Overbooked

Between my neophyte enthusiasm for crushing TMS and my love of ordering online, I have a growing library of reading material - and it's getting a bit overwhelming. Of course I had to have "Healing Back Pain" and "The Mind-Body Prescription" and I'm halfway through "The Great Pain Deception" (though losing a little steam after a fast start), but where in the reading queue should I put "Pain Free for Life," "Hope and Help for Your Nerves," and "They Can't Find Anything Wrong!" (just came today, very entertaining). Oh, plus a Dale Carnegie too. I don't want to read a few pages of all of them and not fully digest the material. Please help me categorize them from "must read at once" to "good read, tackle it soon" to "save this one for jury duty."

 

Birder, if you have anxiety, it's essential to get that under control right away. That would put Claire Weekes at the top of your list.

The Great Pain Deception is a worthy addition to any TMS library. Some or all of Steve's personal success story will strike a chord with just about everyone, and I remember really appreciating his explanation of Freud's theories and how they relate to TMS. I've sometimes referred to GPD as an encyclopedia for TMS, because he goes into more detail than Dr Sarno on a number of topics, which makes it a good reference source.

However, I had done the SEP quite some time before GPD was published. And before that, rather than continue to buy more TMS books, I branched out into different aspects of the mind-body connection. The two resources that were the most influential for me were You Can Heal Your Life, the movie by Louise Hay, and Meditations To Change Your Brain, an audio program by Rick Hanson and Richard Mendius, MD. These taught me, respectively, self-love, and mindfulness.

 

Sounds like great advice. Thanks, Jan!

 

I would just caution that reading about TMS can become a way of postponing actually working on TMS. We need the knowledge, but there is a point when we have all the information we need and just need to begin applying it.

 

I only read HBP and still use it as my 'core' text. I have perused 'divided mind' and I think I had one of the books on tape, but simple rapid and thorough make the best sense to me. I have also been 'cured' for 20 years this year.

 

Very astute observation and just what I was concerned about. Thanks, Ellen!

 

Twenty years, incredible - and inspiring!