lephreakcestchic
Newcomer
I'm beginning the Pain Recovery Program in an attempt to deepen my work with TMS and connections with the wider community of TMS sufferers, former and current. In person, I've never met a single person who has gone through a TMS program or has heard of the condition, though I've sure tried to do my part to spread the word about Dr. Sarno's teachings.
I first encountered Healing Back Pain in 2002 when I woke up one morning at the age of 20 with pain and numbness in my lower back and hip. I assumed it was from lifting boxes as I had just moved into a new apartment with a few college friends in Montreal. The pain persisted, worsened, hung around until I had trouble walking and going through my daily routine. I went to an osteopath who examined me, told me I had degenerative disc disorder, and gave me a list of requirements that many will be familiar with: pillow softness, mattress firmness, backpack maximum weight, etc., etc. I remember thinking how ridiculous it all was since I was a healthy, very active college student with no history of pain or injury.
My mom told me about Dr. Sarno's book and sent me a copy to read. I don't honestly remember how open I initially was to the diagnosis, but I've always been pretty openminded toward alternative medicine, holistic healing, etc. (not to lump the good Doctor in with those, per se) and was willing to give it a read. I read the book twice and within what I recall to be a few weeks was essentially pain-free. It was nothing short of miraculous. In addition to the resolution of my pain issues, the book got me thinking a lot about who I was (more Type A and perfectionistic... and high-stress... than I would have ever claimed to be) and what I was going through at the time. Parents recently divorced, second year of college, first year living off campus. First serious girlfriend. And so on.
In the years between 2002 and 2026, I've seen TMS in many different guises, both subtle (wrist/shoulder/knee pain, hay fever) and overwhelming (I went to the ER once for chest pain which was quite severe; after extensive testing I was told I was completely fine on all fronts), and though it has always remained in my awareness I've lost the recall of some of the finer points, nuances, different related conditions, etc. I'm a touring musician, and had recently been having lower back pain somewhere around a 2 or 3 on the pain scale. Perhaps a 4 on occasion. I had somewhat absentmindedly filed it away as likely related to stress, for there is plenty of stress on the road as well as related to running a small business, and it never got bad enough to really shut me down though I do remember feeling old and run down as a result of it. Not overwhelming, but not fun, either.
When I got home from tour a couple weeks ago, I was bending over to get something off the floor in my bedroom and heard/felt a *pop* which was followed by greatly increased pain in my lower left back and left hip. The pain grew to include numbness which traveled all the way down my leg into the foot. My first thought was "this has to be TMS", but I had never had an attack like that accompanied by what felt like a back injury leading to immediate severe pain which I think kept me from fully embracing a TMS diagnosis. A day passed, my sleep suffered, and I began to stress about a couple of weekend gigs I had coming up which I knew would require a lot of lifting, moving, running around, performing, you know - the usual stuff. In the middle of the second night, unable to fall asleep, I started to journal, which I've never once done in my life. I've done it every night since, re-read Healing Back Pain (currently on my second re-read), watched a Dr. Sarno seminar on YouTube, and have been revisiting and repeating the TMS Commandments daily. The pain has ebbed and flowed. Conditioning has strongly attached it to certain activities, like sleeping, becoming active in the morning, doing yoga. I've maintained a normal activity schedule including a backpack trip, mountain bike rides, hikes, yoga, playing shows, seeing friends. I feel that I'm making progress but am really trying to lean into ever facet of the treatment. Thanks to all of you for providing this great resource for people like me!
I first encountered Healing Back Pain in 2002 when I woke up one morning at the age of 20 with pain and numbness in my lower back and hip. I assumed it was from lifting boxes as I had just moved into a new apartment with a few college friends in Montreal. The pain persisted, worsened, hung around until I had trouble walking and going through my daily routine. I went to an osteopath who examined me, told me I had degenerative disc disorder, and gave me a list of requirements that many will be familiar with: pillow softness, mattress firmness, backpack maximum weight, etc., etc. I remember thinking how ridiculous it all was since I was a healthy, very active college student with no history of pain or injury.
My mom told me about Dr. Sarno's book and sent me a copy to read. I don't honestly remember how open I initially was to the diagnosis, but I've always been pretty openminded toward alternative medicine, holistic healing, etc. (not to lump the good Doctor in with those, per se) and was willing to give it a read. I read the book twice and within what I recall to be a few weeks was essentially pain-free. It was nothing short of miraculous. In addition to the resolution of my pain issues, the book got me thinking a lot about who I was (more Type A and perfectionistic... and high-stress... than I would have ever claimed to be) and what I was going through at the time. Parents recently divorced, second year of college, first year living off campus. First serious girlfriend. And so on.
In the years between 2002 and 2026, I've seen TMS in many different guises, both subtle (wrist/shoulder/knee pain, hay fever) and overwhelming (I went to the ER once for chest pain which was quite severe; after extensive testing I was told I was completely fine on all fronts), and though it has always remained in my awareness I've lost the recall of some of the finer points, nuances, different related conditions, etc. I'm a touring musician, and had recently been having lower back pain somewhere around a 2 or 3 on the pain scale. Perhaps a 4 on occasion. I had somewhat absentmindedly filed it away as likely related to stress, for there is plenty of stress on the road as well as related to running a small business, and it never got bad enough to really shut me down though I do remember feeling old and run down as a result of it. Not overwhelming, but not fun, either.
When I got home from tour a couple weeks ago, I was bending over to get something off the floor in my bedroom and heard/felt a *pop* which was followed by greatly increased pain in my lower left back and left hip. The pain grew to include numbness which traveled all the way down my leg into the foot. My first thought was "this has to be TMS", but I had never had an attack like that accompanied by what felt like a back injury leading to immediate severe pain which I think kept me from fully embracing a TMS diagnosis. A day passed, my sleep suffered, and I began to stress about a couple of weekend gigs I had coming up which I knew would require a lot of lifting, moving, running around, performing, you know - the usual stuff. In the middle of the second night, unable to fall asleep, I started to journal, which I've never once done in my life. I've done it every night since, re-read Healing Back Pain (currently on my second re-read), watched a Dr. Sarno seminar on YouTube, and have been revisiting and repeating the TMS Commandments daily. The pain has ebbed and flowed. Conditioning has strongly attached it to certain activities, like sleeping, becoming active in the morning, doing yoga. I've maintained a normal activity schedule including a backpack trip, mountain bike rides, hikes, yoga, playing shows, seeing friends. I feel that I'm making progress but am really trying to lean into ever facet of the treatment. Thanks to all of you for providing this great resource for people like me!