Rough day. Lots of anger

Heya, Sanghagirl,

I hear how frustrating this is for you and how angry it makes you. I'm glad to hear that talking it through on the video helps. Sometimes you just need to get it out of your system.

I'd be interested to hear more about the anger that you are feeling. What is it directed toward? Watching your video, I could imagine two different things. The first is that you just hate writing. I can actually relate to this because I don't like writing much, either. Sometimes I am in the mood to journal and sometimes I am not. If I'm not in the mood to write and I'm just forcing myself to do writing exercises that I don't want to do, my mind can rebel. If that is the case with you, I don't know if journaling is necessarily your best option. Dr. Sarno uses the metaphor of a reservoir of rage, and forcing yourself to do journaling you really don't want to do could just refill the reservoir. You certainly wouldn't want to do that!

On the other hand, the other thing that I could imagine is that maybe the writing that you are doing is bringing up emotions that are rattling around your unconscious and putting you in a very "triggered" state, where there is simply a great deal of emotional activation going on in your brain. In this case, containment and pacing can be important. This is just the idea of not wanting to bring things up so rapidly that you get overwhelmed. When lots of stuff comes up, that may mean that there is important work to be done, but also that that work should be done slowly.

Do either of these ideas resonate with you? I'd love to hear more of the specifics about what some of these emotions are about.
 
I concur with Forest that the writing helps float the buried emotions up. I personally HATE this part because its so uncomfortable that I understand why I try to suppress it. But I keep making the choice to feel it to heal it and to end the TMS pain syndrome from being active. I hold on to the success stories that make these hard times worth it and to keep my motivation going. Hang in there sanghagirl - You're totally getting it!! (Even though it doesn't feel good!:sour:)
 
Oh, by the way, I think it's best to keep all TMS work at about half an hour per day. That was the amount of time that we targeted when writing the SEP. If you are spending more time than that and want to spend less, that might be a good idea.
 
Thanks for your support and comments. Forest, I watched your video. I was working the program too hard. I was spending hours reading posts, books and watching videos. I hit the wall yesterday and a bunch of emotions came rushing to the surface. So I am taking today off. I will have to see what the issue is with journaling. I am not sure yet.
 
Hi Sanghagirl,
I hated journaling at first too. I didn't want to see all the ugly stuff on paper, where I might have to confront these things and FEEL. Of course, that is the purpose of PPD--to keep us distracted from facing our emotions. But for me the journaling was an essential part of healing. I had to get it out and look at it and realize that I could survive doing so. It got easier every day. I agree with Forest, that it is important to limit the time one spends on it. I started with Schubiner's program and it has 30 minutes of writing a day. I watched the timer and did not do a minute more than was required. One thing he includes is to end the writing with some affirmations, and I think this is important. Also, I spend a little time every day writing in a positive journal, where I note a few good things that have happened during the day. This ensures I'm not just looking at the negative stuff and provides an antidote for journaling on PPD.

Hang in there. It's all part of the process and we all are here to support you.
 
Hi, Sanghagirl. I've really liked your video posts. That takes time and effort and you do it so well.
It would be great if more people did video posts, but they may be like me, not all that tech literate.

Forest's advice is really helpful... don't spend more than half an hour a day on TMS work.
Some people are spending most of their waking hours trying to learn their repressed emotions
or doing healing techniques. That's just keeping their focus on the pain.

A few others are over-analyzing the concept of TMS. I learned years ago not to dissect a rose.
If you do, you no longer have a beautiful rose but a bunch of petals that don't even look like a rose.

I try to keep everything basic and simple. It must be from my journalism education and years of
being a newspaper reporter and author of books, many for children. Want to know what they are?
See my blog: walteroleksybooks.com

So I try to keep TMS as simple as possible. It all boils down to what Dr. Sarno writes in his books:
Most pain is not caused by anything structural, but by repressed emotions. He says the main re
is anger or rage, and it most often comes from delving into our childhood. Maybe something that
happens in the present triggers a childhood memory of anger.

What's new with you? In pain? Healing?

Hope you're okay and have a great new year.
 
Sanghagirl82 said:
Forest, I see Dr. Schecter the last week of the month. So I'll have some questions for him
Click to expand...
It's always very helpful to see a TMS doctor. I'm sure he'll diagnose you with TMS, but it is always important to have an actual doctor do it. They are the ones who can actually examine you and view your medical records, etc.
 
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