The book that will change the way we think about health and illness, by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Healing Back Pain

The Divided Mind is the crowning achievement of Dr. John E. Sarno's long and successful career as a groundbreaking medical pioneer. While his earlier books dealt almost exclusively with the common, virtually universal musculoskeletal pain disorders affecting the back, neck, and shoulders as well as various locations in the arms and legs, in The Divided Mind, Dr. Sarno goes beyond pain and addresses the entire spectrum of psychosomatic (mindbody) disorders. These include common stomach and bowel conditions (e.g., gastric reflux, irritable bowel syndrome), allergies, skin disorders, genitourinary conditions, headaches, and many more.

In Dr. Sarno's view, the crucial interaction between the generally reasonable, rational, ethical, and moral conscious mind and the repressed feelings of emotional pain, hurt, sadness, and anger characteristic of the unconscious mind appears to be the basis for mindbody disorders. The Divided Mind traces the history of psychosomatic medicine, including Freud's crucial role as well as his failures. Most important, it describes the psychology of the human condition that is responsible for the broad range of psychosomatic illness. Dr. Sarno believes that the failure of medicine's practitioners to recognize and appropriately treat mindbody disorders has produced public health and economic problems of major proportions in the United States.

One of the most interesting and important aspects of psychosomatic phenomena is the fact that knowledge and awareness of the process clearly have healing powers. Thousands of people have become pain-free simply by reading Healing Back Pain or The Mindbody Prescription, Dr. Sarno's previous books. How and why this happens is a fascinating story, and one that is sure to be repeated as readers experience The Divided Mind.

• scienceamerican