Complex injury...is doubt blocking my recover?

New here. Recently came across "Healing Back Pain". Remember sitting on my couch with two ankle wraps, two wrist braces and significant back pain (which I've had for nearly 10 years). Sure I was a slowly deteriorating after a lifetime of hard hitting sports and adventure, I felt doomed. I was in despair. A series of steps (in retrospect not by accident) led me to Sarnos work. Quite literally, 3 days after reading "Healing Back Pain", pain in shoulder, knee, back and neck was gone. Still somewhat in shock. However, I have one nagging "injury" that is not letting up. At least not consistently. I'm using Dr Gordon's program now but feel reaching out might help. I have a complex injury that I'm worried is insurmountable. There is some evidence that there is no significant issue with my ankle, but some issues with nerves that worry me. I got the stereo type to a T by the way. Any suggestions?

 

Hi, Bodhi. It's great that you healed from most of your pain so soon after reading Dr. Sarno's book. It means that most if not all of your pain is caused by repressed emotions or a perfectionist or "goodist" personality, overdoing wanting to be helpful and liked.

I urge you to start the Structured Educational Program, free in the subforum of this web site. It will help you to discover the emotional causes of your ankle or other pain. But don't worry that the pain is structural. You need to believe 100 percent that it is TMS emotional. You will be healed and active again in sports and other activities.

I also suggest you re-read Dr. Sarno's 12 Daily Reminders and also the extended version written by Herbie, another who healed from TMS:

Herbie’s Extended Version of Dr. Sarno’s 12 DAILY REMINDERS

1. The pain is due to TMS. This is real pain or anxiety but it is caused by subconscious tensions and triggers, stressors and traits to your reactions and fears and also when at boiling point your conscious tension can and does also cause real pain.
2. The main reason for the pain is mild oxygen deprivation. This means that when you get in pain or anxiety then the blood is restricted from going to your lower back, for instance. The blood being restricted causes oxygen deprivation which causes the pain. Remember, where there is no oxygen then there is pain in the body. Also, the pain stays because of fear.
3. TMS is a harmless condition caused by my REPRESSED EMOTIONS so even though you think you can harm yourself from the years of pain you have felt and how you feel in general -- so far no reports have been heard from TMS healing knowledge causing damage to anyone, it only helps.
4. The principle emotion is your repressed ANGER -- this means under your consciousness lies something that happens automatically to everyone. TMSers have repressions that are stored because of our personality traits, traumas, stressors, fears, strain, etc... When these stored repressions build and build, then eventually they cause the brain to send pain into your body to keep you from having an emotional crises. The mind-body thinks it is helping you.
5. TMS exists to DISTRACT your attentions from the emotions, stressors, tensions and strains of your personality traits because if you can get distraction then you won’t have to be in emotional turmoil. When you don't face and feel your emotions and they get repressed because you didn't want to deal with something -- they are just adding up in this beaker, ready to pour over and create real pain and anxiety in your body.
6. Since my body is perfectly normal, there is nothing to fear. So in reality when I fear the pain or anxiety I just cause myself undo strain and tension adding to the beaker of pain. If I fear, then I feed the pain, If I fear, it’s impossible to recondition. Fear keeps the pain and anxiety alive in the body through focus.
7. Therefore, physical activity is harmless. If I want to work against the pain I could but it’s better to lose some of the pain so when I start my life over I have to be in pain trying to heal because facing the repressions and all the other activities that cause the pain and reversing my fear and focus to them, then I can heal.
8. I am resuming all normal physical activity. I don't fear moving anymore. I believe in my body’s ability to heal now. I can move as I want. I will not fear moving with a bent back anymore. I will also practice going out and acting normal again, not in fear of what pain might do to me.
9. The pain is unimportant and powerless. Its only power is how it is hidden -- its illusion, its fear.
10. I will keep my attention on the emotional issues. I will think about my emotions and feel my emotions throughout the day. I will not judge, criticize or fear my emotions. I will not run from my emotional issues but face every one of them. I will feel my emotions fully and cry if I need to. Then I will release the emotion and get my mind and thoughts back to my life and living in the present.
11. I am in control of all of this. This is how I recover.
12. I will be thinking PSYCHOLOGICALLY AT ALL TIMES. This means I will keep my thoughts on psychological issues like happiness, fear and anger -- traits and triggers, conditioning and journaling -- The science behind mind-body/TMS healing, etc.... This way I will not feed my thoughts to the body -- that is a trick of TMS. TMS will always try to get me to focus on the body caused by the pain until I break its show and flair. When I get my attention off physical symptoms and on to emotional issues and psychological issues then I will not feed the fear of the physical issues anymore, thus making the TMS of no pain effect on the body. This will in return, give us the cure and become pain-free.

 

Walt,
Thank you so much for the quick response. I've begun Alan Gordon's program as a starter a couple days ago and will move on the the structured program as soon as I am done. It has been helpful. Interestingly enough, I began creating my my own extended reminders based off of Sarnos 12. The extended reminders here are perfect. I will use them. Happy holidays And thank you for the optimism.
Best,
Anthony

 

Good for you for reaching out - sharing and getting some help. Thanks Walt for those reminders!

We often think our injuries or personal situations are "complex" I feel the same way about my current circumstances. It takes awhile to unravel sometimes. But these "complexities" are not unique. Feel free to share more about it.

I myself am trying to bring it back to the psychological - one breath at a time.

Sounds like you have had quite a breakthrough. Slowly, more information will unfold as you uncover your feelings.

Welcome to the forum

Miss Lucy