Do you associate a particular activity with back pain? Or other chronic pain?
Perhaps every time you walk, you have pain. Or when you sit or stand.
I found an interesting site by Eddie who does yoga. He has also discovered that the mind is responsible for a lot of your pain and for making it worse. His teacher told him that the mind always wants to make a big drama out of everything.
In another post The Turning Point, he talks about Dr John Sarno’s book Healing Back Pain, and says that after he read the part about associating a particluar activity with pain, he was able to take measures to prevent it happening in the future. The activity that triggered his pain was sitting. He had spent days avoiding sitting! Imagine how hard that must have been.
But the turning point of the title was when he used affirmations and communicated to his unconscious mind the way Sarno suggests, and it worked. He told himself he was well, and had nothing to fear. He reminded himself by putting up notes all over his house!
Now, that is the sort of stuff you should be doing! – Not complaining about the pain and reaffirming to yourself that you are unwell. Remember, the body cannot heal itself when it is under stress. Don’t add to the stress by telling yourself you are in pain and never going to get better.
It is possible to get better, and these change in attitude and behavior are the first step.
My L5 S1 disc is bulging and I have been looking at several surgical procedures because Decompression did not work. I have been in pain for a while now and need some relief. How would affirmations work for a bulging disc that I can see on the MRI?
Greg
Hi Greg,
It might seem that ludicrous but bulging discs are not the casue of your pain. If you read Sarno’s books you would know that. Plenty of people have spine degeneration and bulging discs and do not have pain. Doctors KNOW this, but because they are clutching at straws, and have to be seen to be doing SOMETHING, they resort to telling you it must be the spine degeneration that you can see.
Have surgery if you know best but I hope you’ll be in the 2% that surgery works for (doctors know this as well). If reading a book or two manages to change your outlook and you are able to prevent surgery and be pain-free, wouldn’t it be worth it?
I thought the same as you, but I was in so much pain, I was willing to try anything no matter how silly it seemed. And thankfully, I never had to have unnecessary surgery.
Best of luck
Paula
Thanks Paula,
Which books do you recommend? I would rather not have surgery if I can avoid it. I do a lot of stretching but it only helps for a little bit. The chiropractor helps a bit too but its expensive and I cannot keep going multiple times a week for relief. I think I may give in to prescription pain pills soon too.
Greg
Hi Greg,
Any of John Sarno’s books will help you but “Healing Back Pain” that is mentioned in the linked article is the one Eddie has read, and it worked for him. It is a myth that you should NOT use painkillers at all. They can help to begin with to allow your body to cope with the gentle exercises that will strengthen your back. Most people rely SOLELY on painkillers and become dependant on them. But taken in the right way, they can be a huge help, and Sarno recommends them too. I go into more detail in my free course, if you want to know know more before buying anything.
Good luck
Paula