Day 30 changes in pain

Since starting the SEP, the pain has changed and moved around a lot. Now I notice it has a timing aspect. I notice the pain coming on in the evening as I prepare to go to bed, and it seems to be accompanied by a subtle kind of jitteriness. I started thinking this was due to mental fatigue at the end of the day, i.e., my ability to consciously classify pain as psychosomatic declined as I got tired, and my unconscious was taking over and goosing my autonomic nervous system. However, I wonder if this is a conditioned response. The pain is most intense upon waking up. The weird thing is that there's this little "delay" in the onset of pain when I first wake up, almost like my brain needs time to gin up some pain when it realizes I'm awake. That also seems to be tied to a kind of semiconscious mental state, as I'll start feeling better once I get up and shake out the cobwebs. A few hours later, I'll start feeling much better. Ever since starting the SEP, my pain level during the bulk of my workday is much improved over what it was a couple of months ago, which makes me think the SEP is helping, at least when I'm fully conscious. Has anyone dealt with such a "night pain" issue?

 

Hi, slainte. I've noticed that many others post about feeling "night pain." It seems to be part of the way our subconscious works to make us believe our symptoms are emotional, from TMS.

It's a good sign of healing that you have noticed less pain during your workday. That means you are getting at knowing the emotional causes of your pain.

I like turning off the tv and meditating or reading an hour or two before bedtime, and listening to relaxing music or watching relaxation videos on Youtube. I also sleep faster when I drink a cup of hot milk just before going to bed.

Keep positive. You are doing he right thing and will heal from TMS.

For jitteriness before bed, to get myself calm I like the Youtube videos by Thomas Hall and also by Michael Sealey. They are all relaxing.

 

Thanks for the reply. Did you mean to say "part of the way our subconscious works to make us believe our symptoms are not emotional"? One of the things I've wondered about after reading a lot on mind-body issues, is it a mistake to think that TMS problems only have emotional dimensions, i.e., is that bringing in the mind-body separation that Sarno and other argue against through the back door? That was what I was getting to when I was wondering whether the night onset I was describing might have something to do with mental fatigue. For example, if the prefrontal cortex is helping us deal with the unconscious mind and, by extension, the autonomic nervous system, by using TMS therapies like journaling to deal with anger and other emotional issues that definitely can have physical effects (as demonstrated by Sarno and others), could a "tired" prefrontal cortex reduce the effectiveness of such consciousness-based coping mechanisms? I know that some of my worst anxiety occurs when I'm kind of semi-conscious, e.g., when I wake up at 3am and everything is magnified because I don't have my full mental body armor deployed. God knows your unconscious is at play when you're dreaming, and it would stand to reason that, without your full consciousness to deal with it, it will kick on the pain cycle, especially if it was already in that mode when you went to sleep.

Maybe something like your suggested late-day meditation helps with that because it doesn't require a lot of task-focused mental energy, letting you bridge into sleep while still keeping the pain at bay with reduced conscious effort and reduction of stimulation of your autonomic nervous system. Generally, it might help to listen closely to your body, particularly your mind, and start getting ready for bed when you start feeling mental fatigue kick in, instead of sitting like a zombie in front of a TV or computer (books and music might be ok because they kind of take you out of yourself while not providing a lot of visual stimulation). If you think about how pre-modern life contrasts with our current existence, folks kind of quietly wound down after the sun went down, and didn't have artificial light, tv or the internet stimulating their conscious mind right before going to sleep.

 

I've begun to think that our subconscious does gives pain or other symptoms beyond repressed emotions and a perfectionist and goodist personalitu.
I think our emotions are varied and even everyday pressures and anxieties can cause or add to the pain. All of this works against us sleeping.

I don't get too technical or psychological about TMS and healing in general. I just believe in TMS and try to find ways to relax. I find the mindfulness videos on Youtube to be very helpful in preparing for sleep. It may sound simple and hard to believe, but hot milk relaxes me more than anything.
There are a lot of health benefits in it including how it calms my mind. It's really great before bedtime. My mother knew the benefits of hot milk.
When we were babies and kids, she gave my older brother and sister and me hot milk before we went to bed. We slept like "babies."