Ha! Do you remember writing book reports in grade school? I just finished reading “Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection” by John E. Sarno, M.D. This book is amazing. I strongly encourage anyone with chronic pain – from back pain to headaches to gastrointestinal issues – to read this book.
In short, Dr. Sarno delves into the amazing connection between mind and body and the power of the subconscious to divert the mind from having to deal with repressed emotions. He claims that the subconscious creates pain in various areas of the body to distract your conscious mind, which he terms “Tension Myositis Syndrome”, or TMS. Decades of experience dealing with patients who are told to stop exercising or even that they need surgery have cured themselves of debilitating pain just by educating themselves about TMS and taking control of that naughty little subconscious.
Since I finished the book, my neck turning has noticeably decreased! I have always believed in “mind over matter”, but hearing this from a doctor with so much experience and so many happy patients gives me even more hope. It won’t happen overnight, but with time my turning may stop, or at least be manageable. Amen to that!