Tms and anxiety

haven't posted in a while. On day 8 of Dr Schecters workbook,been up and down with pain and anxiety. This last weekend pain was gone for hours at a time,before pain was constant,but now the anxiety is really high. It shifts between anxiety and back pain. Been reading hope and help for your nerves by Dr Claire Weeks. Anyone else get bad anxiety. I guess this is part of the healing process

 

Hi Benny,

Yes, I have lots and lots of anxiety. I know how hard it is to deal with. It can be just as debilitating as physical pain.

And yes, it is part of the healing process.

The physical pain is a distraction from the anxiety. The more I confront the physical pain, the more anxious I get. But that's progress, because I'm getting closer to my real feelings -- those scary feelings that my unconscious is trying to hide from me. In my case, it's the trauma of growing up in a family that was terrible for me, where emotional expression was dangerous.

The more I have confronted the anxiety, the more I've been able to reduce the pain and make good changes in my life.

But it's a long, difficult, and scary process. I wouldn't be getting anywhere without the help of a very good therapist.

David.

 

Anxiety... I know the feeling. I am a big worrier so I can go swiftly from worry to catastrophizing. I thank the Lord that I discovered TMS
because I learned that I am in a very big boat with anxious people and we all find our ways to relieve it. My favorite ways are deep breathing, mindfulness meditation, and laughing. I keep as positive a I can be that the Lord will stop the anxiety and, as you say, David, "Make good changes in my life."

I'm a bachelor, so family, friends, and my dogs help me a lot. I also keep busy with pleasant distractions.

 

Physical pain is a distraction from the anxiety? I thought it was the other way around. The more I been thinking psychologically when I have pain the more anxiety that has surfaced. So when I'm having anxiety I also think psychologically right? I barely started doing this today. Every time I had anxiety I jus tried to calm myself,but never thought psychologically. I'm having trouble bringing up hidden emotions that I may be Holding in my subconscious. Is this really that important or is the information enough,the penicillin like dr sarno says?

 

Benny,

People have different paths to overcoming TMS. For some, just knowing their symptoms are TMS is enough. I believe that these are generally people whose emotional stress is recent and fairly easy to resolve. Sarno himself said that people who's stress is deeper and more intense may need therapy.

For me, the information by itself has not been enough. I've known for years that I've had TMS. I could overcome one particular symptom, but another would appear in its place. Sarno calls this the symptom imperative. It means that I have a psychological need to have distracting symptoms. The only way for me to get off the TMS treadmill is to uncover and deal with the psychology.

But that's me. Others have found different paths, and you can find their stories here, too.

David.

 

Got it, Thanks David. I just started,this is my second week and have seen some changes already. I'm going to try to bring up hidden emotions still,see what I can come up with