Seeing Hal changed my life. After 4 years of strong chronic pain I now experience minimal pain and have no restrictions in doing all the activities I love in life. Here is my story.
I initially developed RSI type pain in my wrists from typing and computer use while writing up my Phd. It manifested as strong pain right through both my wrists whenever I typed or used my wrists for normal activities. It eventually got so bad that I could not do any typing at all, or do daily activities like holding a cup of tea, driving, or brushing my teeth without strong pain. I took 3 months off computer work as I thought this would allow it to heal, however the pain in my wrists persisted no matter how much rest I had.
I then begun trying different therapies in a search for a solution, but nothing I tried worked, and no-one seemed to be able to definitively diagnose what was going on at all. I tried pretty much everything. This included acupuncture, massage, reiki, physiotherapy, hand therapists, hand surgeons, and chinese medicine. I had multiple MRI scans, ultrasounds and bone scans but none of them could identify the problem or offer any significant healing.
Despite my desperate efforts, the pain persisted for four long years. This greatly affected my ability to work during this time, and I was restricted with doing normal things in life like driving and riding my bike. I had pretty much given up and accepted that this pain might be my permanent reality.
I came across a book by Dr Sarno (The Mindbody Prescription) which got me interested in the idea that my pain could have a psychological component. However I did not get any significant results from just reading the book. The real turning point came when I started doing one-on-one sessions with Hal. Working with Hal really opened my eyes to the connection between my pain and unexpressed anger from my past. Over the next few sessions I released huge amounts of emotional pain and anger that I didn’t even realise was there. I really liked the balance in the sessions between intellectual discussions (to get an understanding of the mind-body connection) and bodywork (to feel and release emotions). With Hal’s guidance I also dived deeply into the work of Dr Sarno, reading almost all his books to develop a clear understanding of his approach (Dr Sarno’s audiobooks are highly recommended).
It was a difficult process, but hugely rewarding. After only 4 sessions I experienced a massive drop in my pain levels. I felt like I had finally turned the corner with my chronic pain. On top of that I felt like I had released some old emotional burdens- I felt lighter and happier. I saw Hal again for a few more sessions and the pain levels continued to decrease. After about 6 sessions I felt the process was complete. The amazing thing was that after 4 years of frustration, it only took about two months of working with this method before I was healed.
While I still experience some pain now, it is minimal and does not really affect my daily life. I even went rock climbing the other day-which is something I thought I would never do again!! It feels amazing to be so free.
I am deeply indebted to Hal for carrying on the work of Dr Sarno and bringing this remarkable healing to my life. Hal is an extremely knowledgeable and professional practitioner and I would highly recommend him to anyone with chronic pain symptoms. Healing is possible. I am living proof of that. Don’t give up!
– Danny, Coburg VIC