Pain: A Love Story

When you're in pain, your first thought is to look for a physical cause. But what happens when all tests come back negative and every intervention tried doesn't work-where do you turn for an answer and relief?In Pain: A Love Story, Serena Sterling, PsyD explores how repressed emotions can manifest into physical and emotional pain, even acute and chronic illness. Dr. Sterling investigates the development of her own juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a physical response to the pressures placed on her by a high-performing family. Woven into her personal story are case studies, clients who have also developed painful symptoms that defy standard treatment. By understanding the uncovered thoughts, feelings, and beliefs they felt unsafe to have, many of these clients were able to identify their trapped emotions, which developed into pain, and heal. With vulnerability and honesty, Dr. Sterling explores why we repress our emotions, how our relationships can harm and heal us, and how being heard and seen is the most powerful antidote to pain. If you have pain or a medically unexplained symptom that just won't go away and you recognize that you have a history of pretending things are OK; if you tend to put the needs of others before your own; if you come from a family where feelings were taboo; if you often feel like your true feelings are a burden to others, then your pain might be rooted in repressed emotions. And this book is for you.