Random Electric Pain

Alouqua47

Peer Supporter
Has anyone experienced electric-type pain—electric sensations that appear randomly in the body for seconds or sometimes linger for a while? I also have a particularly strange pain, neuropathy-type in my arms. Those are permanent. Lately they also feel like energy sensations—also electric. It’s very unpleasant. It can go up to my shoulder, sometimes even to my back or neck. There’s always one side of my body that’s more affected.
Please encourage me. Today all my symptoms feel layered on top of each other, plus the burning in my calves. I want to think that my brain is fighting against my lack of reaction to the symptoms, but I won’t deny that at times my mind can slip into a state of wanting to panic.
 
Yes, I went through that.
When my anxiety began to reduce, those sensations went away.
I think at this point, you need to talk less about your physical sensations and focus more on emotions and your mindset. You are obsessively focused on what you are considering "unpleasant" in your physical body. What is going on that you consider is "unpleasant" in your mind and in your life that is NOT at all associated with symptoms?
Don't even consider your brain "fighting" - your brain is learning. It's like a kid learning to draw - it has to learn how to hold the pencil first. When the child begins to draw the lines are not very clear. Somedays that child might simply scribble and cry out in frustration because it can't control the pencil. But amazingly, the child will pick up the pencil again tomorrow and try again. Eventually, the letters will make sense.
 
I live in Latin America and, honestly, I feel quite alone with this. The random sensations can be bothersome, but my main symptom — and what overwhelms me the most — is my arms, because that’s where everything is more permanent and intense.
My main way of coping with this is trying not to fear the symptoms and to live my life as normally as possible. I take care of my responsibilities, I try not to focus on it too much, and just keep going. But sometimes I notice that new symptoms have appeared or that the random sensations are more active than before, and that scares me a little. It’s not that the main symptom is stronger right now, but now new things are being added.
I honestly have no idea how to work with my emotions. I’ve looked into my past a bit and discovered a couple of emotions I didn’t know I was feeling. I felt them at the time, I cried… and then what am I supposed to do? In my daily life, not much happens beyond normal routine. There are no major problems, just everyday life.
Anyway, what I really want to know is whether this apparent worsening — adding more symptoms or the random ones becoming more active — could somehow be a good sign.



Sí, pasé por eso.
Cuando mi ansiedad empezó a disminuir, esas sensaciones desaparecieron.
Creo que, llegados a este punto, necesitas hablar menos de tus sensaciones físicas y centrarte más en tus emociones y tu mentalidad. Estás obsesivamente concentrado en lo que consideras "desagradable" en tu cuerpo físico. ¿Qué sucede que consideras "desagradable" en tu mente y en tu vida y que NO está relacionado con los síntomas?
Ni siquiera pienses que tu cerebro está "luchando": está aprendiendo. Es como un niño que aprende a dibujar: primero tiene que aprender a sostener el lápiz. Cuando empieza a dibujar, las líneas no son muy claras. Algunos días, puede que simplemente garabatee y grite de frustración porque no puede controlar el lápiz. Pero, sorprendentemente, mañana volverá a coger el lápiz y lo intentará de nuevo. Con el tiempo, las letras tendrán sentido.
 
I’ve looked into my past a bit and discovered a couple of emotions I didn’t know I was feeling. I felt them at the time, I cried… and then what am I supposed to do? In my daily life, not much happens beyond normal routine. There are no major problems, just everyday life.
It sounds like you’ve done some really helpful inner work already, uncovering emotions you didn’t even realise were there. I wonder if part of what’s happening now is that everyday life just feels a bit too routine or flat — often our bodies react when there isn’t enough joy or stimulation, even if nothing “bad” seems to be going on.

It could also be that you’re not getting quite enough soothing or small sparks of pleasure to balance out the ordinary ups and downs of daily life. From what I’ve experienced, symptoms often reflect something about how we’re living now rather than what’s buried in the past. Even subtle changes — finding small lifts or moments of creativity and delight — can help your system come back into balance.
 
I live in Latin America and, honestly, I feel quite alone with this.

No matter where you live, I think almost everyone feels this way. Rarely do we read about someone with all the symptoms we have, and probably none of us know anyone who treats their symptoms as TMS. The most important thing to remember is that you're not alone. Here we all are answering each of your posts. We stand with you.
I think in that case, it is important to look into why you might feel lonely beyond this, and notice how that loneliness shows up in your body and emotions. Not to dwell on that, just to lightly notice it and why you end up feeling this way. I think we often feel lonely and then realize that we aren't putting ourselves first, that we are constantly putting other people first and often because we feel we "must" or that it is "right" - eg. parents put children first in all cases, and may put their husband/wife/partner first. I know this is very hard for me. I was raised to put my parents first and foremost and that not only "should" and "must" I do this, but that my own wants and feelings were simply not important or valid (most but not all of the time). When I look back on things, my Mother also felt that husband came first, she also came first but didn't really even know how to put herself first so she looked for other people to do that for her so she would not appear selfish. I was to put her first above all and especially her emotions and feelings because she did not know how to handle her own. Things can simply be generational.
Make sure you take time for you. Remind yourself during daily life, in the moment to just feel your feelings in your physical body, and that it's OK to take a little time for yourself - even if it's just thoughts for yourself. Maybe it's 5 minutes of quiet with a cup of coffee and some deep breaths, maybe it's your favorite scented hand cream. Anything that is just for you. It's a form of soothing your brain to remind it that it's OK for you to also think of yourself.

Recently @BloodMoon posted about something called Mickel Therapy. One of the ideas this Dr. has is that we might find ourselves in "body boredom". That is our daily routines aren't fulfilling our own needs. Again, often it's because people with TMS often live for and through others in our lives and forget that we can do things for us. Daily routines can be uninteresting! It might be fun to think about what can make your daily life more fun. I know you mentioned you have a child, and I bet you can think of some things that might make life more fun for you both, but something that you both enjoy, not just your child (as a parent, it's often very hard to step outside things your child likes, especially while they are young). Perhaps make what is called a "bucket list" - fun things you both enjoy that you can write down and cross off when you do them. Ideas: a trip to the bakery for a treat and a drink, going to the park or town square to meet or be around others (play dates for children, visits for parents), getting nails done together, a walk at sunset, a game where you must draw each other, a book you read at bedtime that you both enjoy, singing games, hide and seek, a trip to spaces like the art gallery, zoo, etc. You mention photography and that you enjoy pictures of your daughter. You might also begin to take photos of the two of you together.

One other trait that many people with TMS have is a rigid mind - it becomes difficult to think outside of our daily routines. We just want to manage to get through the day, but that becomes stagnant. It can be a challenge and even bring up emotions to work towards doing new things or even getting back to the old things we used to love, but it's an important step and gives us opportunities to feel the emotions as they come up.

You mention you don't know how to feel your emotions: you do! You mentioned you cried, and you did it by stopping and sensing. Any time in the day just take a minute and think "What am I feeling" and then sort of zoom into your body - think about your chest, or your stomach and then begin to just feel those parts of your body, lightly and notice any sensations: is there tension, is it warm or cold, is there a "buzzing" feeling of aliveness, and finally - is there anything that might be an emotion. Crying and sadness and anger are often easier to feel but other emotions are often much more subtle and soft feeling - fleeting, like a whisper or a wind blowing through the body. You don't need to give them a name or even know or understand the emotion - just let it pass though you. It takes only a minute to come and go because emotions are simply chemical energy. Think of when you mix a little sugar in warm water. For a moment the sugar is visible but when you stir it and give it a moment it seems to disappear - this is sort of like how emotions come and then go.

I know one of the biggest things for me in learning this work was worrying that I was actually doing it or doing it "right". Clearly you are engaging in it. It takes practice and repetition to let it sink into the mind. This is what you are doing.
 
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