A Proven 30-Day Journaling Program to Overcome Chronic Pain
This workbook offers a structured, evidence-based approach to identifying and processing the psychological roots of chronic back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia, IBS, tension headaches, TMJ, and other neuroplastic disorders. Dr. David Schechter, a former student and research assistant to pioneering physician Dr. John Sarno, has created a guided 30-day journal that helps you harness the mind-body connection for healing.
From Dr. Schechter:
My fascination with the mind-body connection began before medical school, but the turning point came when I experienced my own cure from chronic, unexplained knee pain under Dr. John Sarno's guidance at NYU's Rusk Institute. That personal success led me to conduct a follow-up study of his patients, which showed a remarkable 77% success rate among chronic back pain sufferers.
Over nearly 40 years of practice, I've developed my own treatment program combining office consultations with educational materials. This workbook extends that approach to people I cannot personally treat. With the help of a local physician to rule out serious disease, readers can benefit from the same structured journaling process my office patients use successfully.
This workbook has helped over 40,000 individuals and has been validated in published research studies.
Important Notes:
- For ebook users: Prepare to write answers in a notebook, computer, tablet, or voice recorder. Research shows journaling's effectiveness comes from actively processing answers (writing or recording), not just thinking about them.
- Which workbook to start with? You can use this workbook before or after the newer MindBody Workbook Volume Two (published in 2023). Since Volume Two is more complete and updated, I now recommend starting with that version if you're new to this approach.
- Want more guidance? Dr. Schechter and clinical psychologist Dr. Justin Barker offer a comprehensive 5-hour online course at mindbodymedicine dot com on the Treatment and Education page.
While journaling can be challenging, the rewards are significant—and it's a skill you can return to whenever you need to process emotional challenges in the future.
The author, David Schechter, MD is a physician who practices in Culver City, CA and specializes in mindbody approaches to medical conditions such as back pain. A graduate of Princeton University, Dr. Schechter met Dr. John Sarno while a medical student at New York University.
Dr. Schechter is now the most experienced practicing TMS specialist in the country and has treated thousands of patients and helped tens of thousands more with his written and audio/DVD materials.
He wrote Think Away Your Pain in 2014, a clear, up-to-date well-organized presentation of this chronic pain treatment approach.
