Preface

Even Smart People Get Sick

It was the summer of 2002.   I was teaching at UCLA and my husband was a molecular biologist.   Disillusioned with “big city” life and job politics, my husband decided we should move back to a small town to build our eco-friendly passive solar dream home.   Being an idealist and dreamer, I had no idea how much energy was required to build a home nor the financial stress involved in funding the project alone.  

We moved from a modest three-bedroom house in Los Angeles to a one-bedroom apartment in our neighbor’s basement.  Our computer and office equipment were crammed into the bedroom and we slept on the floor on a futon.  I’ve never been a morning person so my wake-up partner was a “sunrise” clock, an expensive device whose light mimicked a rising sun.  Its large transformer resting on the floor was just inches from my head.

I accepted the first job I was offered in order to fund the “dream” project.   It required a two-hour daily commute through slick mountainous roads and carried an enormous responsibility of being the only medical doctor in town.  Eventually, I started my own part-time acupuncture practice as well, so I could be closer to home.  On weekends, I’d try to help out with the house-building.  Not my forte, but my idealism fueled the effort.  Pride prevented me from admitting that the stress of moving across country, being the main breadwinner, working two jobs, and house-building was taking a toll on my body. 

My parents were dead-set against our plans because they knew building this “dream home” was too much for me.  Their protective criticism only served to fortify my stubbornness to make this dream come true.  In my mind, I was a responsible loving wife who would do whatever it took to make her husband happy.   Bad idea! 

As I juggled the demands of my new life, I wasn’t aware my body was falling apart from the inside out.  One morning, I woke up and couldn’t turn my head.  The intense pain in my neck was unyielding and multiple visits to the chiropractor didn’t help.  Within two months, my condition rapidly deteriorated and I experienced pain in almost every joint.  I required twelve to fourteen hours of sleep per night and never felt rested.  I dragged myself to work, put on a smiling face for people who “needed me”, and then collapsed on the couch as soon as I got home.

My husband, already stressed from building all day and worrying about finances, had to pick up the pieces at home.  I couldn’t cook, clean or do laundry without intense pain or exhaustion.   One day at the Laundromat, while folding a bed sheet, I burst into tears from pain and exhaustion.  I wondered, “Where have I gone wrong?  I’m trying so hard.  I’m a good person.  I don’t deserve this!”

One of my medical colleagues was kind enough to treat me free of charge.  Dorit Gaedtke, M.D. diagnosed me with fibromyalgia, an “incurable” and debilitating pain disorder.  Most of my patients with this diagnosis never recovered despite the slew of anti-depressants and pain drugs I prescribed in conventional medicine.  Not only did they suffer pain and fatigue, they suffered the side effects of the drugs and remained disabled.  Few had the education or financial resources to seek alternative care.  Deep down inside, I was terrified I would be another statistic.

My mother struggled with fibromyalgia so I wasn’t completely surprised to have the same diagnosis.  Nevertheless, I felt defeated and small.  My naïve medical mind thought that someone who was as hardworking and smart as I, could never fall prey to such a nebulous pain disorder.  But I was wrong. 

Even smart people get sick.

 

Healing is a Journey

Good news!  You don’t have to suffer any longer.  If you are reading this book, it’s likely you are tired of being in pain.  Maybe now, healing yourself is your top priority.  I know it is for me.

Years have passed since that dreaded diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  Thanks to my illness, I no longer take my life and health for granted.  No longer do I live my life unconsciously, on autopilot, on a diet of stress and To-Do lists, in order to achieve success and security in the pursuit of the ultimate goal for all of us – Happiness.

My illness was a message to stop pursuing happiness outside of myself and instead make conscious decisions.  The first important decision was to get a divorce because I was unhappy in my marriage.  Second, was to stop people-pleasing.  Third, was to focus on integrative and holistic medicine instead of conventional medicine.  Today, I live my life’s purpose: to empower and inspire thousands of people across the globe to manifest the life of their dreams – filled with radiant health, prosperity and loving relationships.   I live my passion of figure skating with my soulmate, and experience the satisfaction of winning multiple gold medals.  I have a fun and rewarding life and fabulous relationships with family and friends. 

Most of all, I’m happy. 

I want you to experience all of your dreams and more.  Why?  Because it’s your birthright!  Think of your quest for pain relief as an invitation to a more connected and fulfilling life.  Believe everything happens for a reason and you can have fun on your journey to healing chronic pain.  Really - I’m serious.

I have treated hundreds of people in pain within my practice as well as teaching thousands of others across the globe.  There are few things more heartwarming than witnessing the transformation of someone finally experiencing freedom from pain. 

 

It Doesn’t Matter How Bad Your Pain is

Everyone has the capacity to heal.  No matter what diagnosis your doctors have given you, how many MRI’s and CT scans you have had or how many surgeries you have endured, you can still feel a heck of a lot better than you do right now.  I remember a woman who attended one of my workshops.  Matilda had several surgeries and still had intractable back pain.  She couldn’t play with her grandchild, let alone do any housework.  To her surprise, eighty percent of her pain vanished within a few minutes of doing “acupuncture without needles”.  Soon after, she was able to play with her grandchild and do her housework… completely pain-free!

 

Is This Book For You?

This book is for anyone suffering from chronic pain who wants to learn how to maximize his or her body’s natural healing mechanisms.  Chronic pain has been defined many ways.  Traditionally, acute pain is described as pain lasting less than thirty days.  Chronic pain is pain lasting more than six months.  Pain that remains between thirty days and six months is considered subacute pain.  Personally, I’d rather use the following definition of chronic pain: “pain that extends beyond the expected period of healing”.  If you’re reading this book, you are probably feeling that your pain should have been “gone” by now.  This book is for you.

This book is perfect for people struggling with chronic pain who have not been helped by conventional medicine, which usually consists of drugs, surgery and physical therapy.  It is also for people who, like me, would rather use holistic or natural approaches to healing rather than cover up symptoms with drugs.  Lastly, this book is for people who are ready or are interested in delving into the deeper realms of healing beyond the physical: the mental, emotional and spiritual. 

 

Why I Wrote this Book

I wrote this book because of my own experience in healing chronic pain.  There are many wonderful books on natural healing available today.  Some of these books focus on the physical modalities and therapies that can be employed to relieve pain.  Others focus on harnessing the power of the mind.  Few books focus on the role of Spirit in chronic pain.  And by Spirit, I don’t mean religion.  None focused on what I’m attempting to do in this book, which is to integrate Mind, Body, and Spirit in the healing of chronic pain.  Notice that I used the word “healing”, not “relief”, not “management”, not “cure”. 

The word healing denotes much more than the absence of, in this case, pain symptoms.  Healing occurs at a much deeper level, and must include the Spirit.  My intention in writing this book is to help chronic pain sufferers relieve their physical pain symptoms as well as experience healing on mental, emotional and spiritual levels.  A person can experience physical pain relief, but still be in a mental state of anxiety or worry.  Another may feel victimized by his/her circumstances.  The purpose of my book is to provide a beacon of hope to anyone who has suffered or is suffering from chronic pain.  If that’s you, I want to let you know that you’re not alone.   You can become empowered to heal your own pain.  If you experience miraculous pain relief like so many of my chronic pain patients, you might even decide that you want to teach others how to become empowered too.

Your experience of pain is not random, back luck, bad genes or co-incidence.  Believe it or not, it has a purpose.  In addition to helping you find quick relief for your pain symptoms, I’m hoping you’ll be willing to go deeper to find the true purpose and meaning your pain provides.

A true holistic approach to healing pain must involve all aspects of our Selves.  That being said, not everyone is ready to integrate body, mind and spirit at once.  Focus on what resonates with you right now.  Be compassionate and patient with your learning.  As a recovering perfectionist, I can attest to the value of accepting yourself in this moment.  In time, it is my hope you’ll be open to perceiving your pain as a gift.  It might seem like a big stretch for you right now, but that’s okay.  Where you are right now is just fine.

 

What’s in this Book?

Much of the book contains my personal research into what has helped my own chronic pain as well as that of my patients.  By integrating knowledge from different healing specialties and modalities, my intention is to give you plenty of self-empowerment choices.  I will be focusing on empowering tools and strategies you can use at home to heal yourself.  Many are based in energy medicine – a subcategory of medicine hardly acknowledged in either natural or conventional Western medicine.

Think of this book as a “do-it-yourself” guide to self-healing.  Although I would encourage you to seek support and therapy from natural health care professionals such as holistic physicians, naturopaths, acupuncturists, holistic chiropractors, holistic osteopaths, homeopaths, massage therapists, holistic nutritionists and energy workers, much of the responsibility for your self-care rests with you.   For those who don’t have access to the holistic support of professionals, not to worry.  This guide will ignite the wisdom within to promote self healing.   I’ve included many patient stories within these pages to illustrate what is possible.   I hope these stories will inspire you and let you know you’re not alone.  

The toughest part of writing a book of this magnitude is that there is always more to learn, more to experience and more to write about.  My greatest challenge was probably choosing a stopping point.  My patients can confirm the fact that I’m constantly learning new things.  As soon as I have found a better, faster, more effective way to treat my patients, I integrate it immediately into my medical practice.  If my current “tool chest” of therapies is inadequate to help a patient, I go on a search-and-discovery mission to find a therapy that does.  It’s just the way I am.  As you can imagine, I never get bored.

 

Acknowledgments

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my support group for spurring me on to complete this book.  This includes my Patch Training Team consultants; my book mentor, Keith Leon; my Mastermind group members James P. Gann, Marie McMahon, Melissa Gerdes and Greg Gerdes.  I’d also like to thank my book writing support team of Marie McMahon, Bronwyn Seal and Linda Sanicola as well as my assistant Jennifer Burns.  Lastly I’d like to thank Patricia Lee Jones, my spiritual advisor, and the many coaches, mentors, teachers, and colleagues who have inspired me on this amazing healing journey. 

 

Karen Kan, MD
January 2013