Recent content by sjcy

I've had a setback this week. In March I started walking regularly and eating better, and pretty soon started feeling much better physically. Then my foot pain came back with a vengeance--right about the same time that some houseguests arrived who are difficult to have here and whose presence...

I admire your self-insight! That's a horribly difficult position to be in. What has worked for me in the past, as far as building and maintaining my boundaries (something that I had to do as a social worker): I remind myself, "This is me right here. That person over there is in pain, but it's...

Marcia, I can relate to your concerns. I am struggling with some symptoms right now that are possibly indicative of actual physical illness, and wondering, "did I do this to myself?" I've written earlier on this forum about having dealt with issues from childhood and yet being blindsided with...

To me, the Carl Jung quote in the title is the heart of what Dr. Sarno is saying in his writings about physical pain. Our subconscious is willing to give us physical pain or even illness in order to help us avoid the pain of dealing with our inconvenient or unacceptable emotions. I was thinking...

... enjoying discovering, reading, theorizing, and talking about TMS and related issues, and seeing the relevance to my current struggles.... I've come down with pinkeye. My eyes feel like someone poured sand into them and then sewed them shut. It's amazing what the unconscious mind will do...

Yes, I can relate to it. Earlier in my life, when I was struggling with many, many health anxieties (all of which turned out to be unfounded), I felt the same way. Here are the thoughts I used to process and defuse these fears: 1. I fear having a fatal and/or incapacitating disorder (like you...

Thanks for this post, silentflutes. I'm new here like you and I didn't see your other two posts, but I do know that sometimes it's hard to answer very long, detailed posts because when there's so much material to address, it's hard to choose where to start and what to say. I don't stammer...

I don't really talk with her much about my health, Walt, because it makes her so anxious. I've already adopted the approach you advise! ;) She's much more interested in her own pains anyway, which I can tell are considerable and very strongly related to the recent traumas of losing my dad and...

Billie, I don't have any advice for you that hasn't already been given, but I just wanted to give you a virtual hug. From my past experience with anxiety and panic disorder, I know that feeling of desperation. I told someone once that it felt like being on a plane about to crash, or a ship about...

I think they are.

It sounds like he can't find any structural problem and is trying to find a medical solution for your pain (the nerve medicine and antispasmodics). If your pain was caused by muscle spasms or hyper-irritable nerves, those medications might help. Susan

You did embed it correctly, and I'll watch it when I'm at my mom's later today working on her tax return. We live far out in the country and have terrible internet service with big limitations on our download capacity, so watching a video longer than a few minutes is impossible! It looks very...

Does it feel helpful to write about your anger at your mother? I think you have to first work through the anger and allow yourself to feel it before you can work on forgiveness. That's what I found with regard to anger that I had toward both my parents. It takes a long time to do that emotional...