Fear

i hasn't posted in awhile now because my back pain has been good. I took out the fear of that and even if I feel twinges, I no longer care about it really.

Lately, however, I've noticed that my symptom imperative is out of control. I have something everyday that I'm preoccupied with and scared about. The biggest one proabably is an autoimmune condition. My mom has RA and I'm so freaked out I'm going to get it! I've noticed a little stiffness in my hands and one of my wrists is sore and I'm so scared I have it. I have no inflammation just a little stiffness. Anyways, has anyone else dealt with this?!

I need help!

 

Hi Cogirl, first and foremost my apologies that you are in so much pain.

I'm glad to hear that your back has improved, but I'm ever so sorry to hear about your hand. I did suffer from hand stiffness some years ago, but managed to reverse it. It's incredible how much fear and conditioning we absorb from every interactions we have in life, rest assured having a close relationship with oneself means you have the upper hand.

Providing you have seen a Dr and he's ruled out any serious underlying condition, to proceed with TMS healing. I feel it's important to check as many times as required, or at least, until you are comfortable and believe in the diagnosis. The biggest fight us TMS'ers have, is the constant wrestle with fear and uncertainty. For this reason, it's important to not buy into the narrative by the inner critic, which quite often prevents us from moving forward with clarity and precision. If you are able to, i'd try and incorporate a guided meditation into your practice which will help strengthen your emotional awareness and learn to observe without reacting to thoughts.

I understand it's a difficult time, but try and find comfort in something you enjoy, taking your mind off the physical and emotional self can help activate relaxation and well being.

Wishing you much warmth and goodness

 

Thank you for your reply! I'm really not in so much pain. I have hand stiffness very mildly and some wrist soreness. My problem is that everyday is something new. Yesterday, I was focused on this, the day before it was the possibility of a UTI, the day before that, something else, anxiety. It changes daily, so I don't even need to go to the doctor usually. I just can't get the absolute worst care scenario out of my head. I feel like I have a chronic horrible, life altering illness everyday.

 

God bless you, you precious soul.

I know this sounds difficult, but try and take your focus away from your symptoms momentarily, the more we think about these, the more power they have over us. Practicing meditation can help you move away from the fear and anxiety and looking at worse case scenarios, to a place where we can understand our emotional awareness and change our relationship with fear and anxiety. This sounds difficult, I know, but try and spend time in your day doing something that you enjoy and that allows you to connect with the world.

Please also remember to be gentle with yourself, many of us develop symptoms because we aren't compassionate or loving of ourselves..

I have every confidence in you, you wonderful soul.

 

Cogirl, RA can be diagnosed through the blood tests. If your blood tests are negative, you most likely have TMS. I have stiffness and pain in my wrists and hands but thanks to Dr. Sarno and other TMS practitioners, I made tremendous improvement in the last 9 months. My symptoms are probably 60-70% down from what it was last February before I read Dr. Sarno's book. My official diagnosis at the time offered about 20% chance of recovering and I decided that I wanted to be in those 20%. BTW, what got me into a very debilitating condition was worry about getting the same neurological illness that my grandaunt had when I was a teenager. I was so terrified of the possibility of full disability that my symptoms started escalating at an alarming speed, to the point that I became nearly disabled. Remember, fear is our worst enemy! Fight it and you will get better!