Finished Program-not sure what to do now....

[Jill Pensom]

Hi there,

I've now completed the program and don't know what to do next!

I feel I've made progress in these areas: not being afraid of exercising, not being as body conscious, not obsessing about the pain quite as much but am having difficulties with: still not 100% convinced its TMS, relaxing, not keeping negative thoughts related to the pain at bay.

I can feel myself slightly reverting to my old thoughts. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Jill

 

[BruceMC]

Hi Jill: Do you mean you've completed the SEP? You might want to move on to Howard Schubiner's Unlearn Your Pain workbook, which has a more detailed 28-day program than the SEP. Dr James Alexander recommends several other therapies, including ISTDP, EFT, ACT and EMDR, in his book The Hidden Psychology of Pain (2012). But there is always Dr Sarno's original recommendation that you should meditate on the 12 Key Thoughts that he lists on page 81 of Healing Back Pain for at least 15 minutes every day. I often do that in conjunction with some of the breathing exercises recommended by Andrew Weil. Seems to focus my attention on Sarno's ideas. There are 4 or 5 guided meditations on the CD enclosed in the back flap of Unlearn Your Pain that I often utilize as well. Seems like you should be flexible and adopt whatever follow-up therapeutic strategy works for you. There certainly are plenty to choose from! Dropping in to the on-line chat group on Saturdays is also a great way to get a perspective on your own TMS by interacting with other people at different stages in the TMS recovery process.