Mind-Body Medicine | David Schechter, MD | West Los Angeles| Neuroplastic Recovery Programs
Mind-Body Medicine is a fascinating field that I am very passionate about. My mentor in this area was John Sarno, M.D., a true pioneer, and my inspiration as a medical student at NYU many years ago. Sarno was a unique thinker who wrote four popular books linking chronic back pain to emotional tension. He died in 2017, after a long, fruitful career and a long life.
What is Mind-Body Medicine?
At its essence, mind-body medicine is the understanding that our experiences — our traumas, our joys, our sorrows — affect the body. You could call this brain-body medicine, or psycho-physiologic medicine. When we’re stressed or traumatized, it usually goes somewhere: a headache, anxiety, back pain, a cold, jaw pain, depression, pelvic pain, fatigue. The split between mind and body is artificial and false. Mind-body medicine brings these parts back together into the unified whole that is more consistent with both science and our actual experience of living.
From TMS to Neuroplastic Symptoms
Sarno’s diagnosis of TMS (tension myositis, or tension myoneural syndrome — now more often called Neuroplastic Symptoms) led me to develop a clinical program and a range of written materials: a workbook, a website, an audio program and online course, and — through a non-profit Research Foundation (now inactive) I helped develop — several years of research into this approach.
The terminology has evolved: neuroplasticity describes how the nervous system rewires itself, and our modern understanding is that neural circuits can retain pain under some circumstances, or that the brain produces pain through these pathways directly. Regardless of your specific problem, having a doctor who understands the mind-body link is a real advantage. (See mindbodymedicine.com — my website dedicated to this topic in far more detail.)
The Good News
We can learn to manage stress better, understand how emotions affect us, and get better. The tools that help most: journaling (see The MindBody Workbook below), meditation, psychotherapy, and education — reading, studying, online videos, online courses, podcasts, and books, including my own and those of my colleagues and mentor.
Starting with a diagnosis from a doctor who knows how to rule out medically serious issues — structural or biochemical — and guide you on the healing path is crucial. I can help you benefit from the mind-body connection, and understand how it may have contributed to your illness in the first place. Chronic pain is a major focus of this work, but many other symptoms are caused by stress as well.
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Pain Management Program
The Mind-Body Workbook
A Thirty Day Program of Insight and Awareness for People with Back Pain and Other Disorders.
Mind-Body Website
A website I created to teach people about mind-body concepts relevant to physical illness and pain, especially TMS.