Books

I will order a shipment from amazon with tms books. What would you guys mostly recommend?

 

I would say order Healing Back Pain, the Mindbody Prescription, and the Divided Mind, all by Dr John E Sarno, and read them in order of publication as his ideas and theories have matured. A book many find useful is The Great Pain Deception by Steven Ray Ozanich wherein the author chronicles his own personal struggle with TMS and how he eventually overcame his pain symptoms. One book nobody seems to mention too often (and that I found useful) is To Be or Not To Be Pain-Free: The Mindbody Syndrome by Marc D. Sopher, M.D., which I think gives a simple summary of TMS that is also very accessible and easy to understand. Our reading group on this TMS Forum is now going over the case histories included in a new book available on Amazon.com for the Kindle reader entitled Pathways to Pain Relief by Francis Somner Anderson and Eric Sherman, who worked with many of Dr Sarno's patients when they needed further psychotherapy.

So there you go! That should give you more than enough TMS material to read. But I'd advise that if you read only one TMS book start with Healing Back Pain. It will give you a basic understanding of Dr Sarno's TMS theory in its pure form.

 

Hi there, FD -

If you have anxiety (and most of us do) - especially if you are prone to anxiety attacks - I highly recommend Hope & Help For Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes. This was the second book I read, after The Divided Mind (my first and only Dr. Sarno book) and it helped me tremendously.

I have actually purchased several copies of The Mind Body Prescription (back pain was not my issue) but I keep giving them away. I buy used copies if I can :^)

I am currently reading, and am absolutely fascinated by, When The Body Says No by Dr. Gabor Mate. Dr. Mate explains the physiological changes that occur in our bodies when they are exposed to what he calls the "stress-disease connection" where the stress is caused by repressed emotions. He also proposes some pretty radical ideas about how most, if not all, of the auto-immune conditions are caused by this stress, along with many cancers, to say nothing of the conditions we already accept as TMS equivalents such as fibro, IBS, etc. I am finding this information to be very empowering, although I suppose others might find it scary! It's a totally different way of thinking for most people, that's for sure.

Steve O's book is a terrific encyclopedic roundup of TMS experience and information, 100% devoted to the theories of "the good doctor" (Sarno) as Steve calls him.

I purchased Dr. Sopher's book, but gave it to someone for her teenage daughter - I have to say, it was too simplistic for me, after I'd read TDM and done a couple of weeks of the Structured Ed Program on the wiki - but I think it would be an excellent book for a young adult to start with, and I'm not sorry that I was able to give it to someone.

Happy reading and recovery!

Jan

 

Thank you, Bruce and Jan. I will start my journey with your recommendations. All the best to you two!

 

So right you are, Jan! I hadn't looked at Dr Sopher's book in years, but your comment above got me to drag it down off my book shelf and take a peek inside. It is quite jejune, yes? I bet he self-published it to have in the foyer of his medical office for patients to look at. Lots of white space usually indicates self-publication. However, Marc Sopher has worked with Dr Sarno, and it does sound like some of his patients have recovered from TMS. It's definitely not on the same plain as The Divided Mind.