Psychotherapy

mouser

mouser

Peer Supporter
If anyone had to go the route of therapy to resolve your TMS symptoms, did you try hypnosis or EMDR? Did you try any special therapies to get at the subconscious mind? I may well be one who has to go that direction and am wondering if it helped when books and the SEP program didn't?
 
How is your progress so far? I'm also curious about hypnosis and psychotherapy and how they might accelerate the recovery process although I don't have any personal experience with it. Hopefully a more knowledgeable member can fill us in!
 
I have digressed, hard to walk at all anymore. Found a lady online about 20 mins. away who works with chronic pain. Sent an email to inquire further. Plus my primary Dr. had suggested a pain clinic that had a multi modal approach. Thankfully, I have come across several health care providers that support the notion that Pain is its own illness and likely nothing is wrong with my back.
 
Have you reached out to a psychotherapist through this website? I've read on posts that they will see clients via skype if you can't travel to them. I'd strongly suggest you use a psychotherapist trained in tms rather than focusing on another method (eg, hypnosis). Looking for one that does hypnosis or EMDR rather than looking for a tms trained therapist could be your subconscious giving a distraction.
I never went to a pain clinic as looking at the websites of the ones in my area looked like drugs were a typical first step and I had gotten off the ones I took my first few months and vowed I wouldn't go back to them.
 
As long as they have the same mindset in general as Dr. Sarno along with the many Dr.s and therapists here, I will be OK with it. I think finally some 40 years later, studies are finally realizing there is no correlation between a bad MRI and pain. They are coming to many of the same conclusions as Dr. Sarno. There is nothing wrong with your back. AND certain personalities tend to get chronic pain. I do go to a clinic and take Norco because it helps me walk. Even Dr Sarno said it was Ok to take pain meds til they were no longer needed. If a person can go without, that's great. I have worsened over the last few months and the pain has doubled since last summer. I fell twice a few weeks ago and hit my head pretty hard. I am not afraid to move because I will hurt my delicate back, I am afraid of falling on the pavement again or down stairs. I have gone from a walking stick to a rollator. I am very unstable.
 
I highly recommend "Healing Back Pain" by Dr. Sarno and "The Great Pain Deception" by Steve Ozanich. It might take some time for healing to occur but it will happen, even if it happens slowly. It is also useful to read a little bit about TMS everyday, even if you only spend ten minutes a day reading about it. It's also helpful to think about what is stressing you out and to remember that stress and rage are causing your back pain. If you have faith and persistence, then it is only a matter of time before you recover. It sounds cheesy and sentimental but with TMS recovery it is actually true. I still have a little bit of TMS but it isn't even close to the hell I was living with for more than 7 years. Also the fear of pain can be just as debilitating as the pain itself.
 
I have read 3 of Dr. Sarno's books and Steve O's book, and worked thru most of the SEP. I am sure I have TMS. I don't think I have any severe childhood trauma, but I am extremely sensitive, and very much a gooodist. If there is a physical brain/psychological predisposition to pain, I am sure I have it.
 
Ok. I'm not sure what to say about psychotherapy because I have no experience with it. This weekend I re-read Steve O's book and learned so much the second time around . I think you will recover because you are proactive and are reading the material and are able to accept the diagnosis.

My own recovery has taken more than a year. I often times got discouraged because I was in pain despite having already accepted the diagnosis. It is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when I'm in agonizing pain.

It's interesting that you mention walking as being the most difficult activity. Because for me, it was walking that was always the most pain free activity and sitting which caused most of my pain. This just further confirms the TMS diagnosis. Some of us get pain when we're walking, others get pain when we're sitting. The one thing we have in common is that we're unconsciously repressing disturbing thoughts, emotions, feelings, and impulses and our unconscious is using pain to distract us.

I'd recommend taking baby steps and just force yourself to walk for a certain amount of time every day. Reward yourself when you reach your goal. Don't get discouraged if there is a setback, recovery isn't usually smooth. My advice is also easier said than done. Us TMSers are already too hard on ourselves so don't be too hard on yourself.

Sorry for the off-topic post.
 
Thanks for your reply. I do still have to walk to class and to work. It's just VERY painful and exhausting. I take fewer showers because I am afraid I will fall as my strength and balance have gone. I try to move every 30 - 60 mins for at least 5 mins.

When I discovered Dr. Sarno and started believing I had TMS, I was kind of excited! But after 9 months I have doubled in pain and disability.

I thought I had conquered it, but maybe I still have the old tape playing in my head that "I do no deserve nice things."
 
That sounds rough. Have you consulted with a TMS practicioner, particularly one who is a MD and can diagnose TMS? If you have TMS, then powering through the pain is a good thing although it is really hard to do and really painful. Maybe you need a TMS practicioner to formally diagnose you and to dispel any lingering doubt?

I hope you are doing well today!
 
In addition to meeting up with a good therapist, have you considered dream therapy? I recommend it to people who have reached a plateau in their recovery, since dreams can shine a light on what's buried underneath. Freud described dreams as "the royal road to the unconscious." Dream therapy would look like you keeping a smart device or notepad next to the bed and writing down what you can remember from your dreams when you wake up in the middle of the night or the morning. People who begin the habit of paying attention to their dreams (like myself) often notice that their dream life becomes a lot more vivid. In my exprience, remembering dreams gives the mind's natural emotional processor a further outlet of expression. It becomes a common experiences to wake up after a particularly vivid dream feeling the emotions represented. While some people attribute dreams to random processes, I find a model that sees them as an expression of the unconscious mind much more plausible based on what I know about myself and others who engage in this process.
 
Benjiro said:
I recommend it to people who have reached a plateau in their recovery, since dreams can shine a light on what's buried underneath. Freud described dreams as "the royal road to the unconscious."
Click to expand...
Coincidentally, I read this post right after having a dream that I think was very revealing to me. As soon as I awoke, I realizde I was spending too much time and effort catering to the "child in me" and not enough love and attention on the current me.
 
Anything to do with the brain or consciousness fascinates me. I think some dreams can be very meaningful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top