Hello. Any tips on what book to get first?

Hi everyone, just found out about TMS not too long ago and from the research I've done I think it may apply to my case. Will be looking much more into it over the next few days/weeks. The bio on my profile has the details on my pain. I'm looking forward to finding out more about TMS and I feel hopeful for the first time in a while that recovery may be in sight. Planning on getting the MindBody Prescription. Any other tips or recommendations on other books I may want to get first? Thank you.

 

Mind Body Presciption for sure. That book saved my life. I dad it and re read it and read it again. I studied it and did what it said. I still read it to this day. Best book ever I read your story. There is a lot in the book that should work for you.

 

Hi Andre, and welcome! My first book was also by Dr. Sarno, but it was his last one, The Divided Mind co-written with five MDs and a therapist. I found it compelling to read Dr. Sarno's introductory four chapters and then be introduced to the viewpoints of six other health professionals following in his footsteps. The second book I read was Hope & Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes. She wrote this book in 1969, and although her writing might be a bit dated, this is still the go-to book to learn how to get past anxiety. These two books turned my life around, along with the TMS wiki and forum.

You will definitely want to check out one of the two self-help programs on the wiki. They're both free! There's the Structured Educational Program and Alan Gordon's TMS Recovery Program. They are different, but both are effective. And read Success Stories! They will keep you inspired, even during setbacks.

And by the way, give yourself a LOT of credit for finding out about TMS so early in your life. I don't worry about the fact that it took me sixty years, but I do find it exciting to think about what it might have been like to discover TMS in my twenties! And imagine being able to raise kids who don't suffer from TMS - I think that's an awesome vision.

 

Hi, Andre. I agree with Jan about those two books. But start with The Mindbody Prescription.

In Dr. Sarno's book HEALING BACK PAIN he suggests we spend some time with 12 Daily Reminders.
Another in our TMS community, Herbie, wrote these longer versions of them:

Herbie’s Extended Version of Dr. Sarno’s 12 DAILY REMINDERS

1. The pain is due to TMS. This is real pain or anxiety but its caused by subconscious tensions and triggers, stressors and traits to your reactions and fears and also when at boiling point your conscious tension can and does cause real pain too.
2. The main reason for the pain is mild oxygen deprivation. This means that when you get in pain or in anxiety then the the blood is restricted from going to your lower back for instance. The blood being restricted causes oxygen deprivation which causes the pain - remember, where theirs no oxygen then there is pain in the body. Also, The pain stays because of fear and focus to physical organic symptoms and repressions.
3. TMS is a harmless condition caused by my REPRESSED EMOTIONS so even though you think you can harm yourself from the years of pain you have felt and how you feel in general -- so far no reports have been heard from tms healing knowledge causing damage to anyone, it only helps.
4. The principle emotion is your repressed ANGER -- this means under your consciousness lies something that happens automatically to everyone. Tmsers have repressions that are stored because of our personality traits,traumas, stressors, fears, strain, etc... When these stored repressions build and build then eventually they cause the brain to send pain into your body to keep you from having an emotional crises. The mind-body thinks its helping you.
5. TMS exists to DISTRACT your attentions from the emotions, stressors, tensions and strains of your personality traits because if you can get distraction then you wont have to be in emotional turmoil. When you don't face and feel your emotions and they get repressed cause you didn't want to deal with something -- they are just adding up in this beaker, ready to pour over and create real pain and anxiety in your body.
6. Since my body is perfectly normal, there is nothing to fear. So in reality when I fear the pain or anxiety I just cause myself undo strain and tension adding to the beaker of pain. If I fear then I feed the pain, If I fear Its impossible to recondition. Fear keeps the pain and anxiety alive in the body through focus.
7. Therefore, physical activity is harmless.If I want to work against the pain I could but its better to lose some of the pain so when I start my life over I=t have to be in pain trying to heal cause facing the repressions and all the other activities that cause the pain and reversing my fear and focus to them then I can heal.
8. I am resuming all normal physical activity. I don't fear moving anymore. I believe in my bodies ability to heal now. I can move how I want. I will not fear moving with a bent back anymore. I will also practice going out and acting normal again, not in fear of what pain might do to me.
9. The pain is unimportant and powerless. Its only power is how its hidden -- its illusion, Its fear.
10. I will keep my attention on the emotional issues. I will think about my emotions and feel my emotions throughout the day. I will not judge, criticize or fear my emotions. I will not run from my emotional issues but face everyone of them. I will feel my emotions fully and cry if I need to. Then I will release the emotion and get my mind and thoughts back to my life and living in the present, in flow.
11. I am in control of all of this. This is how I recover.
12. I will be thinking PSYCHOLOGICALLY AT ALL TIMES. This means I will keep my thoughts on psychological issues like happiness, fear and anger -- traits and triggers, conditioning and journaling. The science behind mind-body/tms healing, etc.... This way I will not feed my thoughts to the body -- that is a trick of tms. Tms will always try to get me to focus on the body caused by the pain until I break its show and flair. When I get my attention off psychical symptoms and on emotional issues and psychological issues then I will not feed the fear of the physical issues anymore thus making the tms of no effect. This will in return, give us the cure.

 

I just received an email and want to share this link where you can view the movie "The Connection" for free, for the next 7 days - a special 1-year anniversary gift from the producer of the film. You only have to provide your email, and I love receiving Shannon's very occasional emails when she posts to her blog.

https://www.theconnection.tv/store/

I'm going to post this in several more threads, because this is a great opportunity to provide new members another resource for examining the mind-body "Connection".

 

What's the movie exactly about?

 

The mind body connection and the pivotal role the mind has on ones own well being.

Shannon who produced the film over came a life threatening auto immune illness by means of practing mindfulness meditation and being mindful.