Conditioned responses. Any tips?

[Solange]

I think there's a recent audio download on the forum somewhere about conditioning but I don't have the technology to benefit from an MP3 download. So it's over to forum members for help here.

I've recently overcome two persistent conditioned responses quite successfully but now I'm confronting 'The Big One,' and I think this is the toughest one for me. I've read all the books, thought it all through and now I just have to do it. I've done a lot of visualization for this one but wondered if other people out there had found any other techniques useful for overcoming this type of problem, especially when discomfort/pain strikes.

 

[Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)]

I'll email Herbie to tell you about conditioned responses. He's more expert at explaining that.

 

[Eric "Herbie" Watson]

Ok , a conditioned response is when you are told that you might have a symptom. You take it as real, and then your conditioned to believe this response from fear or focus and fear.

Another condition response is bending at the knees cause you think you might hurt yourself- or you might get an achc somewhere and then you focus on it, and it becomes painful. Condition responses are in all forms of life, like if your mother told you that good people don't lie and you lied and felt guilty- well this could be a conditioned response.

Conditioned responses are usually triggered first by the stimuli that started it to begin with, like the salivating dogs that Pavlov conditioned by ringing the bell. Of course learning to not focus on every twinge of pain and not be fearful when you are hearing folks are getting the flu could be a great way to combat the conditioned response.

Conditioned responses are limitless, like you might wake up in the morning and feel fine, then you start to roll out of bed and bang you get a sharp pain in your right side, well if you focus on that pain and pamper it then focus on it and worry about it- of course you will become conditioned to it- hence the conditioned response.

What do you think might be your conditioned response Solange?

Here is the summary from walt on it and the Tuesday night discussion group meeting on the conditioned response- hope you enjoy- just click play and listen to it on your computer.

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/call-in-tuesday-nov-19-ozanich-chapter-15-conditioning.3070/

 

[Solange]

Thanks Walt and Eric. I'm definitely conditioned when it comes to bending, so that unfortunately covers a whole range of activities from picking stuff up from off the floor, putting on socks, opening low cupboard drawers,unloading the washing machine etc,etc. I'm sure you can imagine just how many other daily activities involve elements of bending.Since I started confronting this, I've been telling my brain that it's safe to do these things and that I want to do them and then gently starting a few selected activities while telling myself the whole time that they are safe.So far, I haven't felt pain while doing them but afterwards, I get a certain amount of discomfort(burning and stiffness in glutes and legs) which lasts but is tolerable. My conscious self knows this is so ridiculous but I still feel nervous anticipation before and while doing these things. I have to keep tight control of my thoughts afterwards so I tend to do them when alone in order not to be distracted at a crucial momnet and lose my grip!
I will listen to the link later today when I have time; thanks so much for organizing that for me.

 

[Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)]

Hi, Solange. Herbie explains conditioned responses so even I can understand it.

I'm so lucky I have no back pain from bending down. My dog Annie is a champion pooper
on the lawn in the backyard, and I am not in pain bending down and picking it up after
she does her thing several times a day.

 

[Forest]

Overcoming conditioned responses can always be difficult. I had to go through something similar with typing on a keyboard. I would get extreme pain in my hands and wrists when I typed. I was able to eliminate this response by learning about and putting to practice TMS. Once I began to truly believe my symptoms were benign I was able to reduce the fear I had over typing.

There is an excellent Q&A with an Expert article called How can I prevent a conditioned response. In it Alan Gordon writes,

A great way to eliminate conditioned responses is to sell yourself on the following: “It isn’t the sitting that’s causing my back pain, it’s the belief that sitting is causing my back pain that’s causing my back pain.”
​

Once I was able to understand that my symptoms were caused by my fear of typing, instead of typing itself, I was able to overcome this response, which is something that you can do as well. I highly suggest checking out the article I linked to above. It will be very helpful to you.