Mind Your Body – by Nicole Sachs

The author, a psychotherapist, wants to be very clear about chronic pain: no, it’s not all in your head.

In fact, it’s all in your body, of which your head is one part, plugged into the rest. The pain is in your brain, the rest of your nervous system, and more. It’s in the microbes of your gut, the beating of your heart, and the changes in your breathing. It’s even in the composition of your blood (hello inflammation). It is, in short, embodied.

The brain is important though! She even gives us a whole chapter on the brain science (the chapter in question is called “A Whole Chapter On The Brain Science”).

What she wants is for you to feel better, which is all too often not a top concern of doctors.

To accomplish this, she first sets about diagnostics, inviting guided introspection into the reader’s own relationship with the pain and other relevant factors, and then retraining the brain and body to work better together than they probably have been doing.

For those who like to be taken by the hand through a process, there is a 28-day challenge.

The style is easy-reading pop-science, without padding, but with a definite human element—her deep and passionate care shines through from start to finish. Followed up by a sizeable bibliography because here be science (and empathy alone would not fix someone’s back).

Bottom line: if you or a loved one suffer from chronic pain, this book can surely help ease things a lot.

Click here to check out Mind Your Body, and mind your body!