The doctor told me to take painkillers and live through the pain
Disclaimer: the client was comfortable sharing his story for the purpose of encouraging others in a similar position to seek help
I went to a lot of specialists, but they all just told me to take painkillers and I’ll be fine.
Stress at work
I think it all stemmed from my job at a law firm. I was working day in, day out on cases and spent a lot of my time sat at a desk behind a computer.
It started with a strain in my neck, which I took care of with weekly massages. But with the increase in my workload, things went from bad to worse, and soon I started experiencing an inescapable pain in my back.
I went to a renowned chiropractor close to where I live, and he began treating me. It was very costly, and although I felt relief for a long period of time, the pain returned with a vengeance once I’d settled into my old routine at work.
Painkillers
I saw several other specialists over the years, and invested a lot in treatments for my back. Each time, it seemed as though it had worked, but I’d always start feeling it again after some time.
Finally, during one session with the same chiropractor I’d seen a couple of years before, he did some alignment work and then prescribed painkillers, telling me I needed to take one every time I felt pain.
I did as I was told, and found myself taking them on a regular basis, which I figured couldn’t be great for my body.
Laid off from work
After practicing law for seven years at the same firm, I was laid off for something I didn’t do. Although they did give me a generous severance, it wasn’t enough to satiate my need to keep busy.
I spent all day and night putting through applications for a new job, but didn’t seem to be getting much in the way of a positive response. I didn’t seem to be ‘right for the role’ or ‘what they were looking for’ and the entire process started getting increasingly frustrating.
Changing lifestyle
I tried to drown my grievances in alcohol, and soon packed on the pounds, especially round the middle. I felt sluggish and usually slept until midday.
Once awake, things didn’t improve. When I wasn’t drinking, I was sitting on my couch, staring into space, completely demotivated. Soon, I was running out of money from my severance, and had to sell my apartment and move in with my parents again, which was the first time I’d lived with them in fourteen years.
My social life was a mess, most of the friends I’d made from my days at the firm had moved on to bigger things, and I was left behind. The girl I was seeing occasionally got married to a Wall Street man, and I was further embroiled in my sorry state of affairs, which included fresh bursts of pain in my back and shoulder.
A twist of fate
My mother had a get together with some friends at their house one Saturday night, and insisted that I join them for a few drinks. I got to talking with one of her friend’s daughters who had tagged along and we really hit it off. In fact, she agreed to see me again over dinner, and a few weeks later we went on our sixth date.
She always carried an air of someone who didn’t have any emotional baggage. She walked and talked with ease, smiled often, and laughed a lot. When I asked her what her secret was, she told me she’d been doing something called Emotion Code therapy. She said it completely changed her life, and that if I wanted to, she could put me in touch with the person who worked on her.
First contact with Alka
I had never believed in alternative treatments and had never even tried one. But things just weren’t getting better, and my new girlfriend insisted that I gave her counsellor a call. It was not until we had a row that nearly led to us breaking up after three months of dating that I decided to give it a try.
She had mentioned a free 30 minute consultation, and I figured why the heck not? I had nothing to lose. I’d tried everything already, and nothing worked. By this point, my back was killing me, I was overweight, and lethargic. And I was about to lose the only good thing I had going in my life.
I emailed Alka and we arranged for a time for me to call. She was very responsive, and sounded enthusiastic in her emails. I was still sceptical, but when I called she put me at ease straight away. She wasn’t like other therapists or specialists. She was warm and energetic, and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
She told me about herself and that she’d been in two accidents, and how using Emotion Code on herself had helped ease the pain. She told me to keep an open mind and that I’d begin to see results.
The aftermath
After six sessions, it turned out that I had been carrying a trauma from when I was fifteen, and it had attached itself to my back, which was the cause of the pain. Once Alka released it, the pain, to my surprise, began to ease up.
I was still taking painkillers, but didn’t need them as much before. I booked a further three sessions with Alka, and after those, I realised that I had further blockages that were stopping me from getting the job I wanted, and generally from being happy.
A new life
Alka still calls to check up on me every now and again, which is great. A year ago, I asked the girl that I met at my mother’s house to marry me, and we’re expecting our first child. While I was running a house errand, I happened to run into an old friend of mine who was a partner at a major firm. It occurred to me to ask him if he had any openings, and it turned out that he did.
I emailed him my CV as soon as I got home, and he responded two days later for an interview. I ended up getting the job, which paid well and was a lot less stressful because of the company’s work-life balance policy.
And the best part? I haven’t taken painkillers in months.
