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Does TMS usually manifest in a body part you care about a lot?

G

gettingbacktome

Newcomer
For example, if you're a singer is it likely that TMS would manifest in something with your throat? If you really enjoy running is is likely it will manifest in your legs?
 
YES. The whole point is to be a distraction. If you are a runner? It will go after your feet or back...a Guitarist? Carpal Tunnel....andof course if your a vocalist, mystery laryngitis which is listed in Sarno's books a 'conversion symptom' meaning=same thing, different location.

The TMS is trying to distract you from emotions...the better the distraction, the less likely you are to pay attention to them
 
Hmmm. @gettingbacktome, this is the third time you've posted a similar question, and each one is focused on physical symptoms.

The answer this time is that it depends on the individual, and on what kind of symptom is most likely to keep that individual in fear. Your unique brain is quite capable of figuring that out and creating the "perfect" symptom just for you to obsess and worry about.

This is because all physical sensations and all physiological processes originate in the brain. This is a neuroscientific fact which you can look up. You can also do your own research on the connection between physical symptoms and inflammation, and from there the direct connection between stress and inflammation. It is being studied and being more widely recognized all the time.

Here's my question for you: why these questions? Are you concerned that you have TMS? Why not just do the work and learn? It costs nothing (we have two free programs) and it is not any kind of medical or physical intervention. As long as you've been checked out and don't have any kind of obvious urgent medical need, then doing this work is a no-cost no-risk no-brainer.
 
Baseball65 said:
YES. The whole point is to be a distraction. If you are a runner? It will go after your feet or back...a Guitarist? Carpal Tunnel....andof course if your a vocalist, mystery laryngitis which is listed in Sarno's books a 'conversion symptom' meaning=same thing, different location.

The TMS is trying to distract you from emotions...the better the distraction, the less likely you are to pay attention to them
Click to expand...
do you think this is possible- ive always placed SO much importance and loved my hair (I know this sounds superficial, because it is). Then during a time of stress I thought what if my hair started to fall out, and then it ACTUALLY did, and it caused me to spiral and obsess and I haven't been able to heal because I've been obsessed with it coming out. Do you think that could be TMS?
 
JanAtheCPA said:
Hmmm. @gettingbacktome, this is the third time you've posted a similar question, and each one is focused on physical symptoms.

The answer this time is that it depends on the individual, and on what kind of symptom is most likely to keep that individual in fear. Your unique brain is quite capable of figuring that out and creating the "perfect" symptom just for you to obsess and worry about.

This is because all physical sensations and all physiological processes originate in the brain. This is a neuroscientific fact which you can look up. You can also do your own research on the connection between physical symptoms and inflammation, and from there the direct connection between stress and inflammation. It is being studied and being more widely recognized all the time.

Here's my question for you: why these questions? Are you concerned that you have TMS? Why not just do the work and learn? It costs nothing (we have two free programs) and it is not any kind of medical or physical intervention. As long as you've been checked out and don't have any kind of obvious urgent medical need, then doing this work is a no-cost no-risk no-brainer.
Click to expand...
Where are these free programs? I have been doing some work by watching TMS practitioners on YouTube but I feel like I still have tiny doubts in my brain that it is TMS (although I do believe it is TMS mostly), that are keeping me from healing...any advice?
 
gettingbacktome said:
I have been doing some work by watching TMS practitioners on YouTube
Click to expand...
You do need to read at least one book by John Sarno MD. His books are carried by many if not most public libraries in physical and virtual formats if you don't want to buy new or used. For you I recommend The Mindbody Prescription.

Start doing The Structured Educational Program which you can find on our main site, which is tmswiki.org. There isn't any kind of signup or registration, you just do it on your own.

Don't do more than one "Day" every day. Use extra time to finish your Sarno book, then look into other resources. If you have anxiety (and of course you do), the #1 best recommendation you will find anywhere is to read Hope and Help for Your Nerves, by Claire Weekes.

Watch out for increased or new symptoms or even increased anxiety as you start to make progress - this means that your TMS brain is trying to make you stop, which is good news! Be kind to yourself if this happens, but remember that you need to fight back and keep going.

Don't be hard on yourself, but you must be extremely honest when you are asked to start writing things down. Your brain will try to stop you, so don't be fooled by its tricks.

Stop thinking physically and start thinking psychologically.

Don't mention symptom details here on the forum again. This is for your own good! The Mindbody Prescription is all about assuring you that TMS takes many different forms. They are infinite, as it turns out. If you need to post about having symptoms, just figure out a general term like "my pain symptoms" or "my neuro symptoms".

If you wonder if any particular symptom can be tms, all you need to do is go to Google and type in "[name of symptom] and stress". For example, the connection between hair loss and stress is extremely well known.

If you have questions about doing the program, just ask. If your symptoms flare and you need reassurance, that's fine, as long as you concentrate on telling us about the emotional things you are discovering by doing the program, and do not provide any symptom details. I'm completely serious about that!

Good luck!
 
JanAtheCPA said:
You do need to read at least one book by John Sarno MD. His books are carried by many if not most public libraries in physical and virtual formats if you don't want to buy new or used. For you I recommend The Mindbody Prescription.

Start doing The Structured Educational Program which you can find on our main site, which is tmswiki.org. There isn't any kind of signup or registration, you just do it on your own.

Don't do more than one "Day" every day. Use extra time to finish your Sarno book, then look into other resources. If you have anxiety (and of course you do), the #1 best recommendation you will find anywhere is to read Hope and Help for Your Nerves, by Claire Weekes.

Watch out for increased or new symptoms or even increased anxiety as you start to make progress - this means that your TMS brain is trying to make you stop, which is good news! Be kind to yourself if this happens, but remember that you need to fight back and keep going.

Don't be hard on yourself, but you must be extremely honest when you are asked to start writing things down. Your brain will try to stop you, so don't be fooled by its tricks.

Stop thinking physically and start thinking psychologically.

Don't mention symptom details here on the forum again. This is for your own good! The Mindbody Prescription is all about assuring you that TMS takes many different forms. They are infinite, as it turns out. If you need to post about having symptoms, just figure out a general term like "my pain symptoms" or "my neuro symptoms".

If you wonder if any particular symptom can be tms, all you need to do is go to Google and type in "[name of symptom] and stress". For example, the connection between hair loss and stress is extremely well known.

If you have questions about doing the program, just ask. If your symptoms flare and you need reassurance, that's fine, as long as you concentrate on telling us about the emotional things you are discovering by doing the program, and do not provide any symptom details. I'm completely serious about that!

Good luck!
Click to expand...


Jan’s right, and this is great advice. I’ve really been gaining a lot of insight from the structured education program. I actually love that you mentioned to Google your symptoms + stress. Of course it’s the one thing I never did. And all I ever got were structural causes.

I would just like to add one thing to what Jan said that’s been really important for me, and I think is really important to keep in mind as you learn more about TMS, and that I’d simply: No pressure. The pressure we as humans tend to put on ourselves(especially those of us with TMS I’m learning) is such a hug cause of stress and can actually keep us from doing stuff that could help us. The more you can alleviate the pressure you put on yourself the easier time you will have with this stuff.

Be kind to yourself as well as being honest with yourself.

just today I’ve been trying to change the thought,”I need to journal today.” To “I think id feel better if I journal today.”
 
Diana-M said:
Yes! I’m a writer and it has cramped up my hands. TMS goes for whatever will scare you the most.
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I am a singer and lost my voice to a chronic post nasal drip that is hanging on. Also digestive issues, (likely connected to the pnd and swallowing a lot of air) that even affect my mobility. I have posted before, expressing some relief, then it just rushes back in and here I am again. My trust is definitely increasing but I want my mind, my "thinker", to agree with my heart, my "knower"... that being there is nothing physically wrong. This has been a struggle for me.
 
TrustIt said:
This has been a struggle for me.
Click to expand...
That's why in "Mindbody Prescription" Sarno said to consider it a contest of wills between you and the TMS.

I don't have to sing anymore, but I still do... and my voice always goes during stress. Back when we were up for record deals and publishing deals I always had major episodes a day or so before the show. I had to play one of the biggest showcases of my life sitting Down...My 'back and arm' were out...yet after the show I lifted my Big Amplifier and guitar case off the stage with no help! I didn't know about TMS back then.

I also have chronic Post nasal drip, but it is exacerbated by massive scarring from years of snorting Drugs. None the less, it only becomes OBSESSIVE right before a performance.
Like any other narcissist with low self esteem, I want my voice to be perfect, yet inside I don't think I am very good. No amount of external success has changed that much.
I don't play often enough to use the same Sarno work that I used to get out of Pain....but If I could, I know it would work. I have used it for Baseball and it worked great. Getting into the batters Box is the same feeling as walking up to a mic onstage....you have to perform in front of everyone!

I also remember to pray...it is not about me. It is a gift God gave me...(or didn't lol) but regardless, using the same set of tools for body pain will make it go away and more importantly, take away the anxiety and fear.
 
I too lose my voice, completely, I cannot speak anymore. I have to whisper.

I used to work as a foreign-language tutor. This was one of my jobs. I'm retired now. And I also had to give presentations in foreign languages and then to answer questions etc. It was very intense and very stressful since I had to use two or three languages, so I had to switch from x language to y language in real time. And my mother language was not used so all the languages were foreign. Let's say I was teaching German explaining it in English to a student who was from Peru and could not speak English very well. I had to use my Italian (Roman language like Spanish, spoken in Peru) and creativity (brain gymnastics) in order to help that student.

A few times I lost my voice before tests in school/work, that exact morning. I would wake up without my voice. It's not fun!
 
I spend most of my life sitting ... either travelling or my job which I enjoy ... that's where TMS got me ... severe pains and discomfort when sitting. I'd rather it was when walking or moving ... but, no, TMS hurts where it knows you will hurt the most.
 
mikeinlondon said:
TMS hurts where it knows you will hurt the most.
Click to expand...
Yes! This is true. My hands started tingling as a first symptom. I know how TMS works. So I said, “I don’t care. It’s only tingling.” And I learned to ignore it while I was typing for work. (I was a freelance writer.) Then, my arms and hands cramped up. It became impossible for me to type. I tried writing projects by typing with only my thumbs, but it was just too hard. So I retired, and now I’m writing a fantasy novel longhand. But only one or two hours per day.

At the time my hands cramped, I was overworking, 10 hour days, and contemplating getting a lot more work projects like that. I was driving myself into the ground. And even though I was retirement age, I never wanted to retire. My ego thrived too much on working. I also, at the time, had about 6 or 7 huge personal issues I couldn’t solve. Since then, I’ve solved all but one. That one is pretty big.

I don’t think any one of these problems caused my TMS. I think it was all of them; a strained nervous system; and the stress of our world. (I’ve since stopped all participation on social media and I don’t watch or read any news.) You’d think I’d be doing great by now. But I’m not out of the woods yet. But to answer your question: I got hit right where it hurts. No more writing on my computer (for now.) It turned my world upside down. And it has changed everything about me and how I do things —for the better. (So, is TMS good, or bad?) I can even tell people “no.” I never thought that would happen! I’ve got a long way still to go…and I figure when I learn enough, and my TMS brain trusts me to behave in a safe way for my overall well-being, maybe it will release me from this TMS classroom.
 
Hey Diana - I’m curious about something. Withdrawal from Mirtazipine has made me experience some awful side effects. Have you considered whether some of the symptoms you experienced, perhaps in the past, are withdrawals from some of the drugs you took (Wellbutrin)? I find identifying genuine TMS symptoms vs those from drugs or their withdrawals a bit of a challenge. Today I was experiencing pins and needles sensations on my skin and I’m damn sure that and the skin burning sensations are a mert withdrawal side effect.

Diana-M said:
Yes! This is true. My hands started tingling as a first symptom. I know how TMS works. So I said, “I don’t care. It’s only tingling.” And I learned to ignore it while I was typing for work. (I was a freelance writer.) Then, my arms and hands cramped up. It became impossible for me to type. I tried writing projects by typing with only my thumbs, but it was just too hard. So I retired, and now I’m writing a fantasy novel longhand. But only one or two hours per day.

At the time my hands cramped, I was overworking, 10 hour days, and contemplating getting a lot more work projects like that. I was driving myself into the ground. And even though I was retirement age, I never wanted to retire. My ego thrived too much on working. I also, at the time, had about 6 or 7 huge personal issues I couldn’t solve. Since then, I’ve solved all but one. That one is pretty big.

I don’t think any one of these problems caused my TMS. I think it was all of them; a strained nervous system; and the stress of our world. (I’ve since stopped all participation on social media and I don’t watch or read any news.) You’d think I’d be doing great by now. But I’m not out of the woods yet. But to answer your question: I got hit right where it hurts. No more writing on my computer (for now.) It turned my world upside down. And it has changed everything about me and how I do things —for the better. (So, is TMS good, or bad?) I can even tell people “no.” I never thought that would happen! I’ve got a long way still to go…and I figure when I learn enough, and my TMS brain trusts me to behave in a safe way for my overall well-being, maybe it will release me from this TMS classroom.
Click to expand...
 
Hey, Mike,
Chapter 4, first page, Hope and Help for Your Nerves: pins and needles in the hands is really common. It’s a symptom of anxiety. And TMS. I’d bet on it.

I’ve had the pins and needles 2 times. Now, and in 2017. In 2017, I got it to go away by reading a Sarno book for the first time.
 
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