Hi. I don't know if you have any issues with anxiety but as my symptoms started to lessen and move around(which took more than a few months of work) my anxiety started to go thru the roof. I had panic attacks years earlier, and this wasn't exactly panic attacks. It was more generalized, but it felt uncomfortable to be in my own skin. It was very difficult to relax. My somatic experiencing therapist would tell me that it was too tall of an order for my nervous system to try to completely relax but that I needed to find ways to work on just making it a little less, a little more manageable. This was very helpful advice. We tend to think very black and white, pain versus no pain, anxious versus relaxed and calm. And there is actually a whole spectrum in between. I still use that advice when I notice that I am getting really stressed out or anxious about something. How can I take the edge off and make it just a little bit less? I know how difficult it is not to monitor your symptoms, but it is crucial. I had a new pain symptom pop up three or four weeks ago. It was a few days before I realized my mind was going thru the same old patterns of worry, monitoring, trying to figure out the cause and potential course of action. I told my self that I would put it out of my mind best I could for a month or so and if was still bothering me I would go see a doctor. It took me about a week or so to actually stop thinking about it. I would notice that I was and then redirect myself to think about my life, work, journal etc.
Then this morning when I woke up I realized that the pain was gone. I truly don't know when it left. I know its challenging when the pain increases or moves around or another symptom appears. Be persistent, try to find strategies not to monitor, stick with it, and eventually you will reclaim your life without thinking about and experiencing pain all the time. I was in pain for over 20 years and it really is worth sticking with the TMS recovery work.
