Day 1

What would a life without TMS mean to you?
Life without TMS would mean a resumption of full activity that enabled me to maintain a level of clarity and wellbeing on a daily basis. Although I was training heavily prior to developing TMS, I feel that since it has developed my energy levels and overall motivation has been at an all time low. This is obviously less then ideal given that I used physical activity as a method of dealing with day to day issues like stress, anxiety and overwhelming feelings.

I'm not saying a life without TMS would be all sugar coated roses but it would be reclaiming certain passions that I feel have been taken away from me since the development of TMS. I love walking...I walked the Camino De Santiago in Spain, The Great Ocean Road in Australia and would do this for upto 50kms a day, with a bag carrying all me belongings for that particular trip. This is something I crave so so much. I miss the adventures that life would take me on as I had no physical limitations. I miss getting up in the morning and wondering would challenges lay ahead of me. A life without TMS would be a life with far less limitations. Of course life is going to throw many challenges at me, but I want to get back the Gym, Running and Walking long distances as my way of dealing with any challenge that is thrown my way.

At the time of developing TMS I was training for a 100km Ultra Marathon and things have derailed since then (about 18months ago). I life without TMS would be taking challenges like these.

I love the quote by Mark Twain " Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"

This is what a life without TMS means to me...Exploring, dreaming and discovering new things.

 

Hi, Irishman. You write so well. Really clear and touching. You do not say what your pain is, but I take it that you believe it to be TMS.
Has a doctor checked you out for pain? Even if tests do show structural problems, they may very well be caused by TMS emotions, so you can do yourself no harm by doing the SEprogram and reading about TMS. You need to be positive and tell yourself you will again do those things you loved. The walks sound wonderful. I suggest, as Dr. Sarno and others do, that you resume normal activity and take walks again, even if they are not long. You will build up your self-confidence.

Mark Twain's quote is wonderful. Only someone who suffered could have written it. Life does throw challenges to us. The weak give in, but the strong do not quit; they overcome. You will overcome. Believe it!

I was on Irish soil only for about an hour, years ago, at Shannon airport enroute to the US army in Frankfurt, Germany. My favorite movie is
"The Quiet Man," although I am Austrian-Polish. My next-door neighbors came here from Ireland five years ago to work here, and they are very nice people.

Keep up the good work in the SEprogram and Happy Holidays!

 

Hello Irishman,

I agree with Walt here. I'm doing the SEP for the second time after a relapse 4 weeks ago... I too very much love being active, especially walking, but have been doing very little walking these past weeks because of the pain in my low left back, buttock, and leg (sciatica); but today i said to myself "to hell with it, I'm going for a walk - I'm off work today, it's nice out, I'm going to walk to the movies and treat myself to a movie". The theater is 1.5 miles from my apt, so I went. It hurt, I was in pain, and had to stop along the way to "alleviate" pressure, but I made it there and back, so 3 miles in total, and I feel fine. That is, while it did hurt WHILE I walked, I'm OK now. Walking has become a trigger for me, so I aim to break it because I just love it and living in fear of walking is worse that the pain I feel when doing it.

I hope you find some relief in doing this program, it really is amazing.

Blessings.

Kevin

 

Thanks for the wise words guys

Walt I have had Doctors looking at my pain. I saw a Back specialist who referred me to get an MRI and when we got the results he said...Green Light. You have no structural damage and his theory was building core muscles through strength and stretching exercises. This stuff definitely helps but I find whenever I engage in what I would deem normal physical activity...going for a run, tennis etc I feel very sore in the subsequent days. This is a massive motivation killer.

Anyway thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

Many Thanks,

Irish