newlearner
Peer Supporter
Has anyone made this realization?
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Alan has completed the new Pain Recovery Program. To read or share it, use this updated link: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/
real talk are flu and colds tms?
- Thread starter newlearner
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JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
The realization has been made by many people that the stress of emotional repression, rage, and negativity can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness and infection. It can also impede healing from injuries.
I can recommend several authoritative authors and studies on this topic if you're interested.
I can recommend several authoritative authors and studies on this topic if you're interested.
Mr Hip Guy
Beloved Grand Eagle
I have had fewer "colds" since realizing TMS is part of my life. I think alot of it is seeing a minor illness like a cold in its proper context. Previously I'd get the telltale signs of a cold coming (for me: sore throat) and catastrophize all the ways it was going to ruin upcoming weekend plans, etc. Then, of course, it would fully bloom into a cold, last 10 days, and then retreat. Nothing was ever "ruined" but I always repeated that same cycle the next time around.
Now, I think at least, I don't do that catastrophizing when symptoms come up - maybe that means the cold doesn't "bloom" perhaps? Either way, I handle the inconvenience of the cold symptoms better so I consider that a win.
I know that Nicole Sachs said in one of her podcasts that she had a very similar experience to what I described above, maybe there is something to it.
Now, I think at least, I don't do that catastrophizing when symptoms come up - maybe that means the cold doesn't "bloom" perhaps? Either way, I handle the inconvenience of the cold symptoms better so I consider that a win.
I know that Nicole Sachs said in one of her podcasts that she had a very similar experience to what I described above, maybe there is something to it.
Baseball65
Beloved Grand Eagle
What a great expression!
somebody told me once that colds are brought on by too many little things keeping you from making a decision COMBINED with a 'belief' in a group idea. Just like I do with a pain symptom, when I feel a cold trying to 'bloom' I turn my brain to where I am indecisive, remind myself I don't believe in illness as a religion, and say "Nope.. I don't need a distraction right now"
I get a fraction of the colds and crap I used to..
Dorado
Beloved Grand Eagle
There certainly IS something to it! This is an excellent perspective; thank you for sharing.
TG957
Beloved Grand Eagle
You bet! When I am stressed, I get colds a lot! My guess it happens because during high stress times I am less likely to get enough rest, sleep etc, which undermines my immune system.
Dorado
Beloved Grand Eagle
@TG957, I'm dealing with a sinus infection right now - and it started after I got into a series of heated arguments with some family members who didn't consult with me on major group decisions. I told my mom that my poor immunity was caused by my other relatives... and she winked right back at me, knowing damn well it's true. 
TG957
Beloved Grand Eagle
Sorry to hear that, and it is so true! Try to sleep more and get rest!@TG957, I'm dealing with a sinus infection right now - and it started after I got into a series of heated arguments with some family members who didn't consult with me on major group decisions. I told my mom that my poor immunity was caused by my other relatives... and she winked right back at me, knowing damn well it's true.
Hey Jan, I recovered from TMS induced migraine headaches a few years ago and now think TMS might be playing a role in surpressing my immune system and causing frequent colds/illness (3-4x per year, sometimes multiple in a row). My wife has also noticed that it seems to correlate with when we have visitors coming to stay with us or when we go visit her family abroad. I really like her family and there's zero conflict, but I think this might be because I am very independent and like to have a degree of control and when I'm there I have little to none.
I would love some book recommendations that examine the relationship between emotional repression/stress/TMS and immunity. Thank you!
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
The essential book which explains the physiology of emotional distress and its effect on our immune system is When The Body Says No, by Gabor Mate MD. It's the third of my top books for managing TMS. His new book is The Myth of Normal which I just got on audiobook from my library but haven't started yet.
Steve Ozanich describes his experience and subsequent TMS analysis of a foodborn illness he suffered during his TMS struggles, which did not affect any other family member. Steve's book, The Great Pain Deception is another book that I recommend for the bookshelf of all TMSers (I've been known to call it the "encyclopedia of TMS" and you can find all of his posts from back in the day on his profile page https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/members/steve-ozanich.111/ (Steve Ozanich) )
However, you can also just search "stress and immune system" to find many authoritative resources on the topic. The top results are all from professional and reliable medical or scientific sources. Even Google's AI overview says this (with my emphasis on the last paragraph):
Stress can impact the immune system in a number of ways, including:
Acute stress
Can temporarily boost the immune response, triggering the body's fight-or-flight response.
Chronic stress
Can suppress the immune system, leading to a low-grade inflammation that can damage tissue. Chronic stress can also increase the risk of autoimmune disorders.
Stress type and duration
Different types and durations of stress can lead to different immune responses.
Individual variability
Immune cells respond to stress differently, so a personalized approach to stress management may be best.
Stress can also impact the body in other ways, including: Increasing susceptibility to infections, Altering blood pressure, Interfering with digestion, and Making people more irritable and focused on the negative.
and will ya look at this one - you never used to see this stated up front, but now it's being picked up by AI "Chronic stress can also increase the risk of autoimmune disorders." Acute stress
Can temporarily boost the immune response, triggering the body's fight-or-flight response.
Chronic stress
Can suppress the immune system, leading to a low-grade inflammation that can damage tissue. Chronic stress can also increase the risk of autoimmune disorders.
Stress type and duration
Different types and durations of stress can lead to different immune responses.
Individual variability
Immune cells respond to stress differently, so a personalized approach to stress management may be best.
Stress can also impact the body in other ways, including: Increasing susceptibility to infections, Altering blood pressure, Interfering with digestion, and Making people more irritable and focused on the negative.
FINALLY
Thank you, When the Body Says No seems like a great place to start. I definitely agree about the link between stress and immune system stuff, but I've found it more challenging to deal with this as TMS (as compared to my headaches). The headaches were much more frequent and tended to have an onset that ramped up so I had time to notice it and treat it as TMS, whereas when I get sick it's only a few times a year and it usually comes on pretty fast.
I think to get over this I'm just going to have to do a lot more consistent low-level daily examination of stress, TMS, and how I'm feeling.
Thanks again for the suggetions and resources.
clarinetpath
Peer Supporter
I'll add that what I saw in practice is totally consistent with When the Body Says No. I used to see patients who would come in to a part of the pathology department for therapeutic plasma exchange, along with various infusions of immunosuppressants. They had somewhat uncommon autoimmune conditions, things like myasthenia gravis, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, CIPD and other rare things there's hardly a name for. Basically they were on a schedule to have their blood filtered out periodically by the finest, most expensive technology we have. Just like Dr. Mate saw, they were always incredibly nice, I don't remember one asshole among them!
Many cancers too, I used to look through patient histories if I didn't have too much else to do. The degree of self-sacrifice of such people, self-effacement, living for others at the expense of themselves, all of which they were totally unaware, was incredible.
I've often thought of writing a book, but Gabor Mate and others already said it beautifully. It's all true.
Many cancers too, I used to look through patient histories if I didn't have too much else to do. The degree of self-sacrifice of such people, self-effacement, living for others at the expense of themselves, all of which they were totally unaware, was incredible.
I've often thought of writing a book, but Gabor Mate and others already said it beautifully. It's all true.
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
Dr Mate has his new book now, The Myth of Normal, which is an updated and even stronger, more comprehensive treatise on the connection between illness and the stress of emotional repression. It covers many individual topics in detail - for example, he has one chapter devoted to the dysfunctional medical system surrounding pregnancy and particularly how labor and birth are unnecessarily traumatized in western medical practice.
It's a long book - I'm seeing it as an encyclopedia of the mindbody, and an important resource. And I'm only 40% through.
Look for it from your local libraries. At mine, the ebook had a 13-week hold on 16 copies, but I got the audiobook after "only" 4 weeks. And I just purchased the ebook, because I want to be able to go back and find certain important references.
It's a long book - I'm seeing it as an encyclopedia of the mindbody, and an important resource. And I'm only 40% through.
Look for it from your local libraries. At mine, the ebook had a 13-week hold on 16 copies, but I got the audiobook after "only" 4 weeks. And I just purchased the ebook, because I want to be able to go back and find certain important references.
I am 50% through that book. Just wonderful. I always wonder why Dr. Mate seemed never hearing of Dr. Sarno's work. I also wonder if the emotions for TMS pain is buried less deep than those with complex autoimmune diseases or cancer. Also agreed on the cold, another distraction for unwanted emotions. That may explain so many students and teachers are sick in the winter months: people are tired, don't want to go back to school with endless rules and restrictions, peer pressures etc.
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
It's so good, isn't it? I'm also only 50% of the way through. It's also long! And incredibly comprehensive.
You aren't the only one who has questioned this, and I get it, but here's my take, which is that there are a number of notable mindbody practitioners and professionals who don't mention Dr. Sarno in their published works, and that's okay. After all, mindbody awareness and advocacy has been around for a long, long time - centuries, in fact. So the essential ideas are not new (and Dr. Sarno based his theory on Freud, after all). Only the packaging is new, and along with greater understanding of the underlying physiology and connection between the stress-response and immune-response processes. And to give "packaging" its due, Dr. Sarno managed to take the best of Freud (eliminating the problematic Freud) and repackage the information in a way which easily reached many people in terrible distress. And of course, those books still succeed in doing that.
That being said, we have to remember that a lot of time has passed since Healing Backl Pain was written! Before his retirement, Dr. Sarno had really only just started recognizing the influence of the brain on physical sensations and processes other than pain, but at that time he, and many practitioners following him, said that certain conditions "are not TMS'. This is starting to be widely accepted as an oversimplification at best, if not an overtly erroneous way to frame the devastating effects of long-term stress-based inflammation on every physiological process. Dr. Mate did not make that mistake - When The Body Says No (written in 2003, five years before The Divided Mind), was already much more radical in that regard than what Dr. Sarno ever published, and his new book , now twenty years later, confirms his original thesis and provides a massive amount of corroborating research and compelling case studies. Written in his stunningly compassionate style.
I think we have plenty of proof right here on this forum that what we call TMS (which is a dated acronym now, but we still use it in honor of Dr. Sarno) comes in many variations and many depths. We do know, thanks to research, that the occurence of ACEs*, or adverse childhood experiences (Dr Mate mentions the ACEs studies) creates a much greater liklihood that the adult will experience more symptoms, worse symptoms, more mental anguish or even mental illness.
Good comments for discussion, @louaci!
*FYI, the ACEs questionnaire and an overview of the studies is in this post: ACEs "quiz" - online & printable versions | TMS Forum (The Mindbody Syndrome)