Needing some advice..

Hi all,

I've had chronic back pain for the last few years. I came across my TMS diagnosis a few months ago and things are going really well. I know 100% it's TMS. I still have lingering pain though.

Currently the longest I've driven is around 45 mins. On Tuesday I will be driving from Auckland down to Wellington which is an 8 hour drive and by far my biggest challenge to date. Does anybody have any advice for me for the trip.. Like how much I should push myself? And what things I should be telling my brain during the drive?
I'm starting to get quite anxious and the fear thoughts are creeping in.

Thanks in advance!

 

Fear drives the pain not your car !

 

Hi Elise: I can totally relate!

I use self-talk and visualization to turn things around. The self-talk that continues to work for me, six years after starting this work, is to calm myself down with positive and constructive true statements.

"Hey Brain, whatever this is, it's nothing to be afraid of. I'm perfectly safe, I'm not in danger, and even though I'm feeling (xxxx) it's not necessary!"

I combine this self-talk with deep breathing, and in most cases, I take a mindfulness break and try to think of what it is that's really bothering me. It could be what I'm currently doing, or it might be something that happened yesterday, or something I'm worried about in the future. Whatever it is, I remind my brain that THIS is what's really bothering me, and that I don't need to be distracted from the emotion with a physical symptom.

And good travel music can't hurt!

You go, girl

~Jan