When most people think of chronic pain, they envision an unrelenting, all-consuming experience. At 19 years old, psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) Nicole Sachs was confronted with this harsh reality. Diagnosed with a degenerative spinal disease, she was told her condition would significantly limit her life. Following a few years with her disease, her pain shifted from acute to chronic. When her doctors recommended spinal fusion surgery—without any guarantee of complete pain relief—she found herself asking a profound question: “Why exactly do people suffer [from chronic pain]?”
The question led Sachs to explore the nature of chronic pain and seek a path to healing her own. Sachs discovered the work of Dr. John Sarno, who was treating patients with chronic illnesses using a holistic mind-body approach. She became his patient and learned that the debilitating sensation of pain is caused by brain signals that disrupt the nervous system. The solution came in the form of an expressive writing technique called JournalSpeak, which uses journaling to process emotions and repressed wounds.
The holistic approach was life-changing for Sachs, enabling her to resolve her chronic pain without surgery or medical injections. “I understood the brain science behind chronic pain, and I understood that, yes, the pain is totally real. It’s not in your head. You’re not making it up, but the solution is not in altering your physical body,” Sachs says.
Her discovery became the foundation of her future work, helping other patients with chronic pain. Collaborating with Sarno, she helped spread the awareness of chronic pain management through the mind-body approach, emphasizing that the pain is rooted in brain science. While the theory might sound unconventional, the practice has become a cure for hundreds of thousands of people who participate in JournalSpeak.
The three-step approach
In her newest release, Mind Your Body, Sachs simplifies the process into three steps. “Mind, body, medicine is a paradigm, and the holistic approach is to understand that… [yes,] indeed, the pain is not in your head, but it is being expressed through your body and generated by your brain,” she explains.
The first step is belief. She stresses it’s not a spiritual or a magical situation—the pain is real and includes various conditions like long-term COVID-19, chronic diseases and bowel disorders. Most importantly, the pain is removable. The second step is to understand the brain science behind the pain. Finally, the third step is to participate in JournalSpeak to release the pain.
“When we spend all our time self-loathing, it actually puts our nervous system into a state of danger. We feel that we’re being attacked, but we don’t realize that we are attacking ourselves. And so I teach people this three-pronged approach, and they get better in, you know, really phenomenal fashion,” Sachs explains.
After collecting 20 years’ worth of practices and countless human stories, Sachs believes Mind Your Body is the best of everything she has taught. The book covers the latest science-backed research—from a Harvard Study to MRI studies on pain processing, neural pathway changes and nervous system regulation—along with individual stories from people of all genders, cultures and economic groups. It offers readers a comprehensive overview of self-help and a toolkit to resolving chronic pain.
Spreading awareness
Sachs has become a prominent voice for chronic pain sufferers. “I wanted to take this message out of the four walls of my psychotherapy office … I wanted it to be in the world.” Expanding her reach, she self-published her first book, The Meaning of Truth: embrace your truth. create your life in 2016 and launched her YouTube channel in 2017. Her podcast, which began during the early COVID era, quickly gained a large following. “It is a pretty stunning experience to hear every person say over and over again, ‘My goodness, this work changed my life.’ It’s really amazing for me because I just love that.”
In addition to her digital platforms, Sachs teaches a weeklong retreat at the Omega Institute in upstate New York every June. The transformative experience admits hundreds of chronic pain sufferers. A day at the retreat begins with Sachs teaching the foundational principles, brain science, strategies for journaling and meditating. The floor is then opened for attendees to share their stories. “It’s like going to an adult summer camp,” Sachs says. “You know, it’s just an immersive week.”
However, Sach’s message extends to health care professionals, too. Sachs says, “People are always asking me, ‘How do I explain this to my therapist?’ You know, ‘How do I get you a person who is no longer in private practice and doesn’t have time to have individual conversations?’” In collaboration with Christina Sarno, a psychotherapist and daughter of John Sarno, and her partner, Lisa Eisenpresser, Sachs co-launched a practitioner training program to educate health care professionals and community leaders about the mind-body approach to chronic pain.
The why behind it all
Sachs has heard countless success stories from patients who have embraced the mind-body medicine approach. One of them being Michael Porter Jr., forward for the Denver Nuggets, who had been experiencing severe back pain since he was drafted at 19. After multiple surgeries and frequent flare-ups, he was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. He approached Sachs after ruling out another surgery and applied the techniques and principles of mind-body medicine. Since completing his treatment, he has not missed a single game in the past two seasons and is now pain-free.
Porter’s story is just one of the many shared on her podcast, The Cure for Chronic Pain with Nicole Sachs, LCSW. With hundreds of listens and numerous positive reviews, Sachs believes her book is laying the groundwork for something powerful. “Millions of people around the world are changing their lives and carrying the message,” she says.
Editor’s Note: Consider consulting with your health care provider before making any major changes.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of SUCCESS magazine. Photo courtesy of Nichole Sachs.
