Symptom Imperative | Why it Happens | Part 2

In the last post, we discussed why the symptom imperative occurs in individuals with chronic symptoms. 

In this post, we will delve into this idea a bit further, and explain why this symptom imperative can happen even while going through the treatment layed out by Dr. Sarno.

So if you or someone you know has been experiencing a chronic symptom like chronic pain or IBS, you might have come across this idea of mind body healing after many failed attempts from conventional medical interventions. You might have found a program to work with, like any one of Dr. Sarnos's books, or a lecture driven program, and have seen great results from the start. But at some point, it is likely that the symptom imperative will pop up, either emerging at a different location in the body, or showing up as a totally new symptom. 

And the question is, if this treatment is working, why should one be experiencing the symptom Imperative?

Well to understand this, we have to realize where our symptoms are coming from in the first place. A chronic symptom like TMS or a TMS equivalent exists to protect you. This originates from the mind - our mind makes the decision to bring about chronic symptoms to protect us from deep emotions. So as we go along with treatment, despite doing it the correct way, our mind will attempt to work against our efforts and bring about different symptoms in different forms, with the same goal in mind - to protect you. Understand that this decision is made outside of our consicous control. 

Therefore, even if we're treating our chronic symptom(s) from the ultimate root cause, it is very likely that the symptom imperative will be in full force. This is actually quite common as Dr. Sarno points out in his books. 

At this point you might be wondering: what should one do if they're experiencing the symptom imperative while undergoing treatment for their chronic Mind Body symptom(s)?

We'll get into that in the next blog post. 

Stay tuned!