Hi, TeriL. Welcolme to the TMS Wiki community. You are in very good and caring company.
I believe that digestive problems are emotional stress-related. We get upset stomachs and they may, among other things, make it difficult for us to swallow our food. You have done the right thing and gotten checked out, and nothing structural was found. That can mean the problem is emotional.
The Structured Educational Program will help you to discover repressed emotions that cause your symptoms. You had success getting rid of your back pain ten years ago by believing it was caused by your emotions. Maybe something recent has triggered the past repressed emotions, or something new is causing yoi to be emotionally upset.
You are right, that the subconscious mind moves symptoms around. The more you convince yourself that TMS emotions cause your digestive problem, the faster you will heal. Journaling in the SEProgram helped me to get rid of severe back pain, as it has helped many others to heal.
Keep positive, keep working in the SEProgram. Practice deep breathing and meditation.
Meditation is a time-honored way of relaxing the mind and relieving anxiety, mental stress, headaches, and even physical pain. There are many ways to practice meditation, but many consider the most successful to be a technique called the Relaxation Response (RR).
It is a wonderful way to practice TMS Mindbody Healing because it changes harmful thinking in the subconscious mind which Dr. John Sarno says causes pain in many people.
The RR, practiced daily for a few minutes has a profound positive effect on the subconscious mind, relieving or curing everything from inflammation and pain to headaches, stomach problems, insomnia, high blood pressure, to even aiding in recovery from cancer.
RR is like Transcendental Meditation which is taught by TM specialists who charge hundreds or thousands of dollars. But the RR is free and you can do it yourself.
It is done 10 to 20 minutes once or twice a day, before a meal
, and works best if not practiced within two hours after a meal. I do it in bed before arising in the morning and again in bed before falling sleep. Often, I only do it 5 or 10 minutes and it works to calm me and put me to sleep.
Just sit in a chair (or lie in bed in the morning or at bedtime), close your eyes, don’t listen to any music, and try to avoid outside noises. Let your mind think of a word such as "One " which has no real meaning or association. Or say a calming word such as “Peace,” or add the faith or spiritual element by saying a favorite religious word. Breathe in through the nose, hold the breath for a few seconds, then say the word when you exhale.
Say the word silently over and over. At the end of the 10 to 20 minutes, picture and feel yourself as you were when you felt your best, and in a place where you felt that way.
When distracting thoughts arise during the RR, as they will, just tell yourslf, “Oh, well,” and go back to repeating your chosen word. Transcendental Meditation teachers will charge hundreds of dollars to give practitioners a word, but the word you choose yourself in the RR works just as well.
There are several free videos on Youtube about the Relaxation Response. I especially recommend these two by Dr. Benson:
