Is OCD just TMS?

D

Drummer77

New Member
I began experiencing TMS symptoms in 2019 with typical OCD symptoms. They were only mild but I did notice the impact it was having on my day-to-day life. In 2021 I had severe stomach pain and reflux in which I got told I had both Gastritis and GERD. Fast forward to 2023, I ended up with a kidney stone, the stone passed through however my body remained in pain even after the stone had passed. I had debilitating pelvic pain and urninary symptoms. Obviously, I did all the tests and scans and everything came back normal. I applied the TMS principals and my pelvic pain vanished. However, as soon as my pelvic pain disappeared, my OCD and Anxiety went through the roof. So for the past 6 months I have been dealing with severe OCD and anxiety and am just wanting to know if this is just TMS. If so, how would I apply the TMS principals to OCD as it is a little harder to do with mental symptoms.
 
I certainly think that OCD is another TMS equivalent, @Drummer77, although, full disclosure, I'm not a health professional, I'm a retired CPA with a 13-year passion for studying and discussing the mindbody condition.

I don't believe that Dr Sarno really encountered OCD in his practice, but towards the end of his career he certainly acknowledged that anxiety and some depression were manifestations of what he called TMS. We've seen a significant increase in reports of OCD on the forum just in the last five years or so. There is another doctor who has been engaged in mindbody research for several decades, Dr Gabor Mate, who is a Canadian MD and author of many well-written and compassionate books. His latest compendium of all things mind body is The Myth of Normal, where he addresses OCD specifically although briefly along with a multitude of mental conditions that result from the distress of emotional repression.

You rightly mention OCD together with anxiety, which leads me to recommend a much shorter and simpler book to start with, one which has been helping thousands of people worldwide for fifty years to overcome disabling anxiety and related symptoms. It's Hope & Help For Your Nerves, by Claire Weekes PhD.

My non-scientific observation of our community members with severe OCD is that it is connected with some form of childhood adversity. Please check out the recommendation at this thread:
https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/aces-quiz-online-printable-versions.27061 (ACEs "quiz" - online & printable versions)
 
IMO, OCD is TMS. In fact, Dr. Hanscom describes it as a form of extreme anxiety. And of course TMS is OCD of the BODY as my friend @Baseball65 says. The great news is, you can treat it just like you treat physical symptoms.

Late last summer I realized I had chronic OCD my whole life! Once it clicked for me I was able to focus on reintroducing/exposing myself to the things I feared which diminished the anxiety/depression. Also, eliminating unhelpful habits like “internal checking” which was something I had been doing all my life.
 
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