Day 11 Physical activity

Nice success story by Armchair Linguist, she sounds like she has made some great progress. I can definitely relate. As an undergraduate I was crippled by anxiety and depression. When I got over that, the pain seemed to be felt in the body. I was in my final year, no doubt under a lot of stress, with the prospect of exams after Christmas and a lot of work to do to make up for what was for me a disappointing previous year. I tried pretty much every healing modality and saw lots of physiotherapists and doctors and little to show for it. At around the same time I did something I felt guilty about and fell out with a friend. I was also living alone and was feeling pretty isolated. The pressures didn't matter so much, I'm realising, but my reluctance to feel the feelings or be aware of them did matter.

When was the last time you exercised? Do you have any apprehension about exercising or engaging in physical activity?

I went to the gym today. I still have apprehension. I do specific warm ups (should I stop?) and am wary when I start adding more weight. I think the apprehension was particularly high today, and the little bit of hip pain probably wasn't a coincidence. What's hard for me to shake is all the stuff I read on the internet about physical problems, all the books I read, the hours spent thinking and hypothesising. It is eroding slowly, but sometimes you have to catch yourself when you assume it is a physical problem, or that you think your body is frail and an injury is coming back.

Journaling today was pretty deep as well. I think I am figuring out what it means to get in touch with the feelings.

 

About physical activity, I try to do what I can each day (at age 85) and I know Sarno and Steve Ozanich and others say it helps in TMS healing.

But I can't forget what my favorite humorist, Robert Benchley, said about exercise: "When I feel like I should exercise, I lay down until it goes away."

As for feeling your feelings. Practice doing that, but be careful not to over-do it. If you spend more than half an hour or certainly an hour feeling your negative feelings that may cause TMS I think it can be emotionally stressful and depressing. Get in touch with your feelings for a little while, then do and think things that make you feel good and happy.

As for warm-ups before exercising at the guy, that's highly recommended. Just don't make the warm-ups more work than the actual gym work.

 

Yeah, if I stay too long journaling I find I end up stirring the feelings up with no use. Physical activity is essential for me, not only because I enjoy it but because a lot of the TMS affected me when I was doing activity.