Last Roll Of The Dice

Hey, everyone. I've suffered from a myriad of mindbody problems for the past 29 years and I've had enough. I have so many symptoms it would take a small book just to list them all never never mind describe them. My primary symptoms are pain, tightness and strange sensations all over my head, pain and stiffness in my neck, pain, tightness and spasming in throat, pain all over my back, pain in both shoulders, difficulty using both arms and pain in my chest. The head pain and throat stuff has been messing with my ability to speak and swallow for as long as I can remember and the other problems I listed have been major issues for a long, long time but in recent months things have got so bad I'm struggling to move and it's got to the point where I'm more or less housebound (I force myself to go outside one a week so I don't become aggrophobic).


I've read all the books and listened to and watched the podcasts etc...but nothing I try ever helps. I understand what's going on and I think I have a pretty good idea of how I ended up like this and the reasons why my unconsious mind refuses to stop creating the symptoms but despite nigh on a decade of study I have no idea what to do about any of it.

I can't go on feeling this. I want my life back. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I too have suffered a myriad of symptoms for around 30 years. However, in recent times, I've gone from being bedridden and housebound to functioning pretty well by comparison (albeit not fully free of symptoms, but my life feels worth living, whereas it was awful before). I've got to where I am now by taking a 'baby steps' approach to very gradually doing the things I couldn't do. I put my improvement down to tackling a fearful 'lizard' brain, gradually getting it to be less fearful. If you believe that your unconscious mind is creating symptoms due fear, then I'd suggest using this new workbook (published at the end of last year): 'The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook: Using the Brain's Neuroplasticity to Break the Cycle of Chronic Pain'by Vanessa M. Blackstone and Olivia S. Sinaiko. You can see more inside it than you can on Amazon on Google books here:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qMfxEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false (The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook)

And this is The Workbook on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Pain-Reproce...the+pain+reprocessing+workbook,aps,173&sr=8-1

If you want to 'hedge your bets' and also deal with anger/rage for a two pronged approach (that personally, I think many of we TMSers need to do), see my thread about 'The Anger Book - A Journal To Destroy' by Elias Baar, here: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/the-anger-book-a-journal-to-destroy-by-elias-baar.30103/

And lastly, if you have trauma in your past that you keep looping back to and/or current difficulties that you are finding difficult to tackle, then I can tell you that this book has been helpful to me: 'Change What Happened to You: How to Use Neuroscience to Get the Life You Want by Changing Your Negative Childhood Memories'and is by Odille and Steve Remmert https://www.amazon.com/Change-What-Happened-You-Neuroscience/dp/B09SNV6GKT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1S81R9CX4J8AH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.42BY7ufxm38r3r8ZJMzsnOXm4ngp2fF2ftI0u_zV_r4.jvJ0Fub_qvp6gT41re065-Ue_bdsURvbAnXiKuD3Iug&dib_tag=se&keywords=odille+remmert&qid=1754750731&sprefix=odille+remmert,aps,136&sr=8-1 The idea isn't to change your memories so that your conscious mind doesn't remember what actually did happen, it's about revisiting events and giving yourself the support that you needed but didn't get at the time. I got perplexity.ai to give me a simple-to-do routine, putting together what the book advises and it came up with this...




I wish you well and hope that something I've mentioned appeals and will help you.

 

Hey. Thank you for the book recommendations. I'll check them out.

 

You have done well educating yourself about TMS and this is a necessary first step, but in my experience what you describe above is passive. To make progress we need to actively engage in our recovery, which means challenging ourselves and our beliefs in ways that make us uncomfortable. I suggest picking a structured program like the SEP that is free on this site. There are many others. I'm not familiar with the ones that @BloodMoon recommends above, but they sound good. The important thing is to pick one and do the exercises on a daily basis for the prescribed amount of time. If you still have symptoms at the end of your chosen program, then choose another and stick with it. Persistence and actively challenging ourselves is what pays off.

Best wishes on your recovery journey.

 

@scott.steven182
Hi! Glad you’re here. Many of us have widespread issues. I do. And I fight being housebound, as well. I know how hard it is! It’s great you have a good outlook on doing the work. You will definitely be able to improve your life. Hang out here for wisdom and courage! The advice recommended by @BloodMoon and @Ellen above is great. You can’t go wrong with that.

 

Hey. Thanks for taking the time to offer me some advice. I've tried multiple programs abd they font help me. Perhaps they don't address my specific issues ? Who knows. If you can recommend a course I'd be willing to give it a try

 

Scott, the free course on this site is called the Structured Educational Program (SEP, for short). It’s a good one.

 

I agree that the Structured Education Program is a good one--and it's free!

 

But did it help you get better ? It didn't work for me at all.

 

I first did Schubiner's Unlearn Your Pain program from his book. I improved substantially but still had some lingering TMS that would flare up at times. Then I did the SEP--TWICE! I finally got to 100% free of TMS, but still have a relapse here and there.

So my advice is to not give up. Pick a daily program and stick to it. If you still have TMS at the end, do it again or pick another. Keep plugging away. And read Success Stories for inspiration and ideas.

 

I love inspiring stories like this, @Ellen ! ❤️