Possible career in TMS field

Hey Team,

I have experienced almost every TMS symptom you could think of. At my worse, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and had issues standing due to weakness in my muscles and fatigue. Upon reading Dr. Sarno's book, I had the confidence to start lifting and exercising again and all of my symptoms started to go away. I still have some low back pain that appeared after my recovery and some nerve discomfort in my legs/feet. Funny thing is that they only appeared after everything else went away and my nerve pain is only when I'm at work(guess if I like my job).

Recently I got offered a position to work at a personal training place that also helps people recover from injuries and chronic pain. I feel my story is a great one to tell and even with my current symptoms, I still lift and exercise freely and am without limitations. I think this job is a great opportunity to help others and I feel it's something meaningful.

Here's where i could use some help. Even though I recovered nicely, I still let other people put doubt in my mind about TMS. I've told the story to plenty of people and almost all of them call me crazy for it. Being at this job I should be confident in TMS and I feel there is still some doubt for whatever reason and that's why I have a few nagging issues. I also worry that maybe it hits too close to home and that I should do a job completely unrelated to TMS, so I can stop thinking about it. Lastly, I worry people will get the wrong message. I believe it's important to become active so you can gain confidence your body is fine. My goal would be to get people active again and remove the fear that they can't stand on the leg they once hurt or that they have a bad spine, hip, shoulder, etc.

Any thoughts? I really dislike my current career and have no idea what else I would want to do, then this job comes into my lap and I'm not sure how to proceed.

Thanks in advance and let me know if you want more details on my recovery. I plan to make a video once I get over these silly doubts.

 

What an interesting question, Sumol! I'm bumping this, and tagging some of our TMS coaches, who might be willing to respond.

It is, of course, all about your inner dialogue, right? Your fearful brain interprets your desire to put your opinions out there as too risky, too dangerous to your well-being, so it's bombarding you with negative messages to keep you from taking the risk. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to call bullshit on those messages, and take the risk anyway. Your brain will see that you can do this without dying (literally - it is too primitive to know the difference between taking an emotional risk and taking a physical risk) and it will become easier to overcome those fearful messages as time goes on.

@Andy B, @LindenSwole, @KevinMartilloViner, @MindBodyPT, @Miriam G. Bongiovanni - any advice for Sumol?

~Jan

 

Hey Jan,

Thank you for replying and for tagging a few of the coaches! You definitely make a very good point, I would in a way be running from things out of fear. It's so easy to slip back into the negative cycle in thinking my pain is real and I never want to be someone who doesn't practice what the preach. I think I'm someone who still holds what other people think/say about me so highly. It's really tough to talk about TMS with pretty much anyone outside of this community, but it's so real and I've lived it along with many others.

I'd appreciate any other input, but I'm grateful for your response Jan.

 

Thanks Jan for the shoutout!

Hi Sumol, this is a very interesting situation you have... here goes my two cents: it ultimately boils down to what works best for you. If you still have some lingering doubts about TMS, like you pointed out, this could be a dangerous move. You'd be putting yourself smack in the middle of the "system". Yes, you certainly could help some people, but if you yourself are still in the "process", there may just be too much risk of you losing track. and falling from your own path. We can't help others until we first help ourselves (sorta like on planes when they tell the parents to first put the oxygen mask on themselves BEFORE their children).

Think about it in terms of drug/alcohol recovery - if you were newly sober, but still had some lingering doubts about your recovery, it might not be a good idea to start a job at a bar.... or become a drug/alcohol counselor. Now, with time and experience under your belt, firmly rooted in recovery (TMS), that's a different story.

With regard to the pushback from people, yes, this is something we ALL deal with. Dr. Sarno talks about it in his body of work too, most of the population will reject TMS. So what does that mean? Well, again, it's a personal choice, but where I'm at currently is I don't even mention it unless I can first detect some sort of open-mindedness to mindbody stuff. Or I'll drop little hints to see how the person reacts before fully committing. I've gone the route of TMS apostle and, like you, that was typically met with defiance, and even sometimes hostility. It's just a matter of where you want to put your energy. Is it worth getting into heated debates with someone who really isn't willing (ready) to hear the message? In my experience, no. I'd much rather use my energy with someone where there is at least a chance. Again, this is where I'm at right now, but who knows what the future holds. Luckily we have some troopers out there that really go for it, that really spread the TMS message.

Anyhow, I'm not in the business of giving straight YES or NO answers, but hopefully my thoughts on your predicament can help you in your decision amking. Either way, it'll be the right decision because what is will always be what is and you'll learn and grow no matter what.

With metta,

Kevin Martillo Viner, PhD.

 

Hey Sumol,

I agree with @KevinMartilloViner that you need to address your own doubts first. From experience, the doubt people sometimes managed to instil into my mind had a lot to do with my own self-confidence - I felt, who am I to assert or argue that I am right? Deep down I still knew I was right, and from your story, it sounds like you have quite a lot of proof and personal experience to be able to firmly believe in TMS and what it can do for you.

One thing I learnt about TMS coaching is that you need to find your ideal clients. This is not something you can offer to your local community like you would offer Yoga classes for example. The market is very niche - most people will not accept the diagnosis. I had tried offering free help on a fibromyalgia group page a number of times, and ended up leaving the group because it was pointless - they were not ready to accept that their emotions had a role in this, instead, some were offended when I suggested a mindbody connection. I myself am still learning how to approach people, and found it easier to coach people that already have some basic knowledge of TMS, such as people on this forum. You could offer some free help and see how you feel.

Best of Luck!

Miriam