27 steps backward

[she333]

Sorry to be negative. I just don't get it. I swear I want to be well, but something seems to be preventing that.

My symptoms start 12/30/14, enormously worse 11 months ago, learned about Sarno at the end of April and finally started having a little bit of improvement at the end of July. Been up and down and I have not been symptom-free, but been doing better overall and really getting out there. I even started thinking about possible future job changes and contacted dcfs as I'd like to possibly foster next year.

So Monday morning I suddenly am way more uncomfortable, constantly wanting to go to the bathroom. I managed to wait 5 hours while at work today, but that was not comfortable. I am still convinced that this is TMS. But why does my brain want to punish me? I'm sad, with and without tms for a few reasons I know. I just hope I can set myself free. I have been so tempted to try some medications now

Really hard not to get into the old habits of catastrophising and thinking you'll never get out of this. Well thanks for listening. I'm going to see a therapist next week to talk to her about doing EMDR and maybe that can help. Thank you for reading.

 

[Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)]

Hi, She. You sound discouraged about your progress in TMS healing. You are not alone in this, as some others post today indicating they are impatient with or losing confidence in TMS remotions causing their pain or other symptoms. EMDR, for those unfamiliar with the term, is Eye Movement Desensitivization and Reprocessing. Some web sites say it has "helped millions of people relieve many types of psychological stress." But who knows if that is true or not?

Dr. Sarno says it is very important in TMS healing not to take medication or see a therapist like EMDR. But I am not a doctor so I can't say don't see the therapist. I think it might help you, if it can convince you it works or doesn't work. I think anyone, whether a trained therapist or anyone at all, can make us believe what they are "selling."

I guess I'm trying to day, proceed with the therapist meeting, but with caution. I think myself that you would cure from TMS symptoms by being more patient in TMS healing and believe 100 percent in TMS.

Frequent urination is most often just a result of anxiety. Meditation can help you with this. My favorite meditation is the Relaxation Response.

Until about a month ago, I would wake up 3 or 4 times a night and need to urinate. Since then I do not wake up all night, from 9 pm to 7 am, without waking up even once and not needing to urinate until then. I believe the change has come from practicing the Relaxation Response. It relaxes me right away.


A friend who is a psychiatrist says about it: “It is so good, so well established. I taught this approach to stressed out teachers, with success! It is simple, not "spiritual," and readily available. This is important: It is the practice, and becoming a habit that is powerful.”



It is done 20 minutes once or twice a day, before a meal and works best if not practiced within two hours after a meal.



Just sit, close your eyes, don’t listen to any music, try to avoid outside noises. Let your mind think of a word such as "One " which has no real meaning or association. Say the word silently over and over. At the end of the 20 minutes, picture and feel yourself as you were when you felt your best, and in a place where you felt that way.



Follow the technique below and see how fast you calm. It is similar to Transcendental Meditation but unlike that technique which many consider to be a religion or cult, and that costs $1,000 from a trained TM coach. The Relaxation Response is not a religion or cult and costs nothing.


Here is an article about the Relaxation Response and how to practice it:

Herbert Benson, M.D. documented benefits experienced through traditional forms of Christian and Jewish prayer. Benson published his “Relaxation Response” method of stress reduction without the mysticism associated with TM. Short structured rest periods provide health benefits.
Herbert Benson, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
and founder of the
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine
824 Boylston St.
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-2508
Phone: (617) 991-0102 Toll free: (866) 509-0732
MBMI@CareGroup.Harvard.edu


The following is the technique reprinted with permission from Dr. Herbert Benson's book
The Relaxation Response pages 162-163
1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Deeply relax all your muscles,
beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face.
Keep them relaxed.
4. Breathe through your nose.
Become aware of your breathing.
As you breathe out, say the word, "one"*,
silently to yourself. For example,
breathe in ... out, "one",- in .. out, "one", etc.
Breathe easily and naturally.
5. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.
You may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm.
When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes,
at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened.
Do not stand up for a few minutes.
6. Do not worry about whether you are successful
in achieving a deep level of relaxation.
Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace.
When distracting thoughts occur,
try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them
and return to repeating "one."
With practice, the response should come with little effort.
Practice the technique once or twice daily,
but not within two hours after any meal,
since the digestive processes seem to interfere with
the elicitation of the Relaxation Response.

 

[fridaynotes]

i love this relaxation response technique. i am going to try it!
i have meditated for a while and sometimes it helps totally relax me but other times it brings up deeper emotions and feelings, which can be psychically disturbing. which is suppose is good to feel but sometimes leads to a period of difficulty or TMS pains.
the type of meditation of the relaxation response seems pretty interesting so i'm going to try it!
thank you