Does TMS healing of one symptom suggest that other symptoms are also TMS?

[Shajarcito]

Hi again,

In my last posts I depicted my story, including the various symptoms I have since about a year: RSI of my right hand, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, anxiety (and particularly health anxiety), mood swings, upper back pain, chest, and shoulders pain and especially tightness of these organs. Recently, the symptoms became more weakness oriented than pain oriented. That made me more anxious about the possibility of terrible neurological diseases (still waiting for my next neurological evaluation).

In the meantime, as a result of some dots I connected between my RSI pain on the right hand and certain repressed emotions, this pain healed by 80%! I was so amazed since I have already tried many times to connect dots between potential repressed emotions with occurring symptoms (including this particular symptom), without any success.

The wrist pain began just after several yoga sessions, almost one year ago. I used to relate this pain to the yoga poses and maybe to my (possibly) degenerated muscles. As a hypochondria the pain was symbolic for me: It represented a muscular disease such as Als or inflammatory illnesses such AS. It’s interesting that the pain itself wasn't as much interrupting with my life. In fact I felt the pain only when I tried to lean on my hand, even gently. Sometimes I could not lean on the hand at all. It was very weird and scary experience that led my brain to wire the idea of asymmetrical muscle weakness.

The healing started recently, after reading some specific reference in this forum. It was something about Dr. David Schechter (or maybe another TMS practitioner) being elaborated Sarno's idea of repressed anger to more kinds of repressed emotions. Specifically, he talked about the connection between wrist pain and the fear from rejection. That made me reanalyzing the time I was developing my wrist pain. I then linked the pain with the yoga teacher who used to flirt with me while I was afraid to really do something about it. Then I also figured out that the same kind of pain reoccurred in full power when I scheduled a date with someone I liked (after long period of no dates at all). I wrote it down in my journal but still nothing happened. Then I spoke it out to my psychologist and after the meeting the pain was almost gone! I mean now I can lean on my right hand with almost no pain or any bad feeling. Hope it was not a coincidence and that it would stay like this or improve even more.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story. I was not able to "celebrate" this healing process coz two days afterwards my left shoulder became very painful, with a consistent muscle twitching in the same area. I was so anxious and didn't sleep all night. I thought my asymmetrical weakness took place at my left side instead. I remember that all of my symptoms started (before the yoga) with left shoulder pain so, I was so afraid, over again. Then the next day my breathing became worst again. I felt my breathing muscles became weak so I couldn't sleep each night and went to the emergency room once (with no life threatening results). I thought maybe I developed some hurt illness (suppose to do soon another heart echocardiography). It is up until now that I feel so terrible and my healed wrist feels like a minor issue from the past.

That leads me to a more general question:

Is one successful tms healing often means that the rest of the symptoms are also TMS? Or could it be that I have some serious progressive medical condition together with some minor tms issues?

I'm aware of that there is no one answer to that, but still I would like to learn more about this issue from your experiences.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Is one successful tms healing often means that the rest of the symptoms are also TMS?

Typically, that's a big YES, although nothing is ever as black and white as 100% of "the rest of". That being said, I can confidently predict that "most if not all" of someone's other symptoms are likely likely to be TMS.

Or could it be that I have some serious progressive medical condition together with some minor tms issues?

There's always a possibility that this could be true! Which is why we say, on every page, and often in responses by senior members, that if a new symptom is worrying you, you should use common sense and have it checked out.

That being said, there may (hopefully) come a time when you've been to the doctor or the ER so many times, with no resulting diagnosis that anything is ever wrong, that you finally become confident that a new symptom is simply that - just another TMS symptom that your fearful primitive brain is trying to throw at you in order to keep you in fear. In most cases, people learn that new symptoms often disappear as quickly as they appear, and they learn to trust themselves to know when something should be a concern, vs. not.

You've been around a while, but I wonder: have you done the Structured Educational Program yet? I may be wrong, but I get the sense that you might just be dropping in to the forum as needed, instead of really committing to doing the emotional work on a regular and continuing basis. Instead, you have an "aha" moment which makes you feel better for a while, then you come back here when you have a setback and you need others to reassure you. Is that a possibility or am I totally off-track?

I'm convinced that this work is a lifelong process. We all experience setbacks, but if you have a strong foundation in the emotional work, you can get yourself back on track without freaking out and going completely off the rails (and into the ER for more wasted time and resources).

 

[whitewatersmetta]

As the other say, you should seek an evaluation if you are uncertain. But I will share that I had a very similar experience....the moment I could get one symptom to fade another would pop up. I felt like I was just chasing the TMS all over my body and it was very discouraging. And exhausting. But I didn't give up and over time, one by one, the symptoms have really truly faded away. I still have a few left (for now) but I'm down to two symptoms out of a previous 19.

Two concepts that really helped me get through that period of different symptoms popping up to replace each other was "extinction bursts" and "symptom imperative". I can't remember who wrote about the symptom imperative, but you can learn about extinction bursts in Alan Gordon's recovery program on this TMS Wiki. In fact, if you like Schecter's broader conceptualization of repressed emotions, you might really like how Alan Gordon talks about pressure, self-criticism and fear! Best of luck and don't give up!

 

[Shajarcito]

Typically, that's a big YES, although nothing is ever as black and white as 100% of "the rest of". That being said, I can confidently predict that "most if not all" of someone's other symptoms are likely likely to be TMS.


There's always a possibility that this could be true! Which is why we say, on every page, and often in responses by senior members, that if a new symptom is worrying you, you should use common sense and have it checked out.

That being said, there may (hopefully) come a time when you've been to the doctor or the ER so many times, with no resulting diagnosis that anything is ever wrong, that you finally become confident that a new symptom is simply that - just another TMS symptom that your fearful primitive brain is trying to throw at you in order to keep you in fear. In most cases, people learn that new symptoms often disappear as quickly as they appear, and they learn to trust themselves to know when something should be a concern, vs. not.

You've been around a while, but I wonder: have you done the Structured Educational Program yet? I may be wrong, but I get the sense that you might just be dropping in to the forum as needed, instead of really committing to doing the emotional work on a regular and continuing basis. Instead, you have an "aha" moment which makes you feel better for a while, then you come back here when you have a setback and you need others to reassure you. Is that a possibility or am I totally off-track?

I'm convinced that this work is a lifelong process. We all experience setbacks, but if you have a strong foundation in the emotional work, you can get yourself back on track without freaking out and going completely off the rails (and into the ER for more wasted time and resources).

Thanks JanAtheCPA for your response,

I asked this question because I do need some reassurance and confidence that I started a full TMS healing, and not just in one limb. Thanks for the encouragement that my healed wrist could be a sign for a complete TMS diagnosis. However, I'm still concerned with the idea of some terrible progressive illnesses, as my general health becomes worst and even my gp suspects I may have muscle disease..

Visiting ER so many times with no results has nothing to do with health approval. All they check in the ER is that you are not going to die right now! (heart attack, progressed cancer, lung disease and so on). For instance, Als patient on the early onset of his disease, would be released home every time he visits the ER. It is just the neurologist who would find out his disease later, long after many months (or years) of eliminating other possibilities. The same as one may not has heart attack but has mild heart disease that stay in progress.

Therefore it is not an easy task to stop concerns about health after many such visits, especially for a hypochondria like me. The symptoms are sometimes harsh to deal with so I find practicing Tms structured program regularly as something difficult for me. I did some of the practice though, but not as consistent as I should be.

I guess there are other reasons for that as well. As I mentioned in the post I'm still waiting for my next neurological evaluation next month (including EMG test), so it is almost impossible for me to practice tms materials on daily basis until then.

Another reason is that Tms method puts the pain in the center of the process. The rejection of structural causes (disc problems and other "abnormalities" that can be easily screened by MRI) in favor of repressed emotions. Off-course there are references to other Tms issues such mental problems and other symptoms, but still most of the success stories and practices are pain related. This is why I prefer to write in this forum as my symptoms now are weakness oriented. This way I can find certain references to weakness symptoms, e.g. the book of TG957 success story which I bought quite recently.

Finally, throughout the Tms journaling I found It hard for me to do it too much. It makes me more into my syndrome. I mean that the more I practice (even if it is for healing purposes) the more my mind perceives myself as a sick person. I found out that my best two weeks so far were when I got into a professional course I liked (content marketing), and did the homework and hanged around with new people. These kinds of activities rewired my brain better than looking for repressed emotion as the source of my symptoms.

As hypochondria the fight between two explanations (TMS vs. terrible disease) is harder for me.
I think I should focus more on moving up with life anyway (which is also difficult of-course)
rather than trying to convince myself that I have TMS and not terrible illnesses.
I may need to give less attention to my symptoms, instead of trying to search for repressed emotions underlying them.
Instead of "thinking psychologically" I should less think at all.

These ideas kind of resonating with those of Neuro plasticity – rewiring the brain with better experiences. So maybe I should mix them with the tms healing process.
I do believe I still need to practice TMS (the structured program or the curable app) but give this maybe 25% of my efforts while pushing myself into normal experiences by 75%.

 

[Shajarcito]

As the other say, you should seek an evaluation if you are uncertain. But I will share that I had a very similar experience....the moment I could get one symptom to fade another would pop up. I felt like I was just chasing the TMS all over my body and it was very discouraging. And exhausting. But I didn't give up and over time, one by one, the symptoms have really truly faded away. I still have a few left (for now) but I'm down to two symptoms out of a previous 19.

Two concepts that really helped me get through that period of different symptoms popping up to replace each other was "extinction bursts" and "symptom imperative". I can't remember who wrote about the symptom imperative, but you can learn about extinction bursts in Alan Gordon's recovery program on this TMS Wiki. In fact, if you like Schecter's broader conceptualization of repressed emotions, you might really like how Alan Gordon talks about pressure, self-criticism and fear! Best of luck and don't give up!

I hope I would be able to win each symptom until they all (or most) gone, as u did..
however it seems that my body/unconsciousness mind would beat me,
at-list in my hypochondria case.
This is why I'm thinking about distraction as a better method for me.
This might be the center of my recovery program and the tms as a supplementation.
Maybe I'm wrong, but this is what I learned from my healing process until now.
Thanks again

 

[Duende]

The similarity of your ways of thinking and mine, catches my attention. Incredible.

 

[whitewatersmetta]

I hope I would be able to win each symptom until they all (or most) gone, as u did..
however it seems that my body/unconsciousness mind would beat me,
at-list in my hypochondria case.
This is why I'm thinking about distraction as a better method for me.
This might be the center of my recovery program and the tms as a supplementation.
Maybe I'm wrong, but this is what I learned from my healing process until now.
Thanks again

I wish you the absolute best with whatever approach you choose!

 

[Shajarcito]

I wish you the absolute best with whatever approach you choose!

Thanks!