Aura Migraine

[BagelSchnitzel]

Hi Guys,

Going through the symptom roulette at the moment. Having just conquered CPPS and Urgency to urinate over the weekend. I woke up yesterday morning with an aura migraine, that colourful fuzzyness in the left eye. I went straight back to bed and called in sick.

By the afternoon, I felt alright again and probably pushed myself abit too much, taking the dog out for a long walk in the bright sunshine, then packing for our holiday, watching TV, doing some work on the laptop and gaming in the evening for abit.

Today I got up at 5:30am and went for an early morning swim.

This afternoon whilst at work, I got another aura in the eye, fuzzyness, then the headache now as I write this post.

Did I push myself too much after the initial migraine, or is this my latest chronic symptom?

We're off on a family holiday tomorrow (the whole family) to France, so I imagine the stress from that and spending time with all the family and driving in a forign country (on the wrong side of the road) for the first time is probably compounded my sense of unease and making my brain feel unsafe.

Now coupled with the fact that I'm worried I'll get another Migraine whilst doing said driving isn't filling me with much hope.

I probably didn't help myself as I got reading about AI and how its going to be replacing a majority of jobs over the next 10 years, so my brain went into freakout mode on top of all the other stuff!

I guess I know the answer, its TMS and I need to go through the process again, its just super bad timing (as always, as its a warning sign after all!)

Thanks for reading whilst I vent.

 

[TG957]

You are experiencing a very typical effect of TMS recovery which spooks a lot of novices and sometimes turns them completely away. It is was named "extinction bursts" by Dr. Sarno. It is absolutely normal to see shifting symptoms, return of the symptoms and even stronger outbursts of symptoms after some improvements. Your recovery cannot be LINEAR!!!! You must stay the course and not freak out. Fear, conscious or subconscious, fuels your symptoms. If Dr. Sarno did not forewarn me in his book, I would have given up on TMS. Thanks to him, I stayed the course and fully recovered.

 

[Booble]

Ughhh-- those things are the worst!
I get those scintillating scotoma (auras) too. I hate them. And like you it's easy to worry about if one will come at an inopportune time.

The upcoming holiday and all that goes into that can definitely be a strong emotional trigger for an "eye thing."
Sarno talked about his own cancellation of a family trip because of symptoms and then exploring the emotions around that.

Try and let yourself feel whatever you are feeling. The anger and rage too even if your higher level thinking feels you shouldn't be angry about those things.
And stay well hydrated and try and avoid glare of the sun bouncing off/through other things.

PS. Try not to worry about the AI thing. (Though go ahead and rage about it!) Every generation since the industrial revolution worries about new technologies taking their jobs. Things may change a bit in how you do your job but there will always be related work for you to do.

 

[BagelSchnitzel]

Thanks Guys,

I can honestly say this place is the most supportive place on the Internet. You're both totally correct, I'm going to try and go easy on myself, keep reminding myself that I'm safe, stay hydrated and try and enjoy the time with family.

I think I'll take a step back and try and engage inquisitive mode and lean into the sensations and see where that takes me

Thanks for taking the time to reply, honestly feels like a weight off to right it down and vent on here

Also, thank god for Dr. Sarno and all those who continue to evolve his works.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

I guess I know the answer, its TMS and I need to go through the process again,

Indeed, you've been around long enough and you DO know the answer, my friend!

BUT: do you really need to "go through the process" again? Or is that your TMS brain trying to discourage you from looking at the scary stress that it's trying to repress because it thinks it's going to kill you? Based on my own experience, I think this is some TMS-level bullshit.

I've been doing this for 13 years and I was super successful in reclaiming my life from TMS back in 2011 thanks to Dr Sarno, the SEP, and other resources I discovered here. But we all know there's no such thing as a permanent cure from distraction-based symptoms. Stress is a fact of life, and our brains were literally designed to repress the negative emotions that result from dealing with everyday stress because they think that's the only way we can survive. They don't understand that in the modern world it's better for us to examine our negative emotions instead of repressing them.

So yeah, I get setbacks to varying degrees, but even the worst ones (RA flares with disabling pain and obvious swelling in my hands and wrists) are gone in 24 hours because 1) I assume they will be and 2) I take proactive measures to make that assumption happen.

I've actually never reread my one Sarno book, and I've never gone back to redo the SEP. What I learned from the SEP is what works for me in a setback, which is writing. "Writing shit down" I like to say. I use crappy old paper, and I throw it out right away. Doing the SEP taught me how to write with complete honesty and no editing of what I put on the paper.

Get out the pen and some paper and set aside twenty minutes before you go to bed to write down whatever is lurking in your subconscious. Nicole Sachs says that it takes more than 10 minutes to get to the point where you can allow the subconscious and unconscious stuff to start leaking through the surface chatter. She also recommends that writing be followed by 10 minutes of meditation, but this is the part that my particular brain is very resistant too. And I tell you, the writing works for me. How many days? I have no answer to that! My ability is such that I can figure out what's bugging me very quickly, but my life is extremely simple in retirement, and I don't have anything like the same stresses that I had back in the day. Travel is very stressful, and family travel has a ton of additional stress and expectations. (Expectations are prime fodder for TMS!)

I urge you to go Nicole Sachs' web page on writing. Just search "Nicole Sachs JournalSpeak" and you'll find the page immediately.

I actually do three things for a serious setback, and the only one that requires a time commitment is the writing. The other two are mindful breathing (so easy to forget) and being mindful in general to: 1) think psychologically instead of physically, and 2) step back from pressure. I really try to do those things all the time, but it's not easy to maintain, because we are so f'ing distractable and naturally so inclined to be negative!

Which is the best reason there is to always question the truthfulness of your primitive TMS brain! (Refer back to my initial rhetorical question
)
One final reminder phrase that I love (from my TMS coach/therapist):
Pressure leads to Judgement which leads to Repression (of negative emotions) which leads to Symptoms.

I hope you have a wonderful vacation! And just remind yourself to remain mindful as you get used to driving on the right (aka the "right") side of the road.

 

[Booble]

Indeed, you've been around long enough and you DO know the answer, my friend!

BUT: do you really need to "go through the process" again? Or is that your TMS brain trying to discourage you from looking at the scary stress that it's trying to repress because it thinks it's going to kill you? Based on my own experience, I think this is some TMS-level bullshit.

I've been doing this for 13 years and I was super successful in reclaiming my life from TMS back in 2011 thanks to Dr Sarno, the SEP, and other resources I discovered here. But we all know there's no such thing as a permanent cure from distraction-based symptoms. Stress is a fact of life, and our brains were literally designed to repress the negative emotions that result from dealing with everyday stress because they think that's the only way we can survive. They don't understand that in the modern world it's better for us to examine our negative emotions instead of repressing them.

So yeah, I get setbacks to varying degrees, but even the worst ones (RA flares with disabling pain and obvious swelling in my hands and wrists) are gone in 24 hours because 1) I assume they will be and 2) I take proactive measures to make that assumption happen.

I've actually never reread my one Sarno book, and I've never gone back to redo the SEP. What I learned from the SEP is what works for me in a setback, which is writing. "Writing shit down" I like to say. I use crappy old paper, and I throw it out right away. Doing the SEP taught me how to write with complete honesty and no editing of what I put on the paper.

Get out the pen and some paper and set aside twenty minutes before you go to bed to write down whatever is lurking in your subconscious. Nicole Sachs says that it takes more than 10 minutes to get to the point where you can allow the subconscious and unconscious stuff to start leaking through the surface chatter. She also recommends that writing be followed by 10 minutes of meditation, but this is the part that my particular brain is very resistant to. And I tell you, the writing works for me. How many days? I have no answer to that! My ability is such that I can figure out what's bugging me very quickly, but my life is extremely simple in retirement, and I don't have anything like the same stresses that I had back in the day. Travel is very stressful, and family travel has a ton of additional stress and expectations. (Expectations are prime fodder for TMS!)

I urge you to go Nicole Sachs' web page on writing. Just search "Nicole Sachs JournalSpeak" and you'll find the page immediately.

I actually do three things for a serious setback, and the only one that requires a time commitment is the writing. The other two are mindful breathing (so easy to forget) and being mindful in general to: 1) think psychologically instead of physically, and 2) step back from pressure. I really try to do those things all the time, but it's not easy to maintain, because we are so f'ing distractable and naturally so inclined to be negative!

Which is the best reason there is to always question the truthfulness of your primitive TMS brain! (Refer to my initial rhetorical question)

One final reminder phrase that I love (from my TMS coach/therapist):
Pressure leads to Judgement which leads to Repression (of negative emotions) which leads to Symptoms.

I hope you have a wonderful vacation! And just remind yourself to remain mindful as you get used to driving on the right (aka the "right") side of the road.

Great post, @JanAtheCPA. Very helpful reminders for all of us.

 

[BagelSchnitzel]

Indeed, you've been around long enough and you DO know the answer, my friend!

BUT: do you really need to "go through the process" again? Or is that your TMS brain trying to discourage you from looking at the scary stress that it's trying to repress because it thinks it's going to kill you? Based on my own experience, I think this is some TMS-level bullshit.

I've been doing this for 13 years and I was super successful in reclaiming my life from TMS back in 2011 thanks to Dr Sarno, the SEP, and other resources I discovered here. But we all know there's no such thing as a permanent cure from distraction-based symptoms. Stress is a fact of life, and our brains were literally designed to repress the negative emotions that result from dealing with everyday stress because they think that's the only way we can survive. They don't understand that in the modern world it's better for us to examine our negative emotions instead of repressing them.

So yeah, I get setbacks to varying degrees, but even the worst ones (RA flares with disabling pain and obvious swelling in my hands and wrists) are gone in 24 hours because 1) I assume they will be and 2) I take proactive measures to make that assumption happen.

I've actually never reread my one Sarno book, and I've never gone back to redo the SEP. What I learned from the SEP is what works for me in a setback, which is writing. "Writing shit down" I like to say. I use crappy old paper, and I throw it out right away. Doing the SEP taught me how to write with complete honesty and no editing of what I put on the paper.

Get out the pen and some paper and set aside twenty minutes before you go to bed to write down whatever is lurking in your subconscious. Nicole Sachs says that it takes more than 10 minutes to get to the point where you can allow the subconscious and unconscious stuff to start leaking through the surface chatter. She also recommends that writing be followed by 10 minutes of meditation, but this is the part that my particular brain is very resistant too. And I tell you, the writing works for me. How many days? I have no answer to that! My ability is such that I can figure out what's bugging me very quickly, but my life is extremely simple in retirement, and I don't have anything like the same stresses that I had back in the day. Travel is very stressful, and family travel has a ton of additional stress and expectations. (Expectations are prime fodder for TMS!)

I urge you to go Nicole Sachs' web page on writing. Just search "Nicole Sachs JournalSpeak" and you'll find the page immediately.

I actually do three things for a serious setback, and the only one that requires a time commitment is the writing. The other two are mindful breathing (so easy to forget) and being mindful in general to: 1) think psychologically instead of physically, and 2) step back from pressure. I really try to do those things all the time, but it's not easy to maintain, because we are so f'ing distractable and naturally so inclined to be negative!

Which is the best reason there is to always question the truthfulness of your primitive TMS brain! (Refer back to my initial rhetorical question
)
One final reminder phrase that I love (from my TMS coach/therapist):
Pressure leads to Judgement which leads to Repression (of negative emotions) which leads to Symptoms.

I hope you have a wonderful vacation! And just remind yourself to remain mindful as you get used to driving on the right (aka the "right") side of the road.

Fantastic response, thanks, I'll look into the Journaling with Nicole Sachs.

Time to hit the road. Wish me luck

 

[Booble]

Fantastic response, thanks, I'll look into the Journaling with Nicole Sachs.

Time to hit the road. Wish me luck

Bon Voyage!

 

[JaneSandyJane]

Hi Guys,

Going through the symptom roulette at the moment. Having just conquered CPPS and Urgency to urinate over the weekend. I woke up yesterday morning with an aura migraine, that colourful fuzzyness in the left eye. I went straight back to bed and called in sick.

By the afternoon, I felt alright again and probably pushed myself abit too much, taking the dog out for a long walk in the bright sunshine, then packing for our holiday, watching TV, doing some work on the laptop and gaming in the evening for abit.

Today I got up at 5:30am and went for an early morning swim.

This afternoon whilst at work, I got another aura in the eye, fuzzyness, then the headache now as I write this post.

Did I push myself too much after the initial migraine, or is this my latest chronic symptom?

We're off on a family holiday tomorrow (the whole family) to France, so I imagine the stress from that and spending time with all the family and driving in a forign country (on the wrong side of the road) for the first time is probably compounded my sense of unease and making my brain feel unsafe.

Now coupled with the fact that I'm worried I'll get another Migraine whilst doing said driving isn't filling me with much hope.

I probably didn't help myself as I got reading about AI and how its going to be replacing a majority of jobs over the next 10 years, so my brain went into freakout mode on top of all the other stuff!

I guess I know the answer, its TMS and I need to go through the process again, its just super bad timing (as always, as its a warning sign after all!)

Thanks for reading whilst I vent.

I'm so sorry to hear you aren't feeling well!! What have you done so far to treat this? I am the lady who was sick for DECADES with migraine -- and since becoming symptom free, never had a problem with it ever again. Good luck!!!