How to deal with conditioned mind

[Anshushakti]

Dr Sarno told in his book and lecture that our mind is conditioned to postures/situations. Like for me i am conditioned to sitting in office. I barely get pain when i sit at home at soft Sofa, I don't get pain when i do Yoga but i get pain when i sit in office chair> I know this is because of TMS and my mind is conditioned to office chair.
Is there a way to deal with this conditioned mind so that i can have a quick recovery in office?

 

[Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)]

It appears to me that your pain is not from the chair you sit it at the office but something(s) going on at work. You are apparently more relaxed at home and doing yoga, but are stressed at work. Do you like your job, your boss, your colleagues at work? If not, that could be causing your pain while sitting.

When sitting at your office desk, practice deep breathing and positive thinking, and maybe say a mantra like "I am fine and will get even better."

When I worked in a stressful office job, I sometimes broke a new pencil in half. This got rid of the frustration or anger I felt.

 

[Andy Bayliss]

Another tip is to look for any exceptions to the pattern. Even a brief or little-noticed time which the conditioning is not "iron clad." It can be easy to dismiss an exception. Don't.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Do you like your job, your boss, your colleagues at work? If not, that could be causing your pain while sitting.

This would be my guess, Anshu. The work environment is a great one for producing unconscious rage, but of course many of us are conditioned to act like we love our jobs and/or careers when we actually regret the choices we've made or we feel trapped.

Andy's suggestion is a great one. Log any pain at home, or lack of pain at work, for a couple of days and note what thoughts or interactions you were having or not having at these different times. Perhaps it's interactions with a particular colleague, supervisor or client, that are triggering your pain, or it could be your own self-assessment regarding certain types of work, etc.

It's fascinating that you are experiencing such a clear delineation of your symptoms. This isn't always the case - on the other hand, it could just be the way your TMS is manifesting this time around. Some other time, it could manifest entirely differently, due to different triggers. If there's one thing we can say for sure, TMS is different for everyone!

 

[Anshushakti]

Thanks all for your comments. So far i was thinking i love my job,my colleagues and my boss. But let me think deeper if there is something that is bothering me. I am pretty sure i am much conditioned guy. For example i love playing cricket and of course there is no stress in playground, But i am conditioned that playing cricket will give me pain and yeah today i went to play cricket, I was fine when i left and i was in significant pain when i am back. I concluded that my mind is conditioned to playing cricket as well. Also i started looking for other factors that were bothering me and journal those factors.

 

[Anshushakti]

Hi All,
I am little bit worried about my increased pain today. I went to play cricket. Was good on playground, But after returning home my pain increased. Due to increased pain i felt a bit anxiety and looks like that anxiety is increasing the pain more

 

[Andy Bayliss]

Hi Anshakti,

Your experience is quite common. It is important to work with fear and anxiety, as a support for your TMS work.

Here is a good article on fear:
Dr. Schubiner's Blog - Understanding and overcoming fear | TMS Forum (Tension Myositis Syndrome)

Here are some basic suggestions for anxiety:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/calming-techniques-stress-anxiety_n_2736457.html

You are observing the interplay between anxiety and pain. The pain tends to linger longer if you are afraid.

Andy B.