My Day 3 was phenomenal! Had my first pain-free day in over 2 years. Today, I'm back to stressing. I just need to continue and stick to the plan.This is the best day yet and it's only Day 4I can learn to run through the fear of "I'm damaging this" or "I'm hurting that". And even forget about "that was a tough run" or "that was my fastest run". My challenge is to run and enjoy it and not worry about the outcome
-
Alan has completed the new Pain Recovery Program. To read or share it, use this updated link: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/
-
Welcome to the new TMS Wiki server! Things aren't finished yet: email is not set up, so notification and password-reset emails don't go out, and new registrations are paused until email is installed. Details and updates are in this thread (click here). Locked out? Email tmswikisignups@gmail.com from the address where you receive TMS Wiki notifications.
New Program Day 4: Breaking the Pain Cycle
- Thread starter Alan Gordon LCSW
- Start date
PlainJane
New Member
I've been away from this site for a bit, listening to a special that lasted 9 days called Proven. I was hoping they might mention TMS but they only got close. It was quite a good program, and I haven't quit my work of healing, just haven't been putting in the time here, which I plan to get back into. I'm still faithfully meditating, currently focusing on anxiety. I totally get why I ended up getting a problem with anxiety. Sixteen years of having a monitor between my parent's room and my own and having to be awakened suddenly in the middle of the night to help my mom (and my dad the second year) pretty much every night for about 10 of those years, really messed with my fight or flight center. Though not an anxious sort of human at all, it's been a strange experience. It can go away now! Yeah, it will take time. I am a patient woman, but man, I've been having a lot of pain and anxiety with my Extinction Burst. Again, it can go away now! LOL
So, I'm looking forward to coming back here and continuing this process, my road to health. For the amount of years I've been suffering and the many types of pain and problems I have, I know it will take time to see any true progress. But hearing 'a pain free day' from someone else is encouraging!!!
Lastly, I really still don't know how this website works, but I got an email that someone had written and came here. Sorry to have written so much about me, but it does help me to do so. *eek* I'm so happy for you that your day 3 was phenomenal! Yea!!!
So, I'm looking forward to coming back here and continuing this process, my road to health. For the amount of years I've been suffering and the many types of pain and problems I have, I know it will take time to see any true progress. But hearing 'a pain free day' from someone else is encouraging!!!
Lastly, I really still don't know how this website works, but I got an email that someone had written and came here. Sorry to have written so much about me, but it does help me to do so. *eek* I'm so happy for you that your day 3 was phenomenal! Yea!!!
Hopevsheadaches
Newcomer
Thank you for this post. I am so fearful, more on some days than others. I will rewatch this video over and over when I feel scared of the pain. Thank you for this PAGE!
ShiningViolet
Newcomer
I'm new on this road to health through learning to stop being afraid of my pain. I was very interested in the video of the woman who had neck pain while driving. I often wonder though, when it is said that there is "no structural problem" so there is really nothing wrong with the body, etc. I accept that many of my aches and pains are not due to broken bones, let's say. But if there is muscle spasm, it can be excruciating, and the muscle is like a rock. It can be helped sometimes with heat, or massage, or muscle relaxants. But I don't believe I can just "ignore" the pain and move it like normal, knowing I'm not hurting anything. Isn't is possible if I try to do that, I could possibly tear the muscle, or a ligament or something, around it? Appreciate your thoughts on this. I've not seen it mentioned anywhere!
3-8-22. I’m Sold
I have been struggling with persistent pain in my lower back & hips for 6 months now. It comes and goes, it moves from hip to hip, but it’s always there.
This morning when I got out of bed it was so bad in my left hip that I could walk only by partially supporting my weight on various pieces of furniture. Usually it’s at its worst at that time of day, although not always this bad. Typically I put a heat pack on it and by the time the pack has cooled, I can go about my planned activity.
Today my planned activity was a 30-minute easy run. After my heat pack, twice, and even some ibuprophen, I still couldn’t put weight on my left leg without support. No way could I run on it!
But I had just this morning read “Day 4” of the Pain Recovery Program, in which Alan describes a similar situation for himself with pain on his daily walks.
I decided to do as he did. I’d take my 30 minutes as a walk, not a run, and use my cane to do so. Whereas ordinarily I’d spend the time fretting about what that meant for my return-to-running schedule, my race schedule for the year, my whole life as an athlete, I focused on a different outcome: just to enjoy the walk. I immersed my senses in the natural beauty surrounding me and my mind in his positive affirmations, plus a few: I’m strong and powerful, filled with light; I’m a formidable athlete; I’ll be ok. Since a lot of the fear and anger that I habitually stuff relate to the world situation, I added some affirmations around them: The world will be ok; it’s filled with powerful forces for good, and people filled with light.
By the time I had walked 20 minutes, I was carrying my cane; by the time I got to the house, my hips were swinging freely. I ate some breakfast and still felt so good that I put my coat back on and went out and did my run, fully enjoying every step.
I have been struggling with persistent pain in my lower back & hips for 6 months now. It comes and goes, it moves from hip to hip, but it’s always there.
This morning when I got out of bed it was so bad in my left hip that I could walk only by partially supporting my weight on various pieces of furniture. Usually it’s at its worst at that time of day, although not always this bad. Typically I put a heat pack on it and by the time the pack has cooled, I can go about my planned activity.
Today my planned activity was a 30-minute easy run. After my heat pack, twice, and even some ibuprophen, I still couldn’t put weight on my left leg without support. No way could I run on it!
But I had just this morning read “Day 4” of the Pain Recovery Program, in which Alan describes a similar situation for himself with pain on his daily walks.
I decided to do as he did. I’d take my 30 minutes as a walk, not a run, and use my cane to do so. Whereas ordinarily I’d spend the time fretting about what that meant for my return-to-running schedule, my race schedule for the year, my whole life as an athlete, I focused on a different outcome: just to enjoy the walk. I immersed my senses in the natural beauty surrounding me and my mind in his positive affirmations, plus a few: I’m strong and powerful, filled with light; I’m a formidable athlete; I’ll be ok. Since a lot of the fear and anger that I habitually stuff relate to the world situation, I added some affirmations around them: The world will be ok; it’s filled with powerful forces for good, and people filled with light.
By the time I had walked 20 minutes, I was carrying my cane; by the time I got to the house, my hips were swinging freely. I ate some breakfast and still felt so good that I put my coat back on and went out and did my run, fully enjoying every step.
riv44
Well known member
Is Walt still here? It is 2022 now- I haven't been active here in a long time, but returned a week ago because of a relapse. Getting older has revealed some physical problems that were activated by mind-body problems in my youth. (To put it more frankly, my mother had cancer for 15 years, and I developed an eating disorder in my 20s, as a mind-body response to grief and anger.) Decades later I have gastritis and esophagitis that sometimes- not always (big TMS clue) cause painful symptoms. I need a new physical workup but am also fearful of my annual physical. I have had the same doctor for 25 years, so it's not impersonal, but I feel when bloodwork is done and it suggests problems developing- I feel that I have failed. I am 3 inches shorter and 10 pounds heavier than I used to be, and as a woman in a body-shaming culture, body dysmorphia reigns.
I might get some new MRI images and bring them to Dr Martinez in Boston- a Sarno trained spine specialist.
I might get some new MRI images and bring them to Dr Martinez in Boston- a Sarno trained spine specialist.
riv44
Well known member
Did you ever get told to do the Low Fodmap diet? That drove me nuts. Not only was there something wrong with me, there was something wrong with food! A fine pickle!
Hi all, I grew up as a workaholic kid, then adult. I had cancer 7 years ago with 32 rounds of radiation and 2 rounds of chemo. I thought my pain (similar to peripheral neuropathy) was as a result of treatment. Seems like that was only part of the issue. During the pandemic, I was forced to stay home with my anxious husband and not go to work - I had a panic attack. Last time I had one I was in a very strenuous MBA program while working. I'm on THC/CBD 1:20 which helps a lot with anxiety. Dr. Sarno's book was eye-opening. As an LCSW myself, I should have known more about this. Guess it was too close too home.
1speechpick
New Member
Fear is the center of the issue for me. I could make so much progress if I could manage the fear aspect.
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
In fact, that is the second thing you must do, right after reading The Divided Mind (also my favorite book by Dr Sarno, and his last).
The second book that saved my life, and the lives of countless others over many decades, is Hope and Help For Your Nerves, by Claire Weekes. It's all about fear and anxiety.
It's true that you can't effectively do this work if you don't also address your anxiety.
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
The other thing you need to know is that what Dr Sarno called TMS is actually a primitive brain mechanism that was designed to send us into fight-or-flight mode as a means of survival in the primitive world. I can't tell you that it was well-designed. It just evolved, and this is what we've got.
The problem is that this mechanism evolved millenia ago, and I guess it worked pretty well to cope with the few simple dangers of the primitive world, and it did so for tens of thousands of years and humans survived and thrived, right?
However, it works for absolute shit in the modern world, which has been a tiny fraction of human development. In our world, we are constantly bombarded with stressors, and we live many decades longer than our ancestors, and we learn to worry about the future before we are even a decade old.
There are a number of different ways this can manifest:
Whenever you stress out about some modern issue, your TMS brain worries that you'll be too distracted by your emotions to watch out for sabre-tooth tigers waiting to eat you, so it will repress your emotional response to the stress, and replace it with a symptom to create fear and anxiety so you stay on high alert for danger.
If you are currently in a dysfunctional domestic or work relationship, your nervous system will respond to each daily stress that you encounter as if you've just seen a tiger about to eat you, because it literally doesn't know the difference. This leads you to live in a constant state of fight or flight, which is physically unsustainable.
AND, if you suffered from any form of childhood trauma or adversity, your brain will have been repressing your natural response to that for many years, creating physical symptoms along with fear, anxiety, and and dysfunctional coping mechanisms to avoid receiving negative attention.
Doing this work requires making a commitment to overcome old patterns and embrace emotional vulnerability and curiosity instead of fear and repression. This is easier said than done, but the good news is that it absolutely can be done. And our wonderful community is here to provide the resources and support you will need to embark on this new path!
~Jan
The problem is that this mechanism evolved millenia ago, and I guess it worked pretty well to cope with the few simple dangers of the primitive world, and it did so for tens of thousands of years and humans survived and thrived, right?
However, it works for absolute shit in the modern world, which has been a tiny fraction of human development. In our world, we are constantly bombarded with stressors, and we live many decades longer than our ancestors, and we learn to worry about the future before we are even a decade old.
There are a number of different ways this can manifest:
Whenever you stress out about some modern issue, your TMS brain worries that you'll be too distracted by your emotions to watch out for sabre-tooth tigers waiting to eat you, so it will repress your emotional response to the stress, and replace it with a symptom to create fear and anxiety so you stay on high alert for danger.
If you are currently in a dysfunctional domestic or work relationship, your nervous system will respond to each daily stress that you encounter as if you've just seen a tiger about to eat you, because it literally doesn't know the difference. This leads you to live in a constant state of fight or flight, which is physically unsustainable.
AND, if you suffered from any form of childhood trauma or adversity, your brain will have been repressing your natural response to that for many years, creating physical symptoms along with fear, anxiety, and and dysfunctional coping mechanisms to avoid receiving negative attention.
Doing this work requires making a commitment to overcome old patterns and embrace emotional vulnerability and curiosity instead of fear and repression. This is easier said than done, but the good news is that it absolutely can be done. And our wonderful community is here to provide the resources and support you will need to embark on this new path!
~Jan
Aerobichonomo
Newcomer
How are you today? Still in remission?
I felt this. It brought me to tears.
butterfly86
New Member
Just wow! watching the Video and seeing her get emotional made me tear up as i could relate very well with her and what she was feeling. I think when you have been in pain for so long you kinda feel like youll never be free from it. Or question how can it be so simple..
thankyou for this lesson looking forward to tomorows one.
thankyou for this lesson looking forward to tomorows one.