A revelation....and a THANK YOU

Jules

Jules

Well known member
I was just about to give up, when everyone who commented on my post got me thinking I was TMSing...big-time, and that I would not let ONE person’s opinion stop me (a book from a doctor I had read that stated that the brain can’t be healed), from completing this work, since I have gone through so much of it. Since then, a remarkable thing happened. I was in great pain on Wed. I sat down, put some heat on and took some meds. I then WENT BACK TO WRITING. I further wrote 5 articles. Before I did so though, I closed my eyes and visualized my spinal cord and a little man running up it with a message to my brain of “DANGER! Release the pain signals!” Then, just as you would when swiping a message on your phone to delete it, I did just that. For five straight minutes, I imagined I was blocking this little man from running up my spinal cord to the brain, but I didn’t let him get that far. Guys, my pain WENT AWAY. Obviously, this will take time to master.

I now do this every time I get pain, and it works! I’m also reading an incredible book called, “The Brain’s Way of Healing” by Norman Doidge. It is remarkable. I think TMS, central sensitization or central nervous dysfunction can be healed in this way, if you are just stuck with the emotional issues. Basically, Dr. Doidge, who is now a mind/body pain specialist, says there are six things to help heal the brain, which involves neurostimulation: Light, sound, electricity, vibration, movement, and thought (which turns on certain networks).

The idea is to work with the nervous system, not against it. Remember, Plum, when I said I was trying so hard to “challenge” the pain? I was revving it up even more, instead of soothing it, working with it. This is the key - at least for me. Dr. Doidge also created a map of the brain - both a pain map, where parts are lit up when you’re in pain, and one without pain, and to memorize it; then he said to visualize where your pain is on that map and mentally turn it off, referring to the map without pain. A woman he used as an example did this for 4 weeks, and 13 years of chronic pain was GONE. She could barely walk or talk before, due to a TMI. The changes were permanent!

So, it you are stuck, because your central nervous system is stuck on the danger signal, try this! I have every hope and confidence this will heal my brain - for good! ;)

Will keep you updated - but seriously, read this book!
 
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Jules, I'm giddy as a kipper reading this post. You sound all gorgeous and sparkly and I love it.

Given my partner's condition I'm pretty clued up on the nonsense and nocebo's the (old school) medical profession hold about the brain. I've read Dr. Doidge's book and it is fabulous. I like very much that he focuses on the brains unique way of healing and how it is a sensual organ. These are beautiful and inspiring insights that everyone should take to heart.

Your visualisation is great. Keep on keeping on and you will come out smiling. :)
 
Jules, this is awesome, great work, girl :joyful:

I am a HUGE believer in visualization, which can take many different forms, from very concrete to allegorical. One of my worst symptoms back in 2011 was increasingly disabling anxiety. The visualization I came up with was of the famous painting by Edvard Munch - The Scream. The figure in that painting was my anxiety. My visualization was to have my strong and able self banish my screaming anxiety until it ran away, disappearing into the distance, far far away from ME. Very powerful and effective.

Keep up the good work, Jules!

Jan

PS I am literally LOL over this:
plum said:
I'm giddy as a kipper
Click to expand...
:hilarious:
 
Good work Jules. I am so happy for you. Each person finds their own way, and now you're doing it. Just a few tastes of this experience of no pain goes very deep!!! What goes deep is the understanding that you have a flexible, workable mind-body situation that you are figuring out. Nothing I say can add to your experience, but I am celebrating with you.
 
Jules said:
The idea is to work with the nervous system, not against it. Remember, Plum, when I said I was trying so hard to “challenge” the pain? I was revving it up even more, instead of soothing it, working with it. This is the key - at least for me.
Click to expand...
Much of what I see with TMS is that it calls us to be "more ourselves." Both with the outer life, and the inner life. The TMS problem originates, at least partly because we're lost in what we think we should be (such as perfect or good). This bleeds over into our skill set with TMS. We tend to think we should be doing a certain thing, often following others, or trying to do our TMS work perfectly. This is the way we can inadvertently use TMS practices to continue what we did with the medical professionals who never helped us. Our anxiety and conditioning reenforces the view that we are not the natural center of the answer we are seeking. Then, somehow in the magic experience of finding our way out of the symptom hell-realms, there is an experience of release or freedom, a sense of more truly being ourselves, finding our own special way through. This is a process of individuation. This is something I see in you Jules, right now. Bravo!!

And maybe this individuation worked like this, which expressed a powerful inner boundary about what is right and wrong for you: I was just about to give up, when everyone who commented on my post got me thinking I was TMSing...big-time, and that I would not let ONE person’s opinion stop me (a book from a doctor I had read that stated that the brain can’t be healed), from completing this work, since I have gone through so much of it.
 
Jules said:
I was just about to give up, when everyone who commented on my post got me thinking I was TMSing...big-time, and that I would not let ONE person’s opinion stop me (a book from a doctor I had read that stated that the brain can’t be healed), from completing this work, since I have gone through so much of it. Since then, a remarkable thing happened. I was in great pain on Wed. I sat down, put some heat on and took some meds. I then WENT BACK TO WRITING. I further wrote 5 articles. Before I did so though, I closed my eyes and visualized my spinal cord and a little man running up it with a message to my brain of “DANGER! Release the pain signals!” Then, just as you would when swiping a message on your phone to delete it, I did just that. For five straight minutes, I imagined I was blocking this little man from running up my spinal cord to the brain, but I didn’t let him get that far. Guys, my pain WENT AWAY. Obviously, this will take time to master.
Click to expand...

That's fantastic Jules! So glad you turned away from the doubters, found your inner strength and didn't give up. You never know what's around the corner to give you help and hope. In fact, that's a thought that would keep me going through the darkest hardest times. "If I give up today, what if tomorrow is when something amazing happens?" Now you can build on that success and remember it when times get tough. You have made the pain go away and you can do it again as you rewire your brain.

I have read both of Dr Doidge's books and they are very good and inspirational, especially for a natural skeptic like me. He's an unassuming psychiatrist who gives lots of facts, not a 'woowoo' guy at all. A friend of mine was suffering greatly from the effects of a concussion and the neurosurgeon she saw gave her Dr Doidge's two books. Upon reading his books, I started visualizing, listening to music I loved, and started enjoying the smell of mint tea and flowers. Below is a link to him being interviewed on 'The National', which is a news program on the CBC network. CBC in Canada is like the BBC in the UK. If the link doesn't work, there are several links to Norman Doidge on Youtube.
 
Andy B said:
Much of what I see with TMS is that it calls us to be "more ourselves." Both with the outer life, and the inner life. The TMS problem originates, at least partly because we're lost in what we think we should be (such as perfect or good). This bleeds over into our skill set with TMS. We tend to think we should be doing a certain thing, often following others, or trying to do our TMS work perfectly. This is the way we can inadvertently use TMS practices to continue what we did with the medical professionals who never helped us. Our anxiety and conditioning reenforces the view that we are not the natural center of the answer we are seeking. Then, somehow in the magic experience of finding our way out of the symptom hell-realms, there is an experience of release or freedom, a sense of more truly being ourselves, finding our own special way through. This is a process of individuation. This is something I see in you Jules, right now. Bravo!!

And maybe this individuation worked like this, which expressed a powerful inner boundary about what is right and wrong for you: I was just about to give up, when everyone who commented on my post got me thinking I was TMSing...big-time, and that I would not let ONE person’s opinion stop me (a book from a doctor I had read that stated that the brain can’t be healed), from completing this work, since I have gone through so much of it.
Click to expand...

I think this is the main issue I have - whenever I have bad symptoms, I think about all the things I should be doing. I should exercise, do yoga, meditate more often. I criticise myself for not 'doing the healing properly' and I hear myself thinking 'You've known about TMS for X months now and you haven't recovered, you haven't made progress, you never will'

It's a challenge to override these thoughts with positive ones when symptoms are bad.
 
Jules said:
I was just about to give up, when everyone who commented on my post got me thinking I was TMSing...big-time, and that I would not let ONE person’s opinion stop me (a book from a doctor I had read that stated that the brain can’t be healed), from completing this work, since I have gone through so much of it. Since then, a remarkable thing happened. I was in great pain on Wed. I sat down, put some heat on and took some meds. I then WENT BACK TO WRITING. I further wrote 5 articles. Before I did so though, I closed my eyes and visualized my spinal cord and a little man running up it with a message to my brain of “DANGER! Release the pain signals!” Then, just as you would when swiping a message on your phone to delete it, I did just that. For five straight minutes, I imagined I was blocking this little man from running up my spinal cord to the brain, but I didn’t let him get that far. Guys, my pain WENT AWAY. Obviously, this will take time to master.

I now do this every time I get pain, and it works! I’m also reading an incredible book called, “The Brain’s Way of Healing” by Norman Doidge. It is remarkable. I think TMS, central sensitization or central nervous dysfunction can be healed in this way, if you are just stuck with the emotional issues. Basically, Dr. Doidge, who is now a mind/body pain specialist, says there are six things to help heal the brain, which involves neurostimulation: Light, sound, electricity, vibration, movement, and thought (which turns on certain networks).

The idea is to work with the nervous system, not against it. Remember, Plum, when I said I was trying so hard to “challenge” the pain? I was revving it up even more, instead of soothing it, working with it. This is the key - at least for me. Dr. Doidge also created a map of the brain - both a pain map, where parts are lit up when you’re in pain, and one without pain, and to memorize it; then he said to visualize where your pain is on that map and mentally turn it off, referring to the map without pain. A woman he used as an example did this for 4 weeks, and 13 years of chronic pain was GONE. She could barely walk or talk before, due to a TMI. The changes were permanent!

So, it you are stuck, because your central nervous system is stuck on the danger signal, try this! I have every hope and confidence this will heal my brain - for good! ;)

Will keep you updated - but seriously, read this book!
Click to expand...

You're finding your groove, Jules! You've now had the corrective experience that Alan talks about and you have something concrete and effective to work with. This experience can't be taken away from you and shows that this can be done. With repeated work doing the visualization your confidence will increase and the fear will start to recede.

As you are discovering, the trick for us driven types is finding a way to do this without getting revved up as you (perfectly) put it. What's helped me is trying to do TMS work from a perspective of self-care without thinking about the results as much. Ultimately, the goal is to have fewer less severe symptoms but on a day to day basis I am less focused on the results of a given meditation session or walk (exposure). Alan also talks about infusing the work with a sense of joy and in a recent podcast he mentioned that often times it's the energy behind the work that is the most important thing. The energy after all is yet another way to recondition fear and addressing fear may be the common therapeutic factor in all of the TMS therapies.

One final thought.... When you do get pain again it is actually a blessing because it gives you the opportunity to actually work through the fear. If your pain were to stop totally today the fear would still be there but working through it day by day in a graded way will take care of both the fear and the pain.

Keep up the good work (but don't work to hard) :)
 
Jules, this is so exciting! I'm very happy for you. It sounds like you were almost stunned. Beautiful things can do that. Happy happy,!
Lizzy
 
mm718 said:
Alan also talks about infusing the work with a sense of joy and in a recent podcast he mentioned that often times it's the energy behind the work that is the most important thing.
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Thanks for repeating this, mm. My TMS kicks up whenever I start sinking into what for me is long-standing and deep-seated cynicism. This simple statement could be the reminder I need to keep close by - the one that kicks me in the rear and out of the hole. Assuming that's where I want to be, of course ;) Intent is everything.

Alan's insights have always been, and continue to be, beautifully insightful and marvelously TRUE.
 
so great Jules!! And you will able to use your insights in the future process. The attitude and the spirit make such a difference. Cynicism is really a downer, tells you on the one hand that because you know it all and cannot be disappointed by the world anymore that you are on the top but in reality you are just deeply hurt and frustrated.
 
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