Persist... gently...

Hello All,

First of all, Thank you Dr Sarno. Secondly, thank all of you who make up this community of generous and kind-spirited people. Thirdly, for those of you who are not sure, I would like to tell you from personal experience, you are on the right track.

Here's my story in brief:
Eight years ago, I was struggling and felt under pressure from my relationship, my job, becoming a father, and feeling like my carefree life was over. On a whim, I thought I would re-live my youth a bit by going skateboarding. I had some fun, nothing major, no accidents. That night my lower back felt a bit sore. The next day I felt pain like I had never experienced before. That was the beginning...

The extreme pain lasted for 3-4 weeks; the lingering pain lasted 3 years. I tried many things, but I just got on with life. Sometimes it got worse, sometimes it got better. I resigned myself to having it for the test of my life. Then, during one bad period I got so fed up with it that I decided to search for 'alternative approaches to back pain' online. That was the turning point. I came across an article that disicussed Dr Sarno's Book. It instantly resonated. I bought it that night and read it cover to cover as soon as it arrived. I had the answer.

To be fair it took time to accept the diagnosis (I found a TMS trained therapist, which helped a lot) and to learn to rethink my pain, but within weeks I was better than I had been for years and within months I was completely pain free and could stretch and lift and twist as if I'd never had any issues. This lasted 3 years...

A month ago a new set of stresses crept up on me without me realising and after a vigorous session of gardening... WHAM! my back ache came back with a vengeance. I had strained my back. Only, of course, I hadn't. It was the stresses, but I didn't remember or realise immediately. For the first two weeks, I kind of remembered but really just focussed on stretching or massaging or resting or being careful with my back. My pain got worse. Luckily, we were about to go on holiday so I knew there was an opportunity to revisit what I had learned from my first 'dance with pain'. So, I put up with the pain and the fear that this 'may be for ever - again' until we arrived at our holiday destination. After a day or two, I re-read some of the basics on this TMSwiki and instantly knew I was, once again, barking up the right tree. In the last three days my pain has gone from 7-8 to 1-2 but most importantly my fear has dropped from 5-6 to ZERO.

So, what I really want to share with those of you who are struggling is that you are on the right track and there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you are lucky and open-minded, it doesn't even have to be that far away. Funnily enough, this has been a really useful way for me to put my imagined stressors into a more realistic perspective and be a little less harsh on myself.

I hope you stick with the advice and strategies on this TMSwiki. Without Dr Sarno and this community, I would still be living in fear and pain. You can be free too. Persist... gently...

 

Welcome, runagain, and a big Thank You for your success story! It's a clear and perfect example of how TMS sneaks up on us when we aren't paying attention - as well as a perfect example of how it gets easier and easier each time to turn it around