Hi. I came across TMS while doing my obsessive research to find out what was causing my back pain and numbness and tingling in my legs and arms. I was immediately relieved when I discovered this and my pain almost immediately went away. However, I purchased Dr. Sarnos mind body prescription book and I found myself obsessing on the pain again and the pain got worse again. I'm angry with myself for not being able to make it go away. I feel like I should be stronger in my mind. I'm convinced this is what I have, but I am fearful I won't be able to access the troubling emotions or that I will be one of the small percentage of people this doesn't work for. I'm just really scared and I feel all alone. Thanks for this website, how nice to be able to have a place to vent.
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I think I have TMS and confused
- Thread starter Jill
- Start date
veronica73
Well known member
Welcome, Jill! You're not alone 
It takes time. And different things seem to work for different people. Mindbody Prescription is my favorite Sarno book, but I had to read it a few times before it fully sank in.
Be nice to yourself
~ Veronica
Part of what causes TMS is our lack of compassion with ourselves and our relentless perfectionsim...even in trying to get rid of TMS.
It takes time. And different things seem to work for different people. Mindbody Prescription is my favorite Sarno book, but I had to read it a few times before it fully sank in.
Be nice to yourself
~ Veronica
BruceMC
Beloved Grand Eagle
What I have noticed is that "obsessing" about the symptoms of TMS pain tends to perpetuate them. Seems as though my improvements have all occurred when I begin to "forget" those symptoms, not pay attention to them so much that they take on a life of their own. Maybe since TMS pain functions as a "distraction" from emotions you'd rather not face, the way to eliminate it is to "distract" yourself from the pain by focusing your energy on other activities that absorb all that obsessive energy? Easier said than done I realize . . . but any strategy that breaks the obsessive-compulsive feedback pain cycle seems to work whether it's becoming involved in a big project or committing to an exercise program that gets you "out of yourself" and your self-programmed psychological and behavior patterns. Sometimes it can be something as simple as NOT going to physical therapy or changing your exercise regime from 4 pm in the afternoon to 10 am in the morning. I've certainly noticed that any strategy for breaking the rut you've gotten yourself into is very, very effective at breaking the essentially self-imposed TMS pain cycle. Just buying a new car a couple of years ago and beginning to take trips around California sure seemed to start the process of ending the TMS pain cycle for me. The TMS personality, due to its strong tendencies to perfectionism and OCD behavior, tends to perpetuate behaviors that fall into a nice self-controlled, apparently "safe" rut. Kicking yourself out of those self-imposed ruts seems to be a major first step toward stopping the TMS pain cycle in its tracks.
Thanks for your responses. I'm getting a little better. I think having OCD is making making it difficult to fully accept the TMS diagnosis. I have OCD in the sense of having obsessive thinking patterns. I don't have compulsions, but when I'm not feeling pain, I feel the need to "check" mentally if the pain is gone, which makes the pain come back. Although I'm positive that TMS is causing my symptoms my OCD is still creating that shred of doubt. I'm fighting the obsessions and anxiety though. I hope as time passes I will become stronger. Again I'm so appreciative of your support.
Forest
Beloved Grand Eagle
The small percentage of people who don't get better are the ones that cannot fully accept the diagnosis. It has nothing to do with their level of pain, symptom, or how long they have had TMS. I had TMS for 18 years and was able to recover over the course of several weeks. I couldn't type more than a couple of sentences on a keyboard without excruciating pain in my hands, nor could I walk further than a couple feet without knee pain. Now I type all day with absolutely no pain and walk pretty much every where. I was able to recover my fully believing in the diagnosis. If I can do it, anyone can do it. For more on this read the stories at www.thankyoudrsarno.org . They are tremendous stories about regular people recovering.
TMS exists to distract us from our emotions. Part of the TMS distraction is "checking" on our pain levels and how we are doing. Essentially, your unconscious mind is telling you to check in on your pain level because it wants to distract you from your emotions. When you notice these thoughts of I wonder how my pain is doing, try to stop and ask yourself, how do I feel right now. Try to identify what emotion your unconscious is trying to repress at that current moment. I know this is easier to say than to do, but if you continue to try to practice this, it will work.
Also, start trying to view your OCD and anxiety as another form of TMS. Practitioner Alan Gordon explains how these play the exact same role as TMS in the Q&A with an expert article: What is the correlation between pain and anxiety.
Remember, you have control over your thoughts. Recovering is just a matter of changing our brain chatter from negative and anxiety filled to open, allowing and positive. You can recover by doing this approach.