New to the forum and grateful

Hi everybody! I'm new to this wiki and thought I'd introduce myself since I've enjoyed reading your stories so much. I just discovered TMS a week ago, and, having found this site, I already feel like I've found a community of welcoming, loving support that I'm eager to participate in. Thank you for being such wonderful humans!

I'm in my mid-thirties and have struggled with IBS and functional dyspepsia since I was at least 12. I received my diagnosis back when it was still called "spastic colon" (which a friend said would be a great name for a metal band). I also have pelvic floor hypertonicity that has led to various on-and-off painful issues with my menstrual cycle, sex, and bowel movements. How's *that* for an introduction?

I've known all along that my IBS was connected to stress, although, like most IBS sufferers, I've also connected it to food triggers, hormone fluctuations, tight waistbands, etc. I didn't discover until a few years ago that my pelvic floor issues were stress-related (I didn't even know what the "pelvic floor" was, which is something I'm now so passionate about when it comes to women's health education - we need to know these things!). I discovered women's health PT almost on accident, and it was exactly what I needed.

It wasn't ALL I needed, though! PT taught me that I hold my stress in my pelvic floor, and the treatment was basically a slow regaining of trust that I was not broken, that I could build supple muscles that are able to stretch and contract without going into spasm. It was a life-changer, for sure. But the pain still comes and goes and sometimes leads to fear/rumination/avoidance, and I think TMS education is going to be the missing piece.

(I will talk to ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY who would like to know more about pelvic floor PT. I know in TMS treatment we try to avoid treating the pain as physical, but there are some important points of overlap between TMS education and pelvic floor PT that I think are worth exploring.)

As for my IBS, I've spent my life looking for triggers and have managed to get myself to the point where I only feel comfortable eating food we've prepared at home, and even then there are only a small number of dishes that I "trust." I'm losing weight that I don't have to spare and have lost joy in food, which is something so fundamentally human that I deeply miss. This tells me that my treatment approach is moving me away from who I am meant to be, not toward health. So I restarted my research and discovered TMS education, and it pulls together a lot of things I have long suspected but never knew how to address.

I've started the recovery program on here and am enjoying not just the daily posts from Alan, but also the warm, honest comments from members of this community. I'm learning so much from you all!

 

Welcome fern, a beautiful choice of name. I love running my fingers through their softness and am sure you will bring a graceful playfulness to our community. Love your first post and look forward to...running my fingers through your softness

Plum x

 

@fern

If you haven't checked this out yet, check out Ezer's post on pelvic pain:

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/pelvic-pain-healed.8680/ (Pelvic Pain - Healed)

 

Thank you, plum, fingers and all! I chose fern because, first of all, ferns are cool, and secondly, their unfurling in the spring represents exactly the point in my life where I find myself. My thirties have been a fascinating period of self-discovery. I love that ferns start out so contracted and enclosed and slowly unfurl, becoming bigger and more open and able to receive light and water (not to mention touch, Plum!). As a highly sensitive person (HSP) who has spent my whole life contracting against strong emotions/sensations/conflicts/experiences, I feel as though I am beginning to unfurl. I think this TMS work will most certainly be part of that.

RichieRich, thanks for pointing me to that thread. It sounds like I had a different experience of PT than Ezer had (I love his name, too!), but that makes sense. Since hypertonicity is defined (and caused) by tension, its treatment is more about learning to not be afraid and learning to trust that your tissues are not broken. So it just naturally overlaps with TMS work. But the reminders in that thread to always do the emotional work were important - I know I made the mistake after finishing PT of assuming I was "cured" and let my tissues develop tension again because I wasn't tending to my emotional self. That's exactly what I'm so excited to learn about here!

 

Hi fern,

Welcome to the forums! I'm glad you had a relatively positive experience with the pelvic floor PT and are also open to TMS work! As a PT myself I can tell you there are parts of what I do that are definitely compatible with TMS work and I try to incorporate them whenever I can. Learning how to relax out of chronic tension can be an important part of PT. Happy to discuss this if you want, though i'm not a pelvic floor specialist.

Also interesting that your mention the HSP (highly sensitive person) temperament- I was actually just reading a book about HSPs that was recommended to me, as I think i am one! It really fits in with TMS and I think many of us are HSP. TMS work will really help you get to the bottom of many of those emotions and begin the healing process.

 

This! I am so very glad to see someone post this. There are definitely many here who are HSP. In some ways, it feels like TMS is inevitable when every single aspect of life is experienced through this extreme sensitivity.

I also wished to express my appreciation for all your posts ... they are thoughtful and compassionate and so very very practical. I adore "practical". It is one of my higher compliments to people

.... always with Love and Gratitude ^_^

 

Welcome, Fern ... as Plum said, your name is exquisite ^_^ As for the 'human' part, I have often wondered if some of us might actually be another species But that is another topic!

I look forward to reading your posts.
Stay magical <3

.... always with Love and Gratitude ^_^

 

Hi Fern (from another HSP here. I loved your description of how you hope to "unfurl" from the contractions you have experienced against the harsher parts of life).

How are you doing?