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Alan G. How to get rid of your pain in 7 minutes

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Question
Hi, I've read all about outcome independence and how important it is in overcoming conditioned responses, but do you have any examples of what it looks like in practice?
 
Answer
Okay, confession, I wrote this question myself.

Here's the deal. During group supervision last week, we were talking about the importance of outcome independence in overcoming conditioned responses (a conditioned response is when a symptom becomes linked with a specific physical position or activity...back pain with sitting, knee pain with walking, etc.)

One of our superstar interns mentioned that she has had hand/wrist pain every time she types or texts, and that this has been going on for two years. She'd previously overcome several different symptoms from a TMS approach, but for some reason she found herself feeling on a gut level that this one might be structural.

So we looked at the evidence:
A.) She has a history of other TMS symptoms.
B.) The pain came on when she was going through a very stressful time.
C.) The pain came on in both hands simultaneously.

The third point is the biggest tip off. The extremities evolve independently from each other, and, with the exception of a physical trauma, the chance of pain developing in both hands at the same time is very low.

So we knew it was TMS, and even though she may have been doubting that on a gut level, intellectually, she was sure of it. This is important, you need to have confidence in the TMS diagnosis before outcome independence will work.

Anyway, I did a 7 minute outcome independence exercise with her, having her type while I was talking, and by the end of it her pain had completely disappeared!

Unbeknowst to me (hence all the swearing...) one of our other interns recorded the whole thing.

So here it is, possibly my favorite audio clip we've recorded:

The Successful Integration of Outcome Independence in Overcoming Long-Standing Conditioned Responses
aka
How To Get Rid of Your Pain in 7 Minutes


Click here to download the mp3 audio file​

Any advice or information provided here does not and is not intended to be and should not be taken to constitute specific professional or psychological advice given to any group or individual. This general advice is provided with the guidance that any person who believes that they may be suffering from any medical, psychological, or mindbody condition should seek professional advice from a qualified, registered/licensed physician and/or psychotherapist who has the opportunity to meet with the patient, take a history, possibly examine the patient, review medical and/or mental health records, and provide specific advice and/or treatment based on their experience diagnosing and treating that condition or range of conditions. No general advice provided here should be taken to replace or in any way contradict advice provided by a qualified, registered/licensed physician and/or psychotherapist who has the opportunity to meet with the patient, take a history, possibly examine the patient, review medical and/or mental health records, and provide specific advice and/or treatment based on their experience diagnosing and treating that condition or range of conditions.

The general advice and information provided in this format is for informational purposes only and cannot serve as a way to screen for, identify, or diagnose depression, anxiety, or other psychological conditions. If you feel you may be suffering from any of these conditions please contact a licensed mental health practitioner for an in-person consultation.

Questions may be edited for brevity and/or readability.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Amazing! I will listen to this again and again. By the way, the swearing makes it even more authentic, so no need to apologize. Loved every minute of that recording.

Thank you sharing, Alan.
 
How wonderful this is. It reminds me of a form of meditation, in the sense that you are directing the mind again and again to witness and not get caught. You also provide an antidote to the magnetic thought pattern "believing the frustration needs to be attended to" by becoming aware of the larger in-the-moment experience, which can always include at least some ease, pleasure, at-homeness. In fact, with this redirection, you are telling the mind-body pain activity that you are enjoying yourself! Which takes away the purpose of the pain. Thank you!
 
That's an amazing session, Alan, thanks for sharing it with us.

With Alan's help, I've added the clip to the TMS Recovery Program that Alan contributed:
http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/TMS_Recovery_Program#Working_Toward_Outcome_Independence
It provides a roadmap for managing the deeper issues that cause our TMS. The first section, part I, provides the most important three steps for rapidly overcoming your TMS through learning about TMS. Dr. Sarno said that this "knowledge education" approach works for about 80% of his patients, but 20% need deeper work. The second section, part II, gives you the best tools you can have to do this work on your own. The skills it teaches are vital and are all presented clearly, concisely, and in an inspiring manner:
  1. Generate Self Compassion
  2. Recognize Destructive Behaviors
  3. Identify Source of Abuse
  4. Mindfulness
  5. Address Repression
  6. Identify Source of Repression
  7. Feel Your Feelings
  8. Stand Up to the Inner Bully
  9. Provide Comfort
  10. Prioritize Yourself
  11. Attend to Your Internal State
  12. Take a Loving Stance
It's some of the very best content on the site and I just wish that more people read it and then applied it. Many of the stumbling blocks that I see people getting caught in could have been avoided if they had made a habit of reading the program every month and thinking about how each step applied to them.

So if you haven't read it recently, reread it! It's powerful stuff and maybe you'll have a 7 minute recovery as well. :) (It's probably pretty clear, but I'm just thrilled to have it on the site.)
 
Hahaha, when I first read the OP's question, I said to myself: "wow, what a well presented question, sounds like he or she should become a therapist someday." Great stuff btw, Alan.
 
Thanks for sharing this post and fantastic recording, Alan. This is a post I'll definitely be visiting time and time again. I'm forever grateful that you take the time to share your wisdom and help so many.
 
Alan Gordon LCSW said:
Answer
Okay, confession, I wrote this question myself.

Here's the deal. During group supervision last week, we were talking about the importance of outcome independence in overcoming conditioned responses (a conditioned response is when a symptom becomes linked with a specific physical position or activity...back pain with sitting, knee pain with walking, etc.)

One of our superstar interns mentioned that she has had hand/wrist pain every time she types or texts, and that this has been going on for two years. She'd previously overcome several different symptoms from a TMS approach, but for some reason she found herself feeling on a gut level that this one might be structural.

So we looked at the evidence:
A.) She has a history of other TMS symptoms.
B.) The pain came on when she was going through a very stressful time.
C.) The pain came on in both hands simultaneously.

The third point is the biggest tip off. The extremities evolve independently from each other, and, with the exception of a physical trauma, the chance of pain developing in both hands at the same time is very low.

So we knew it was TMS, and even though she may have been doubting that on a gut level, intellectually, she was sure of it. This is important, you need to have confidence in the TMS diagnosis before outcome independence will work.

Anyway, I did a 7 minute outcome independence exercise with her, having her type while I was talking, and by the end of it her pain had completely disappeared!

Unbeknowst to me (hence all the swearing...) one of our other interns recorded the whole thing.

So here it is, possibly my favorite audio clip we've recorded:

The Successful Integration of Outcome Independence in Overcoming Long-Standing Conditioned Responses
aka
How To Get Rid of Your Pain in 7 Minutes


Click here to download the mp3 audio file​

Any advice or information provided here does not and is not intended to be and should not be taken to constitute specific professional or psychological advice given to any group or individual. This general advice is provided with the guidance that any person who believes that they may be suffering from any medical, psychological, or mindbody condition should seek professional advice from a qualified, registered/licensed physician and/or psychotherapist who has the opportunity to meet with the patient, take a history, possibly examine the patient, review medical and/or mental health records, and provide specific advice and/or treatment based on their experience diagnosing and treating that condition or range of conditions. No general advice provided here should be taken to replace or in any way contradict advice provided by a qualified, registered/licensed physician and/or psychotherapist who has the opportunity to meet with the patient, take a history, possibly examine the patient, review medical and/or mental health records, and provide specific advice and/or treatment based on their experience diagnosing and treating that condition or range of conditions.

The general advice and information provided in this format is for informational purposes only and cannot serve as a way to screen for, identify, or diagnose depression, anxiety, or other psychological conditions. If you feel you may be suffering from any of these conditions please contact a licensed mental health practitioner for an in-person consultation.

Questions may be edited for brevity and/or readability.

Click to expand...

Avik, I'm not sure how to attach this link, so I've bumped the thread.
 
This was excellent. I needed this because of post-shingles arm pain. I know my body has had time to heal. (3 months) Now, it's just the nueropathways as you mention in the recording. The regular Dr. freaked me because she said "some people have it for years." But, I feel like Dr. Sarno was more right on when he said that the body heals and the mind keeps the pain going. Thanks for this great recording.
 
Wow, this made outcome independence so clear to me... something I have been struggling with. Now I am going to work on not giving a shit! Thanks, Alan.
 
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