There is so much I could say, that I find it hard to start. So I will begin with what I think is most important, and what immediately comes to mind.
Relax, and allow your body to heal itself. It sounds cliché, but my symptoms melted once they stopped distracting me from what I was avoiding. Which brings me to,
Do I still work on my body? stretching/ strengthening etc?
Only if you want to, but I wouldn't get hung up on anything in particular. Say stretching or exercise makes you feel good, and it's fun and so on, of course! Otherwise, I would let them go as you're able. They'll naturally slip once you're no longer allowing yourself to be held down by TMS.
One practice that really helped me was journaling. I can't recommend it enough. Nicole Sachs has a great video on that here:
. But keep in mind, that you *might feel worse after journaling, and your pain might move to another location. But in the long run, it'll reveal thoughts that you previously didn't think you could think, if that makes sense. I also wouldn't get hung up on "I have to journal at this time, for this long, and write this much". Just feel it out, and push yourself a little bit.
Well I can tell my story. I went through an awful time back in March of last year. The whole thing is somewhat of a blur. I'm a student with bad coping skills, and a perfectionist, and always appeared "calm" on the outside, and didn't allow myself to feel anger, sadness, or fear on the inside. Honestly afraid of living. The usual stuff.
Well, I was under a lot of pressure, and then covid hit, and I kinda imploded. I ended up with testicular pain, and eventually pain in my pelvis, an enlarged prostate, trouble urinating and so on. No bacteria, but I was put on antibiotics for two full months anyway. They didn't do much. And I developed new symptoms which I blamed on the antibiotics, and suffered from insomnia and really bad anxiety. In hindsight I think I was just really in a bad spot mentally. Bed ridden, scared, and having a meltdown. I don't like thinking about it, to be honest. Also, keep in mind that symptoms don't mean too much with TMS because they move around, so don't get hung up on xy or z comparison between your symptoms and someone else's. Everyone has to go through their own journey. Pain is very personal but we all feel it.
By luck I came across a youtube channel that's deleted now. The guy who made it moved on from his TMS videos, but his stuff was a godsend. I do wish he had stuck around, but I respect his moving on because I think that was an important step in his healing. Anyway, by some grace I had discovered TMS. I gobbled up Dr. Sarno's book The Mindbody Prescription while I was still stretching and trying all sorts of remedies. From there things get really fuzzy and hard to explain rationally. My symptoms went up and down but overall they melted away as I moved on and started living again. I don't want to discourage anyone, but in some ways I do feel "worse" in that, I'm aware of my anger, and sadness, etc. And I have to
do something about them now, or at least acknowledge my feelings.
Once my symptoms were nearly gone, I also stopped drinking coffee, or doing anything that caused my body to "unravel". Rest is very important, and at least where I live it's not given enough sway in daily life. We're constantly avoiding the boring bits, and even though people can sit down and watch something on the internet, or read, they're not really
there resting in the moment. You don't have to avoid coffee or anything I mentioned specifically, but do take some time to go for a slow walk, or lie on the couch, anything of that nature really.
Some closing thoughts: In a weird way I'm glad I went through TMS because it gave me a huge wake up call. A year ago I would have thought that health was purely chemical. I had neglected integral parts of human nature. Now I see that health is a combination of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well being. In a weird way, I think it was necessary for me to go through this, and I think I knew on some level that something had to give which forced my body to develop pain for the disconnect from my life I was creating. Imagine touching a hot stove: Your hand will reflexively move on its own. No conscious control required. My life was on the stove, and my body reflexed to get me out. I think pain is the greatest teacher, and one of the only initiations into life we're given.
So tl;dr easy steps
- Relax and get true rest
- Face what you're avoiding due to pain as best you can
- Journal and acknowledge / deal with your emotions and drives
- Bonus: Watch and read positive success stories!
