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Day 8 Explaining TMS to Others?

W

wannarun

Peer Supporter
How do you explain TMS to others? I don't know how, but my wife totally gets it. Some people get. Most people look at me like I'm insane. It seems easier just to say that I have an autoimmune disorder that responds to physical exercise and has stress has a trigger. Or something like, it is similar to fibromyalgia.
 
You're absolutely right. Some people get it and others think it's ridiculous. I explained it to my sister the other day, and she was surprisingly open to the idea. In fact, she wondered if her daily stomach aches can be explained by TMS. She said that her stomach would cramp every day after putting her two young kids down for a nap. I asked her why she thought it happened at that particular moment every day, and she mentioned that she felt guilty for relaxing during nap time (watching tv, reading, Facebook) instead of cleaning the house or preparing dinner. It was strange to her because the pain would never happen if she was out running errands during that time of day. Only when the kids were napping and she had some alone time at home. When I mentioned to her that Sarno believed pain serves as a distraction to keep those kinds of thoughts from coming to the surface, it's like a light bulb went off for her. The idea of TMS made sense to her.

I like the 20/20 segment by Stossel. That's a great tool when trying to explain TMS. You have a credible journalist explaining TMS on a very basic level, and you get to see success stories from people that dealt with chronic pain for many years. I'd refer that segment to someone who is skeptical about TMS.
 
I just say pain is mostly or always just in the mind. If they don't get it from that, I stop trying.

You can lead some people to drink Dr. Sarno's elixir, but some people are not ready to drink it.
Maybe when they get really thirsty enough...
 
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