“Do I have serious medical condition?” AND...

Welcome @larkwest - and congratulations for being willing to open your mind to a new reality.

I'm going to suggest you open it even more, and consider that even if you have a physical condition, engaging in a mindbody journey can't hurt. It costs virtually nothing other than time and commitment (even Dr. Sarno's books are available at most libraries, or low-cost used on amazon). And doing this can, in fact, help. I believe this to be true not just out of faith, but from decades of experience and personal observations.

More and more health and medical professionals are accepting the observable fact that harnessing the power of our own minds can help us recover, or at least manage, ANY condition. Just lessening anxiety, alone, can have a HUGE impact on our symptoms - although this is easier said than done, as I can attest after a lifetime of anxiety that I believe started before I was born.

In spite of my lifelong anxiety, I had a strong belief (was probably raised with it, in fact) in my ability to recover quickly from injuries and illness, or even to avoid illness altogether, long before I learned about Dr. Sarno's theories. When people around me are coming down with the latest virus, I am unlikely to get sick because I put my mind towards NOT getting sick - and I believe that my brain is willing to boost my immune system accordingly. I "help" it out by doing things like taking extra Vitamin C and echinacea, fully understanding that these might be placebos - but the placebo effect, it turns out, is incredibly powerful and effective, even when people in research studies are told they are receiving a placebo. Strange but true. I am also happy to get vaccinated, because whether it's the placebo of Vitamin C or the modern medical miracle of a vaccine, I'm happy to give my immune system all the help it can get.

I put my beliefs to good use when I crashed my bicycle in 2008 (at age 57) and had a non-displaced fracture of the left femoral neck (hip joint), with surgery to insert three pins. My initial pain level in the ER was very intense, until the doc came in with my X-rays and said I could have surgery the next day and be on crutches the day after that - at which point my pain level went from about 8 to 3. By the time they offered pain drugs, I asked for some ibuprofen to take the edge off. I recovered quickly over the coming weeks without using the opioid Rx they gave me, because I understood that my pain level was related to my fear level, and I had already decided there wasn't anything to fear.

And although this seems blindingly obvious, I also did everything I was told to do (other than taking the opioids) with an intentional and mindful belief that doing what I needed to do would enhance my recovery. I was told more than once that my recovery was proceeding incredibly well, which to me was an indication that they saw too many people who didn't do as well (perhaps considering my age). And yet all I did was what I was told to do - plus I had a strong belief and faith in my ability to recover.

To me this was nothing special, but I have since come to have an appreciation for the power of these two things. They seem easy enough to accomplish - UNLESS your brain is in a negative and fearful state. This alone will keep you from doing what you need to do, and will keep you from having faith in your ability to recover. When your brain wants to keep you in fear, it's all to easy to put off what you need to do, and to fall into the trap of believing that you can't experience improvement.

Don't put off starting this journey - it can only help.

~Jan