Lisa Morphopoulos How can you explain TMS to someone to make them more open to it?

[Forest]

Hey,

In the the thread Le Roy, NY: How the mind can cause illness, PPD practitioner Lisa Morphopoulous posted a great response that I thought would make a wonderful addition to our Q&A with an Expert Program. The original response can be found at: http://tmswiki.org/forum/threads/le-roy-ny-how-the-mind-can-cause-illness.203/#post-3268

Question

Hiya Lisa - Thanks for dropping by. It is great to hear that you were able to help the student overcome the tic. It seems like this issue has gained a lot of attention in the media recently, and it is great to hear of a TMS/PPD professional have success in treating it.

I continue to be fascinated at how much people reject the notion of a psychological conflict, such as PPD, but looking at my own history I sort of get it. It took me sometime to warm up to the idea of PPD. The one thing that helped me was simply reading stories of people that sounded just like myself. Lisa, I am a little curious if there are some techniques you have found helpful to getting people to become more comfortable with the idea of having a psychological conflict such as TMS. Is there a way to explain it to someone that will help them be more open to it?

Response

Yes, Forest, our need for explanations outside of our own psycho-physical system is perplexing. We reject ourselves, in a way, as if avoiding a deeper relationship with the complexity of who we are.

I had Dr. Sarno’s book on my shelf for years before I was willing to consider it, that is, to consider throwing it in the trash can! So I understand people’s skepticism. “I have a real problem!”, I scowled. It wasn’t until a week’s convergence of events: a neighbor had read the book while heading off on vacation and his back pain left during an airplane ride to the Bahamas; a friend’s mother had cured herself of her annual Christmas backache also simply by reading; my office mate approached me, feeling that I was finally ready to be open to this way of thinking; an orthopedic surgeon outraged me when he sentenced me with a “diseased spine”. Later then, during my exam, Dr. Sarno, struck a distant, knowing part of me as he mumbled his asides that sounded like, “boy, you really have some anger here” - as if he could see it!

Considering this diagnosis appeals mainly to independent types. How wonderful not to have to run to a chiropractor every time your back spasms! So, you try and engage a sense of agency in a person, that is the part of us that makes our own choices about how to act and how we understand our world.

“Would you consider this as a possibility?” I ask people. The head is physically attached to the body, after all. I tell people that I am not a medical doctor - so I don’t speak to the physical contributors. I work w/the mind/psyche and so that is the approach that we need to take.

Lisa Morphopoulos, LCSW is a psychotherapist who works with individuals, couples and groups of all ages. Having recovered from TMS symptoms herself, she understands the despair and frustration that goes along with the syndrome. She says "Finding relief and being pain-free is liberating and possible. Ultimately, learning to cope with TMS will also improve the relationship that you have with yourself.

For more information check out her Survey Response.