Dry eyes and TMS

Well, @GemmaLeanne, here's the thing about the presentation of your symptoms, and please believe me when I say that you are not the only person who does this - not by a long shot.

We see people here all the time, over many many years, who are convinced that they are the one special and unique case in which their symptoms are real, and physical, and that the successes and advice of anyone who has previously reported here is therefore not relevant to them.

First of all, please keep in mind that this forum is devoted to the mindbody connection, and the mindbody connection is the advice you're going to receive. If you want confirmation that your condition is physical, we can't offer that.

So I revisited the definition of MGD, which is basically something-or-other disorder, translating as dry eye syndrome. What I read tells me the following:
MGD, or dry eye syndrome, is very common,
It is not life-threatening or vision-threatening, nor does it require urgent intervention,
A lot of attention has been and continues to be paid to finding a treatment that brings relief, but so far there have not been any significant successes,
and
Stress makes it worse.

In other words, this condition has everything in common with so many other conditions that we, in our world, know qualify as pure TMS:
The cause is unknown;
The symptoms are debilitating but not life-threatening;
The treatments invariably don't work or only offer temporary mitigation; and
Stress makes symptoms worse.

At this point, you have nothing to lose by going all-in on treating this thing as TMS. However, if you're convinced that you have a physical problem, that belief will prohibit you from finding any level of recovery from TMS education and tools.

We've got the resources, the tools, and the willingness to support you with your self-education. The next step is up to you.

 

There you go, that's a much more constructive introduction!

Nicole is a terrific resource, and I am one of her biggest fans. However, unless you're doing her paid program along with being in one of her higher-level paid support groups, you might not be getting the structure you need at this stage. Do keep listening to her podcasts regularly (you can even do a keyword search on her podcast home page and I bet you you'll find at least one episode about dry eyes).

The first thing I recommend won't take much time, but it's an important starting point for many people, which is to get a big picture overview of your childhood issues. Use the questionnaire that's discussed in this forum thread which describes and links to the well-regarded ACEs questionnaire for childhood experiences: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/aces-quiz-online-printable-versions.27061 (ACEs "quiz" - online & printable versions)
Be sure to read the whole post and follow the recommendations.

If you haven't read any of Dr Sarno's books, that's a prerequisite to doing the work, even though some of the information is kind of obsolete. His basic premise is still sound and it forms the basis of what we do here. Nicole's second book, just published, builds on his theories which he developed in the 80s and 90s (she also worked with him in her early years).

Anxiety is a common TMS symptom, and needs to be addressed directly as part of the recovery process. Resources by Dr. Claire Weekes are very effective in dealing with anxiety. You can find more here: https://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Overcome_Anxiety_with_Dr._Claire_Weekes (Overcome Anxiety with Dr. Claire Weekes) or read her seminal book "Hope & Help For Your Nerves" which is also readily available in multiple formats.

Most if not all of the books we recommend are available at public libraries in all of the formats.

Finally, there's our Structured Educational Program on the main TMSWiki.org. It's free of cost and does not require any kind of registration. It's accessed via easily managed "daily" modules which you can complete at your own pace. Again, pay attention to the introductory information and recommendations for getting the most out of it. JournalSpeak will help you with the journaling exercises when you get there.

Welcome to the forum and the SEP!