The Divided Mind

About this book

The Divided Mind is the crowning achievement of Dr. John E. Sarno's distinguished career as a groundbreaking medical pioneer, going beyond chronic pain to address the entire spectrum of psychosomatic (mindbody) disorders.The interaction between the generally reasonable, rational, ethical, moral conscious mind and the repressed feelings of emotional pain, hurt, sadness, and anger characteristic of the unconscious mind appears to be the basis for mindbody disorders like tension myositis syndrome (TMS). The Divided Mind traces the history of psychosomatic medicine, including Freud's crucial role, and describes the psychology responsible for the broad range of psychosomatic illness. The failure of medicine's practitioners to recognize and appropriately treat mindbody disorders has produced public health and economic problems of major proportions in the United States.One of the most important aspects of psychosomatic phenomena is that knowledge and awareness of the mind-body connection clearly have healing powers. Thousands of people have become pain-free simply by reading Dr. Sarno's previous books. How and why this happens is a fascinating story, and is revealed in The Divided Mind.This landmark book provides the tools to understand and overcome these conditions, revealing: The Psychology of Mindbody Disorders: Learn how the conflict between the conscious and unconscious mind--and powerful repressed emotions like rage and sadness--can create very real physical symptoms. A New Approach to Healing Pain: Discover why structural issues like herniated discs are often not the true cause of pain, and how thousands have become pain-free simply through knowledge and awareness. The Full Spectrum of Symptoms: Go beyond back pain to understand the mindbody origins of conditions like fibromyalgia, hypertension, gastrointestinal issues, allergies, anxiety, and depression. The History of Psychosomatic Medicine: Trace the pioneering work of physicians from Freud to today's practitioners who have successfully treated thousands by addressing the mind, not just the body.