Bucket of rage?

I’m only 10 days into my TMS journey, but I can’t get over a fundamental concept....I have ready Sarno books and another book, I can’t remember the author....

If there is an internal bucket of rage that overfills creating physical symptoms then why does just recognizing this solve the issue? Shouldn’t you have to resolve the rage issues? Otherwise the bucket would still be full but now you just recognize it.....any insights?

 

Hello! You have a very good question. You're much farther ahead than me. Good luck as you continue! I just came across this stuff a week ago and think that my chronic pelvic pain/tightness is all connected to TMS. Maybe you could explain a concern I have. I seen on a few web sites where "narcissistic rage" is mentioned. Is that implying that all sufferers of TMS are narcissists? I hope I don't find that out about myself! Thanks.

 

Hi @johnnieboy and welcome! This is a good question, and also a good example of a very common misperception about the brain mechanism that results in the symptoms that we conveniently label "TMS" - in honor of Dr. Sarno's theories, which form the basis of our recovery processes.

Feel free to read my profile, where I list my (many) favorite resources for learning about the mind-body connection, and how we can learn to heal and care for our bodies by changing our minds.

My "big picture" answer to your question is this: TMS is a mind-body condition. The one thing about our minds that you must always remember is that every single one of us is unique. The good news and the bad news together is that there is absolutely no "one size fits all" definition OR recovery path for TMS.

More specifically - TMS doesn't just manifest as physical symptoms - it also manifests as mental and/or emotional ones. One person's narcissistic rage is another person's OCD or depression, and yet another person's back pain or GI issues.

That will hopefully get you started in this work - and there's plenty more. Good luck!

~Jan

 

Great questions:

“If there is an internal bucket of rage that overfills creating physical symptoms then why does just recognizing this solve the issue?”

It can and has for some. However, if the symptoms have become conditioned response, then they will still remain. That was the genius of Dr. Sarno to realize the two heads of TMS:
1. Repressed anger and rage
2. Conditioned response

“Shouldn’t you have to resolve the rage issues? Otherwise the bucket would still be full but now you just recognize it.....any insights?”

Yes, you do eventually but also it may be resolved by how you respond to the situation. I learned from TMS experience that I needed to learn new empowering concepts and more effective skills dealing with my marital conflicts and overbearing parents. I talk about this in detail in the last chapter of Rapid Recovery from Back and Neck Pain. Once I learned new ways of dealing with the same old frustrating and tense issues TMS became a thing vanquished.