Book SummaryMind Your Body, by Nichole J. Sachs

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Mind Your Body

Do you suffer from chronic physical ailments such as pain, gastrointestinal issues, long Covid, tinnitus, or autoimmune conditions? Have you exhausted every avenue of treatment and been told you’ll have to deal with your symptoms for the rest of your life? What if you could resolve your symptoms not through pills, surgeries, or procedures, but by treating your mind? In Mind Your Body, Nicole J. Sachs argues that repressed emotions and trauma are at the root of many people’s chronic physical conditions, a theory rooted in mindbody medicine. She elaborates on how and why this transference happens and provides a guide for how to resolve your physical symptoms through mindbody treatments.

Sachs is a...

Mind Your Body Summary What Is Mindbody Medicine?

According to Sachs, mindbody medicine is a medical model developed by Sarno that acknowledges the role of mental and emotional factors in physical health. It represents a more comprehensive view of overall health than the traditional medical model, emphasizing the connection between the mind and the body rather than treating the two as separate. Sarno’s work revealed that physiological symptoms such as chronic pain are often the result not of bodily illnesses, but of unrecognized trauma and repressed emotions. He coined the term Tension Myoneural Syndrome (TMS) to describe such conditions. (Shortform note: Tension Myoneural Syndrome is also known as Tension Myositis Syndrome.)

(Shortform note: The idea that the mind and body are separate is known as mind-body dualism, a concept often credited to 17th-century philosopher René Descartes. Prior to the popularization of this theory, the general view was that the mind and body were indistinguishable, in accordance with the orthodox Christian view at the time. This view also held that the body had...

Mind Your Body Summary The Solution to Bodily Pain Is to Heal the Mind

Sachs explains that since the pain and physical symptoms you’re experiencing are caused by your brain’s perception of threats, the solution to these symptoms is to change your perception. Once you teach your brain that these uncomfortable emotions aren’t actually dangerous, your symptoms will abate. Luckily, your brain is like plastic and changes throughout your life, so no matter how long your TMS symptoms have been going on, it’s possible to recondition your brain to process emotions without turning them into physical symptoms.

(Shortform note: Sachs says you can heal your symptoms using the brain’s ability to change. In The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge explains how this phenomenon—called neuroplasticity—works: The brain is made up of neurons, which send signals to each other to produce every one of the brain’s functions. When one neuron sends a signal to another, it forms a pathway between them; the more that pathway is used, the stronger it becomes....

Mind Your Body Summary Mindbody Medicine Techniques

Now we’ll explain how you can put Sachs’s principles into practice, using mental work to treat your body’s symptoms. As you start this process, keep in mind that the only way to make it work is to do it consistently. It needs to become a habit in order to unseat the maladaptive habits your brain has formed to protect you. Sachs says it should take around three weeks to make this practice a habit. So, pick out a conducive space and a convenient time to do it every day. Prioritize yourself during this time, even if that means setting strict boundaries with others who demand your attention when you’re trying to work on yourself.

You’ll begin by completing an inventory exercise to understand what’s currently happening in your brain. Then you’ll start a daily practice: mindbody journaling (a method that Sachs calls JournalSpeak).

The Placebo Effect and Its Implications for Mindbody Treatment

The principles of mindbody medicine may help explain the placebo effect, which is when a treatment with no active therapeutic effects provides a positive health benefit. While some may think of placebos as “useless,” the...

Shortform Exercise: Getting Started on Your Mindbody Journaling Practice

Sachs argues that healing TMS symptoms requires you to teach your brain that difficult emotions aren’t dangerous—and that the most effective way to do this is through consistent mindbody journaling. This exercise can help get you ready to start your daily practice.

Find a space: What physical space can you devote to your 30-minute daily practice? How can you minimize distractions in this space? What markers or contextual cues can you add to this space to make it more conducive to your journaling? For example, you could keep noise-canceling headphones nearby if there’s a lot of noise around. You could also decorate the space with calming art, personal affirmations, or objects with personal significance.