• Alan has completed the new Pain Recovery Program. To read or share it, use this updated link: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/
  • Welcome to the new TMS Wiki server! Things aren't finished yet: email is not set up, so notification and password-reset emails don't go out, and new registrations are paused until email is installed. Details and updates are in this thread (click here). Locked out? Email tmswikisignups@gmail.com from the address where you receive TMS Wiki notifications.

Book First Book Recommendations

What book do you recommend as a first book about TMS?

  • Healing Back Pain

    Votes: 8 29.6%

  • The Mindbody Prescription

    Votes: 13 48.1%

  • The Divided Mind

    Votes: 1 3.7%

  • Pain Free for Life

    Votes: 1 3.7%

  • They Can't Find Anything Wrong

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Unlearn Your Pain

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • Other (Post other suggestions in a thread below)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • The Great Pain Deception

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • The Hidden Psychology of Pain

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    27
Forest

Forest

Beloved Grand Eagle
There are so many TMS books out there, and I was just a little bit curious as to which book you would recommend as someone's first TMS book. A lot of people just starting out often wonder this, and it would be great to hear what you all think. You don't have to be an expert to respond to this. If you have only read one TMS book feel free to vote for it. Also, I would love to hear the why you think a particular book is the best one.

I didn't add Dr. Schechter's book or Fred Amir's book simply because I thought they would be more for someone who already knows about TMS. If you want to vote for these simply choose the Other option and mention which other TMS related book you are voting for in this thread. I will update this original post to include any other votes, so they will be easily accessible.

btw anyone can set up a poll by selecting the start a new poll option on the bottom of the Create Thread page.
 
I really think the Mindbody Prescription is the best book for someone to read as their first TMS book. I have always liked how it goes beyond back pain, which Sarno focuses on in his first two books, and it seems to speak to me more than the Divided Mind. I have always thought that this book really expanded what can be included as a TMS symptom and I think it does a fabulous job at helping people see how their symptoms are connected to their repressed emotions. All of the other books are terrific and can definitely introduce someone to the TMS concepts and help them recover, but I tend to think that the Mindbody Prescription is written in a way that just makes these principles easier to understand and accept.
 
I think another good one nobody mentions is Dissolving Pain by Les Fehmi. I know i mentioned this is some previous posts but its worth taking a look at it for some people.
 
The book that got me started was The Divided Mind (I found a reference to it on a migraine web forum).

I subsequently purchased MBP but I keep loaning it out, based on the recommendations of my TMS buddies that MBP is a better intro. So I still haven't read it!

I think that the appeal of The Divided Mind to certain readers might be the six chapters written by other practitioners - five of them MDs. That could resonate better with skeptics. I followed TDM with Hope & Help For Your Nerves (Claire Weekes) which was enormously helpful for my severe anxiety.
 
For me, I happened to read Sarno's MBP first, but "Pain Free for Life" by Scott Brady is really the book I would recommend to anyone who is spiritual. It connected with me in a way that Sarno's book just couldn't. However, Sarno's book explains things a little better. So I definitely recommend reading both.
 
I am a big fan of Unlearn Your Pain. I have always just really like how Dr. Schubiner explained everything. I also like how he had exercises for people to do. Sarno's books are great, but I always liked Schubiner's treatment section. The book does a great job at giving people the tools to help themselves get better.
 
I agree that MBP is a good first book to introduce people to TMS concepts. After that I recommend Unlearn Your Pain by Schubiner as a good place to start a structured healing program.
 
Another vote for MBP from me. I read Healing Back Pain first and MBP is very similar but I preferred it out of the two. One thing I noticed about these books is how many times Dr Sarno says that 'this is TMS, that is TMS.' This repetition is a characteristic of so many self-help books and it generally annoys me. I eventually realised he keeps repeating this for a reason - so it becomes ingrained in our minds. This can take a while - our sculls are pretty thick.
 
The MBP Prescription was the first book I read and I thought very helpful for a first TMS read. But my 2nd read, The Great Pain Deception really hit home with me on the concepts. So I might recommend that as a first read too, especially for dealing with other pains aside from back pain.
 
Many TMSers seem to have found Fred Amir's Rapid Recovery from Back and Neck Pain (Bethesda, Maryland: 1999) to be most helpful in their recoveries. I haven't read it myself, but Steve Ozanich quotes from in frequently in his Great Pain Deception (2011) and seems to have benefited from it, so perhaps Fred's book belongs in this category?
 
@BruceMC, it would be nice to add it, but currently you can't add options once a poll has started. However, if anyone would recommend any book (including Amir's) that isn't in the poll, I encourage them to post a comment about it in the main thread.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top