Day 10 Rough nights

Day 10 and I am still getting worse. I'd love to think this is because of working through TMS, but I was steadily getting worse before I had even heard of TMS. The nights are the hardest as the pain is unrelenting and I cannot sleep. I yell at my brain to stop, I try to breathe deeply, I try to distract myself with the phone or tv but still end up getting more and more worked up and distressed. I have a call in to the dr to hopefully try some prescription meds. I'm able to cope during the day but these sleepless nights are wearing me down. Any suggestions?

 

Nights are the worst. And lack of sleep just exacerbates everything . You say you yell at your brain. I would suggest a gentler approach. You need a huge amount of self compassion to go through this. I prefer to think my body is trying to tell me something, thank it and try to figure out what is going on emotionally. This gentler approach works better for me. I hope you get more relief soon.

 

Thanks fneal,
I will try the gentle approach tonight. I wonder if extra journaling during the night is also helpful?

 

Zero76. When you talk to your doctor about trouble sleeping, ask him about Melatonin,
a hormone in the body that helps us to sleep.

Foods that give us more Melatonin include cherries, rice, beets, and sweet potatoes.

Our bodies generate Melatonin but we get less when we age.
If you're not getting enough Melatonin from food,
you might consider a supplement. Two that are getting very good reviews are
Somnepure and Luna. Take a look at them on google or Youtube.

Low Melatonin may be causing you to have a sleep problem, but also could just be TMS.
If we go to bed worried about something, it will keep us awake. The SEP program asks us
to do journaling to discover the emotional causes of our pain. That helped me to heal from
severe back pain.

 

Thanks Walt,
I have definitely experienced anxiety driven insomnia before, but this seems to be pain driven. I wake up (on my own and by my 1 yr old) with intense pain and I can't get comfortable enough to fall back asleep and just get more and more frustrated.

 

If you are awoken by the pain it could be that something you were dreaming about triggered a pain response. In our dreams we connect with our unconscious. Maybe if you are able to remember what it was you could get nearer to the suppressed emotion that the brain is trying to distract you from with the pain. I don't always remember my dreams, so if you don't you could take the time to do some deep dreaming, or a relaxation and try and think about what could be bothering you.

 

I'm going through something similar, zero76. I had a terrible episode of pain today at work, for the last 5 hours of my shift. I wanted to leave but could not. I felt as though everyone could tell I was in agony. I'm used to the steady, daily pain for the most part. But lately, I've been feeling an increase in pain. Mostly at work but also when I wake up, which has not been "normal" for me. The program we're going through is bringing up some repressed emotions, the ones that start causing our pain in the first place. I'm hoping, like you, that this pain is a sign that our mind is losing grip on its distractive powers and is amping up the pain in an effort to get us focused on the physical. I can totally relate to your inability to get the pain to subside. I'm frustrated with that as well. Let's not lose hope though. We are on a path that leads to healing.

 

For the best sleep, try to get some sunshine in the day, then sleep in the darkest room possible.
Deep breathing, put any worries off until morning. If in pain, remind yourself it's not structural but emotional from TMS.

 

zero76, I am sorry to hear of your worsening pain. Thanks for posting your journey. This is an important part of the program/process. Keep up the good work.

I hesitate to respond more as I know this is a journaling area...but I cant resist. So If this can help I would like to offer the following:

I find guided imagery and progressive relaxation amazing to help with sleep. Belleruth Naparstek, she has a site health journeys. She has many many different guided imagery and healing recordings. I love the ones for PTSD, Stress Relief and even some for pain relief. There is one for mending a broken heart that I see do wonders for tmsers, myself included. I personally use these and recommend them to clients. Also Dr. Sarnos affirnation said all day long and played in the abck ground is great too. Hang in there! Glad you are reaching out

msz812, that is a beautiful photo, where is that?

 

Thanks! It's from Glacier National Park in Montana. I vacation there every June (going again in 2 1/2 weeks). It's the most beautiful place I've ever been to.

 

PamD, thanks for posting about Belleruth Naparstek. I just did a Youtube search and found lots of her videos.
I will watch them and hope others also look at them.

Guided imagery and her videos on anxiety and stress look excellent. They can help a lot of us strengthen our belief in TMS.

I always relax when I imagine myself back on a wilderness canoe trip in the Minnesota-Ontario border lakes.
So peaceful up there... no radios, tv, newspapers, iPhones, computers.

 

I went there a few years ago and fell in love with the place. I took a boat tour on that lake. So wonderful have a great time!

 

We are ver fortunate to have such peaceful memories. I rely on them all the time.

 

PamD,
Thanks for the video suggestions. I watched/listened to only part of one last night, because it put me back to sleep! Success! It may have just been the soothing voice, but I'll take it.

 

Sleep, wonderful sleep, Youtube videos are great.

I had a wonderful dream last night that I was hugged. Slept like a baby.

My godmother had a real soothing voice. She read bedtime stories to my sister and brother and I when
we were kids. She always put us to sleep. And when were older she read us the Oz books. It was wonderful.