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Am I experiencing extinction burst?

Steve J.

Steve J.

Well known member
The days are becoming more and more interesting, and more and more up and down. Yesterday, again for a couple of hours I felt essentially zero pain but my anxiety/depressive thinking was through the roof. The time I didn't feel pain I was laughing and having a fantastic time with a girl I've started to spend time with. Last night and today? Pain pain pain. All over. I have this inexplicable feeling inside of me that I'm on the cusp of something really awesome/terrifying. Can anybody relate to this? My mind definitely seems to be desperate to obsess, and when I don't give it the satisfaction, it hits the road...eventually. Even today with the increased pain, I'm definitely thinking about it, but I don't necessarily think I'm obsessing.
 
Steve J. said:
I have this inexplicable feeling inside of me that I'm on the cusp of something really awesome/terrifying. Can anybody relate to this? My mind definitely seems to be desperate to obsess...
Click to expand...

same problem except my mind doesn't want to let go and allow me to relax....even in the short periods when i am able to I can be sitting talking, watching tv, etc and get the other symptoms which restarts the cycle. Cannot get rid of the symptoms for any length of time, and this worries me even more.
 
mdh157 said:
same problem except my mind doesn't want to let go and allow me to relax....even in the short periods when i am able to I can be sitting talking, watching tv, etc and get the other symptoms which restarts the cycle. Cannot get rid of the symptoms for any length of time, and this worries me even more.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I understand that. The fact that you recognize that you can't get rid of the physical symptoms is part of the problem...if that makes any sense. It's not even ignoring the pain or being apathetic to it, it's that it's so far removed from the present it doesn't matter whether or not the symptoms are there, and, hell, maybe they'll go away. No, maybe not right now, or today, or next month...but eventually they will. And when they don't go away (and there are going to be plenty of times that they won't), we have to have the strength to stick to the present. It's a wild ride. Difficult as hell. But worth it.
 
In times of pain or anxiety or depression I find great and almost instant relief in deep breathing
and thinking positive. If all else fails, I laugh. Even half a minute of laughing and I feel better.

I remember that nothing is permanent, except a dog's love.
 
Hi Steve,
What you are describing seems to correlate with what Dr. Sarno found: that when the pain symptoms were there, there was less anxiety and depressive thinking, and visa versa. The best I can advise is treat the depressive thinking and the anxiety as TMS symptoms. It seems you are doing this in the post. You see it as all connected, all part of the same syndrome. Good work, and good luck. You seem to have copped a good attitude about the whole roller coaster ride!
Andy B.
 
I try to laugh as much as I can on the roller coaster ride.

The doo doo doesn't hit the fan as much as it used to, before I learned about TMS.

Andy, it looks like you're a skier. I never tried it but it looks great.
I love tennis and golf and wilderness canoeing in the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Waters.
 
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