This is a mischaracterization of Sarno's work. One doesn't need to be "happy" to have relief of pain. Sarno's thesis is that chronic pain of this sort is caused by unconscious stress/emotions and the mere acknowledgement of the underlying issues is enough to cure chronic pain. Furthermore, Sarno stresses that patients must first undergo physical examinations by their doctor(s) to ensure that the pain isn't caused by anything structural. Only then should one proceed with his treatment. Note that Sarno (who has since passed away) was not some quack--he was a bona fide medical doctor who treated patients at NYU Medical Center's Rusk Institute.

I would ask you to read his books' reviews (of which there are thousands on Amazon). Are all of these people who were cured from many years of pain lying? Are the other commenters in this very thread lying? There is mounting evidence that Sarno's theories are, in fact, of merit--e.g. https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2021/09/researchers-m....