand new. Really confused and wondering how to proceed. Dr. Sarno, with his original vision, seems to have a clear vision developed over decades for healing TMS and a step-by-step treatment plan (I'm currently reading "The Divided Mind"). It seems simple (not easy, of course). But then...