Dan Ratner's success/recovery story in a video... and how it is helping me

I’ve been exploring Dan Ratner’s work recently, after listening to his recovery story in an interview with Dani Fagan on 'Your Stories #13', which came up in my YouTube feed.



I had looked into Dan's three-column technique before, but at the time it seemed overly complicated. However, his recovery story in the video really resonated—his mind/body/TMS symptoms starting with a simple back twinge that worsened and lasted eight years—and how he developed his concept of power from finding purpose post-Sarno, leading to his three-column system (emotions, doubt, power).

The video has helped me identify my 'core narrative'. I didn't read his book or follow the columns method, but by reflecting on difficult life episodes, I realised: "I grew up feeling like I had to earn approval, often lacked autonomy, and faced unfair judgements—leading me to feel unseen and eroding my confidence, and this carried on into adulthood."

From this came my 'power column' conviction: "If it doesn't feel right, it isn't right." It encourages me to trust my instincts, challenges doubts rooted in those past experiences, and supports setting boundaries without rushing to cut people off or 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'. Ratner refers to these as 'power tools' to rebuild self-esteem—this one speaks to me profoundly.

My daily practice now: When I feel low in power (rating 1-10), I repeat my 'power column' conviction phrase—which reminds me of my worth—and take a small step that aligns with my truth. I can feel this beginning to be transformative. My 'power conviction' gives me a central point from which to view life's events and decide what to do. (I've now bought Dan Ratner's book, even though I might not actually need it!)

 

Thanks for this, @BloodMoon.
I really like your power tool! "If it doesn't feel right, it isn't right."

You are getting some good insights!

I read Ratner’s book, Crushing Doubt, earlier this year and really liked it, especially the part about power. (I didn’t do any of his homework, though. It looks worthwhile from what you’ve done so far!)

Here are some quotes that resonated for me:

“See closeness with you as a privilege. If someone is abusing you, revoke their privileges of access to you…”

“Looking unflinchingly at what you need and what you’re not getting can lead to some hard realizations. Let yourself find out who everyone is. You may find some long-cherished relationships are no longer worth it (or maybe never were). Don’t be afraid to clean house.”

This really got my attention and is at long last coming to fruition for me. I was in a very big setback a few weeks ago, worse than ever—but when I decided to cut off some hurtful people from my life, I began to steadily improve almost immediately. I’m feeling so much better now, and it’s a testament to the truth that emotions are behind our symptoms.

I think my TMS has been trying to stop me from interacting with emotionally destructive people for me.

 

I reckon our lizard TMSing brains stopped us from pursing his method!

Thanks! We each need to find our own core power tool for maximum benefit, but I think it still nevertheless applies to your situation—How certain people were treating you didn't feel right to you and so you've quite rightly imo decided to "revoked their privileges of access to you".

Having a power tool in Dan Ratner’s sense is, I'm finding, so beneficial and such a huge relief because it gives you a clear, fast way to step back into a position of inner strength when symptoms or old patterns and difficult situations are pulling you down.

I asked perplexity.ai to help me out with all the things a 'power tool' does and it listed the following...

• It reconnects you to your authentic self: Power tools (like “If it doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right”) are rooted in your core narrative, so using them helps you act from who you really are rather than from fear, people-pleasing, or habit.
  
• It gives you a stable reference point: When you feel confused, ashamed, or doubtful, a power statement is like a compass. You can quickly check, “What does my power conviction say here?” and use that to decide what to do or not do.
  
• It reduces symptoms and plateaus: In Ratner’s system, power work is especially aimed at symptom plateaus—times when things are “better but stuck”. Strengthening your relationship with yourself and aligning actions with your narrative can help symptoms shift where other work hasn’t.
  
• It speeds up emotional processing: Ratner calls some of this “high‑speed therapy”—a strong power frame lets you understand what’s going on in a moment and choose a more powerful response in minutes instead of ruminating for days.
  
• It builds real self-empathy and peace: The power column is “about getting to a place of peace in your relationship with yourself”. A good power tool supports self-empathy (seeing your trauma and patterns clearly but kindly) and moves you away from self-attack.

In practice, a power tool turns your core narrative into something you can actually use: a short phrase you repeat and act from, which over time changes how you see yourself, how you respond to others, and how your nervous system reacts.

When you look at all that is listed above, it's no wonder you are feeling like this in response to taking back your power!

 

I like what a power tool can do. Especially speeding up emotional processing. I usually can’t tell what I feel while something’s happening, which makes it hard to effectively defend my boundaries.

Yes! Perfect way to look at it. Taking back my power.