repressed emotions ?

According dr. Sarno TMS is the direct result of deeply repressed emotions

BUT.....

Monte Hueftle says TMS is not a deeply repressed emotions syndrome!
He believes TMS is a chronic pain syndrome caused by our day-to-day generation of inner tension and our day-to-day repression of emotional energy.

What do you think?

Should we search for deeply repressed emotions? How? Any method?
Or we must look better for our day-to-day emotional conflicts ?

Thanks!

 

For myself. I'm inclined to agree. I've been through full analysis three times.
Nothing left to dig for.

 

This superb post by @Steve Ozanich will probably benefit you both.

Plum x

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/seeking-the-grail.529/ (Steven Ozanich - Seeking the Grail)

 

As a therapist myself. Now retired. I understand analysis. And repression etc.

I had to go through analysis to qualify. But have been through twice more. With the right choice for me.

As I said. Nothing left to dig for. Neither what. Nor why.

It's day to day for me.

 

agree with plum....steve o is right on.

 

It's also more important to understand "why" you need to repress than "what" you are repressing,...

...This is because it's more important to just "realize" that there is repression occurring and also "why" it is occurring.

These two quotes stick out for me in Steve's excellent piece. Thank you Plum for that reference.

Dr. Sarno descibes the results of his review of cases in The Divided Mind: Most of the "causes" of TMS were not early trauma (even in those that had it) or present life circumstances, but rather in the way our Personality Deals with Things. So in this regard Monte is, I think, pointing to something important.

To me, these processes are deeply intertwined.

The way we handle things is part and parcel of the way we were raised ---our early experiences, and complimentary (ly), the way we handle things also has great impact on our ever-present Inner Child. We took on patterns of inner relating when we're young which play out today. When we turn away from ourselves, based on early experiences, then the Inner Child might feel ___________. And this in-the-now feeling is what TMS symptoms try to keep us from feeling.

Finally, Dr. Sarno writes that what is important is connecting his theory with your personal realizations, many of which come from in-depth inner work. Many of which also come from "simply imagining what your Inner Child might be feeling about ________{current event}." This is paraphrasing from Dr. Sarno's Divided Mind.

To me, the inner work does the following:
--Gives direct evidence of the conflicts and feelings, and the tendency to avoid feelings, and direct experience of personality tendencies such as perfectionism. And their roots.
--Gives direct experience of "difficult emotions."
--Opens the mind and heart to gently allow more feelings. We dig deep and we find more presence and love, rather than the horrors we're afraid of from childhood (deep imprints which were too much for the child to digest). This sends a deep message that it is OK to feel, which integrates into conscious functioning over time.

But all of this has to be held within the framework of the theory of Dr. Sarno. None of it on its own will unravel TMS symptoms.

 

Hi Miqueld3,

I had the same question way back. In order to understand this I coined the phrase “Look at your three Pees”.

Dr. Sarno said in HBP that TMS manifests in the sub-conscious due to a mix of three possible causes.

Past issues or experiences, perhaps even childhood.
Present events exampled by family or work related issues.
Personality traits like perfectionism or being obsessive.

I had to discover that my personality was my main issue, as up to then it was all someone else’s fault and childhood stuff.

So it was the “Past” that developed my character and “Presently” my “Personality’ is my main area for TMS. This mix is what you have to reveal to yourself, it is an inside question.

I also discovered over time that repressed emotions don’t have to be all that bad or deep. They can be life style emotions that direct my habits. An example of this is my frugal background drove me to work on a broken hedge trimmer for four hours because the motor still worked. I got angrier and upset until I went to Home Depot and purchased a new one for a mere $14. I got a nice soothing snagging this price.

Some of the stuff I have discovered has proven to be: quaint, funny peculiar and even funny ha ha.

I would agree for myself only that Monte’s statement is correct, since my daily tension is driven in proportion to my activities, habits and daily lifestyle, the deep stuff has sunk forever!

Great thread

 

Great reply. I especially like your thoughts on inner work and the gold that we do find in our shadow. It's easy to focus on the end of pain as the goal of healing but there comes a point in this beautiful process where the conscious integration is so utterly transformative you are glad to be alive irrespective of pain. (Which is when phrases like outcome independence actually mean something to you).

I'm grateful for all the emotional healing I've engaged in and while I had to embrace more body-oriented methods to actually recover, I profoundly respect the framework Sarno gifted us with. Nothing really makes sense otherwise.

 

Love the three P's
I shall pop that in my healing repertoire.
Thank You.

 

@Saffron

Sweetheart, I was taking a peek at your profile (you've chosen a beautiful picture) and noticed you seek help with migraines. Having suffered these I empathise greatly and suggest you read @Ellen's success story.

Here's the link:

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/recovery-from-20-years-of-fibromyalgia-and-a-lifetime-of-migraines.7924/ (Recovery from 20 years of fibromyalgia and a lifetime of migraines)

Ellen is a shining star among shining stars and her advice is compassionate and practical. It's an excellent starting point. I know others here have recovered from migraine too. In fact I'm sure @Tennis Tom once said it was personal experience of migraine that set Sarno off into the world of mind~body medicine.

Apologies for threat-hijacking!

 

Thank you.

 

The photo is one I took near where I live. X

 

I love the serenity. You are blessed to be near such beauty. xxx

(My mother's family were what I affectionately call water gypsies and such images remind me of lives that might have been.)

 

It's near Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire. Not far from grand union canal. I miss getting out to tsk for photos. I'm glad you like it.

 

Hi Plum and Saffron,

Saffron’s logo reminds me of a trip I made on the Shropshire Union canal in the late 60’s. It is beautiful country side, and past reminiscence. I once lived in Blighty, and now reside in California.

I remember Plum from the TMS Help Forum. Do you remember this Plum?

I wish I had had a mum like sweet plum, but
I have a lovely wife to help deal with my strife

 

Gentle soul, of course I remember you. I especially recall a lovely post you made about 'giving way'. It's something I embraced and practice regularly be it at an actual give way sign, or in the lanes at the pool (I am too fast for the slow lane, too slow for the fast lane ), or simply as a way of being. It feels graceful and gracious to be like this in a world where everyone and everything moves so fast and with scant regard.

An utterly typical November morning prevails here, all bare trees and flat grey skies, which I suspect you don't miss much. Love your exhilarating picture.

Warm hugs xxx

 

You ought get out and take more photos. Such things feed both soul and healing. It's the very act of holding back when we want to fly that screws us up a.k.a. TMS.

 

Love to but daily migraine.

 

Have you explored Alan Gordon's new psychogenic pain program? It's less old school Sarno, more neuroscientifically based with greater emphasis on the moment-by-moment (specifically somatic tracking).

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/ (Pain Recovery Program)

 

Hi Plum, Saffron, November 11th 2017

“I feel great today”. Sometimes we just have to say it out loud. I woke up with a chronic neck ache attached to a very bad feeling of negativity. After a cup of coffee I did some Yoga and weight lifting in the fresh air on the outside patio. The temperature was a chilly 15.5 C, sun was shining and clear blue skies, and I have distant memories of how cold it gets in the UK in November. Not to boast, my wife and I swim in an outside Olympic size pool year long, we are regarded as eccentric English by the locals.

At PT, I recently learnt a new stretch for my neck. I performed this stretch for the first time in my Yoga routine and got instant relief, my head ache just disappeared and I achieved full range of motion both ways. I know it’s temporary, but feel better leveraged to tackle my TMS day, which is tension driven from daily activities. By about 5.0 o’clock I am usually tense in the neck again. I find I have to think pscologically all day long, slowing activities down to a mindful half speed.

Saffron, my mother had migraines, I know second hand how debilitating you can become. As a small boy I remember her being in bed for days with the curtains drawn, sedated, the rest of the family had to tip toe around the house in silence. Being a therapist you are much better off than she was for you have the ability to look inward, she did not. Be well soon.

My wife just read an article of a family caught up in the fires in Reading, northern California. Two parents in a burn unit heavily sedated, have not yet being told about the loss of their two children. By the end of the article we were both in tears, and gave thanks for the little pains we both have.

In my Logo of windsurfers the ‘sea’ represents the sea of chaos that is forever changing direction and intensity just like TMS.