Hi all,
This is my first post on this forum, but I'm quite familiar with mindbody disorders. As the title suggests, I am looking for advice on receiving an official diagnosis, but I'd like it if I could maybe provide some insight into my situation first.
I am 20 years old, and began having chronic digestive issues at 18, the primary symptom of which has been severe bloating. As is the case with TMS symptoms, this has been a very effective distraction for me, as I am very self-conscious. I've had numerous examinations and treatments for my digestive issues. Any identifiable abnormalities that were found (intestinal blockage and bacteria) were treated, but failed to relieve me of my symptoms, and subsequent testing failed to find anything else of issue. My personality is exactly as is described to be common in TMS patients in books, articles, etc on the topic of mindbody disorders. And, I only recently learned of this, as I had dissociated entirely from memories of it, but my childhood was very traumatic for me. My mother (who is now absent from my life) was physically and emotionally abusive and neglectful towards my siblings and I, particularly and especially towards myself, I am told by my family.
My point is, I have spent so much time and expended so much effort into understanding and proving to myself how this diagnosis exists and applies to me. Everything I wrote about above, from my understanding, has heavy correlation to the onset and diagnosis of mindbody disorders. I have every reason to believe that I am as clear a case for a mindbody disorder as one could be. And yet my doubt is still so strong. It's like my brain always finds a new reason to doubt, no matter how baseless and unlikely the reasoning is. Doubting that my symptom can be psychosomatic, doubting that psychosomatic conditions even exist, and so on. And no matter how much evidence I gather in support, or how irrational my doubt is, this struggle has just continued ceaselessly.
Maybe this is too longwinded a post for this question, but, I am seeking advice on receiving an official diagnosis. I live somewhere where an in-person consultation is not an option, so it would have to be done virtually, somehow. I've read on the TMS wiki and the PPDA website that receiving a diagnosis cannot be done online. is there any way it could be? To refer back to my childhood, as Sarno and many other practitioners have recommend for those with childhood trauma, I plan on working with a psychotherapist to understand and process it. This would also have to be done online. So, is a diagnosis something I could receive from them..?
I apologize if this is all silly or if the answer is clear. I am just terribly anxious and lacking in self confidence. even if hearing it from an official is not essential to ones ability to recover, it would make it so much easier for me to move forward. Regardless of whether or not I receive one, and regardless of whether or not doubt remains, I'm sure that resolution can be found in psychotherapy. But, again, it would all be so much easier for me if I were to hear that my condition is psychosomatic from someone other than myself.
So, I apologize again for such a long-winded question, but the gist is, I have really given myself every reason to believe in psychosomatic conditions both generally and as applicable to myself, and yet I am still plagued with immense doubt and anxiety about it all - a result, I imagine, of my low self-esteem, trust issues, and the brains function in mindbody disorders of keeping your attention away from repressed causing factors. So, I feel it'd help me a great deal to receive an official diagnosis, and am wondering how could I go about receiving one online/virtually.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any sort of input or advice would mean a lot to me.
This is my first post on this forum, but I'm quite familiar with mindbody disorders. As the title suggests, I am looking for advice on receiving an official diagnosis, but I'd like it if I could maybe provide some insight into my situation first.
I am 20 years old, and began having chronic digestive issues at 18, the primary symptom of which has been severe bloating. As is the case with TMS symptoms, this has been a very effective distraction for me, as I am very self-conscious. I've had numerous examinations and treatments for my digestive issues. Any identifiable abnormalities that were found (intestinal blockage and bacteria) were treated, but failed to relieve me of my symptoms, and subsequent testing failed to find anything else of issue. My personality is exactly as is described to be common in TMS patients in books, articles, etc on the topic of mindbody disorders. And, I only recently learned of this, as I had dissociated entirely from memories of it, but my childhood was very traumatic for me. My mother (who is now absent from my life) was physically and emotionally abusive and neglectful towards my siblings and I, particularly and especially towards myself, I am told by my family.
My point is, I have spent so much time and expended so much effort into understanding and proving to myself how this diagnosis exists and applies to me. Everything I wrote about above, from my understanding, has heavy correlation to the onset and diagnosis of mindbody disorders. I have every reason to believe that I am as clear a case for a mindbody disorder as one could be. And yet my doubt is still so strong. It's like my brain always finds a new reason to doubt, no matter how baseless and unlikely the reasoning is. Doubting that my symptom can be psychosomatic, doubting that psychosomatic conditions even exist, and so on. And no matter how much evidence I gather in support, or how irrational my doubt is, this struggle has just continued ceaselessly.
Maybe this is too longwinded a post for this question, but, I am seeking advice on receiving an official diagnosis. I live somewhere where an in-person consultation is not an option, so it would have to be done virtually, somehow. I've read on the TMS wiki and the PPDA website that receiving a diagnosis cannot be done online. is there any way it could be? To refer back to my childhood, as Sarno and many other practitioners have recommend for those with childhood trauma, I plan on working with a psychotherapist to understand and process it. This would also have to be done online. So, is a diagnosis something I could receive from them..?
I apologize if this is all silly or if the answer is clear. I am just terribly anxious and lacking in self confidence. even if hearing it from an official is not essential to ones ability to recover, it would make it so much easier for me to move forward. Regardless of whether or not I receive one, and regardless of whether or not doubt remains, I'm sure that resolution can be found in psychotherapy. But, again, it would all be so much easier for me if I were to hear that my condition is psychosomatic from someone other than myself.
So, I apologize again for such a long-winded question, but the gist is, I have really given myself every reason to believe in psychosomatic conditions both generally and as applicable to myself, and yet I am still plagued with immense doubt and anxiety about it all - a result, I imagine, of my low self-esteem, trust issues, and the brains function in mindbody disorders of keeping your attention away from repressed causing factors. So, I feel it'd help me a great deal to receive an official diagnosis, and am wondering how could I go about receiving one online/virtually.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any sort of input or advice would mean a lot to me.
