Hi, I'm brand new here. As per Educational Program instructions, I'm making a thread about where I am right now in my treatment and level of acceptance. I've been dealing with relentless sciatica pain for the last 8 months - along with pain in my hip, knee and ankle. I've done p/t, acupuncture, chiropractic and every type of stretching exercise I could find. I have severe pain when I walk or stand for too long. Someone on a FB page recommended Dr. Sarno's books. I looked him up and viewed the 20/20 segment on him and have begun reading The Mind Body Prescription. My acceptance level is increasing as I continue to read. But I do have fear that as I continue to try to walk and exercise with pain, that I am doing more damage to my joints and muscles. Also, both my parents had difficulty walking due to severe back pain and eventually wound up in wheel chairs. I suppose another fear is that this is hereditary and I will wind up in the same situation. Thank you for letting me voice these thoughts. I don't think I've told anyone about them.
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Day 1
- Thread starter Geri D
- Start date
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
Good first post, @Geri D, and welcome!
Has any health professional told you that this is the case? I believe that there are very few conditions that would warrant such advice, so I suspect the answer is No, which means that this belief comes from the TMS mechanism in your primitive brain. What I call "your brain on TMS".
One of the best things I ever did for my health was actually a year before I discovered Dr. Sarno, and I credit it, along with Dr. Sarno and the work we do here, for the fact that I'm in as good shape as I am at age 71, eleven years "After Sarno" (and with the sudden onset of stress-induced RA in 2020). What I did was to pay a personal trainer to push me beyond what I was willing to do on my own. She was fully-trained and maintained her education in body mechanics, and mostly only worked with older clients, so she was appropriate for my age. She also understood exercise anxiety - which you clearly have, and I know what what I'm talking about. She recently left the U.S. to do other things many time zones away, but I'm managing to find exercise replacements several times a week, including yoga, which always challenges me.
Bottom line: There is no reason you need to duplicate your parents' experiences. No Reason. All you have to do is change your mind, and do things completely differently. That's all!
Okay, yes - easier said than done. But it can be done.Make sure you hydrate and that you have a decent diet, because we metabolize less efficiently as we get older - that's a fact, which all the TMS techniques in the world can't change. It's also a fact that we weren't designed to live much beyond 30, so we have to do whatever it takes to treat our bodies with respect in addition to always pushing them a little beyond the comfort zone that our fearful brains want to keep us in.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
~Jan
Thank you, Jan, for your encouraging words 
Yes, I'm definitely experiencing exercise anxiety. I've always been active. Exercise has often been my refuge. But I tell you, it feels like it's my enemy right now. When I'm sitting, I'm fine. But as soon as I start to walk or stretch or bicycle or even stand, the pain level shoots up to the point that I'm almost in tears. And for the rest of the day, I'm useless. And my hip throbs and burns when I get into bed. I'm talking to the pain and my brain a lot lately, but as of yet, they're not listening :-( I joined a Sciatica Pain Relief Facebook page some time ago and, as you can imagine, there are many differing opinions expressed there. But the one refrain I keep hearing is, "be careful what exercises you do because you could be doing more harm than good." Maybe I need to get off that page. But you now how it is. You're desperate for any advice or help you could get. However, I'm on Day 2 of the Structured Educational program. I've begun journaling and I'm holding on to hope that as I continue to learn more about TMS and reject the fear behind the pain, it will start to subside. I'm so very grateful for people like you who are willing to share your experience and wisdom re: this program. By the way, I'm 68, so I'm right behind you Thanks again. (Also, I posted on another thread, as I wasn't sure this one went through. )
Yes, I'm definitely experiencing exercise anxiety. I've always been active. Exercise has often been my refuge. But I tell you, it feels like it's my enemy right now. When I'm sitting, I'm fine. But as soon as I start to walk or stretch or bicycle or even stand, the pain level shoots up to the point that I'm almost in tears. And for the rest of the day, I'm useless. And my hip throbs and burns when I get into bed. I'm talking to the pain and my brain a lot lately, but as of yet, they're not listening :-( I joined a Sciatica Pain Relief Facebook page some time ago and, as you can imagine, there are many differing opinions expressed there. But the one refrain I keep hearing is, "be careful what exercises you do because you could be doing more harm than good." Maybe I need to get off that page. But you now how it is. You're desperate for any advice or help you could get. However, I'm on Day 2 of the Structured Educational program. I've begun journaling and I'm holding on to hope that as I continue to learn more about TMS and reject the fear behind the pain, it will start to subside. I'm so very grateful for people like you who are willing to share your experience and wisdom re: this program. By the way, I'm 68, so I'm right behind you Thanks again. (Also, I posted on another thread, as I wasn't sure this one went through. )