This is my second time around at this. The last time was about a year-and-a-half ago. I had been long suffering significant upper body tightness which I had attributed to a career of working at the computer. I had also suffered from left hip/foot tightness and pain and a sense of being physically asymetrical, which I attributed to an ankle injury. Incidentally, I wasn't imagining being asymetrical--in the years after the ankle injury photos show me with my right shoulder notably higher than the left. Anyway, in 2008 my pain and tightness issues began to snowball. At one point I had to stop working completely and since then have only worked part-time. In June of 2009 I discovered TMS & Sarno, though didn't embrace it until a few months later. Within a week I was perhaps 80% better. Yet, that 80% slid to a range of, let's say, 50 to 80% better. Since then I've definitely had better mental tools to move forward, but I haven't yet succeeded in moving that range. So, I've decided to go through this program again to see if I discover something new the second time around.
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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/
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Round 2
- Thread starter Efyl
- Start date
Forest
Beloved Grand Eagle
Well, Welcome Back,
It sounds like you had a little success previously. Try to use this to build up your confidence level in the approach. A lot of times when people don't fully recover or their recovery stalls (what sounds like what happened to you) it is because they never fully accepted the diagnosis. Your first question should be where your confidence level in the approach is at. If you have any doubts about TMS, try and root them out as soon as possible.
I would also recommend increasing your physical activity as soon as possible, i.e. as soon as you feel comfortable with it. The more active you are, the more you confidence you have in your ability and the more you accept the diagnosis. Remember if you have fear that you can't do a certain activity, then you won't ever be able to do it. For tips on how to overcome fear check out the article, Breaking the Pain Cycle.
Remember, there is no set time for recovery. The biggest key is to simply be patient and take the victories when they come. Don't worry about recovering by a specific date. You will recover, when you recover. Going through the program again sounds like a great start. I would also recommend just reading and re-reading one of Sarno's books.
Keep us posted on how you are doing. It may be really frustrating that you haven't been able to fully eradicate your symptoms, but if you keep doing the work, you will recover.
It sounds like you had a little success previously. Try to use this to build up your confidence level in the approach. A lot of times when people don't fully recover or their recovery stalls (what sounds like what happened to you) it is because they never fully accepted the diagnosis. Your first question should be where your confidence level in the approach is at. If you have any doubts about TMS, try and root them out as soon as possible.
I would also recommend increasing your physical activity as soon as possible, i.e. as soon as you feel comfortable with it. The more active you are, the more you confidence you have in your ability and the more you accept the diagnosis. Remember if you have fear that you can't do a certain activity, then you won't ever be able to do it. For tips on how to overcome fear check out the article, Breaking the Pain Cycle.
Remember, there is no set time for recovery. The biggest key is to simply be patient and take the victories when they come. Don't worry about recovering by a specific date. You will recover, when you recover. Going through the program again sounds like a great start. I would also recommend just reading and re-reading one of Sarno's books.
Keep us posted on how you are doing. It may be really frustrating that you haven't been able to fully eradicate your symptoms, but if you keep doing the work, you will recover.
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
Hi Efyl - you've come to the right place for support and to build on your first success. What helped me beyond my first initial reduction of symptoms was not only working the Structured Education Program, but also reading and eventually participating in forum posts and especially picking up on the many and varied resources out there which complement the work of Dr. Sarno. There's something for every personality type! This is a lifelong journey, but it doesn't have to be a struggle, because the knowledge obtained in this work is so powerful, that the benefits can go well beyond relief of pain.
Jan
Jan
I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions and will give them careful consideration.
I've reflected on whether or not I doubt TMS at some level. In general, I'd say I think I really do believe in it and I don't think I ever really abandoned TMS. I think I just got engaged in exploring the emotional side more deeply through some approaches to see if I could get deeper. And I certainly did, though I didn't go to a TMS therapist. Then life happened--travel, marriage, moving, etc. and it took my focus away.
So, I don't think I really doubt TMS. But maybe one thing that has been challenging for me in terms of integrating what I experience to what is usually talked about in the Sarno/TMS realm is the use of language. Generally the only word used is "pain" (beyond talking about other symptom manifestations). And the word "pain" has resonated for me on certain bodily issues at times. But really, most of what I have experienced I wouldn't specifically label "pain". Some of it would be a tension, tightness, discomfort, or a sense of muscles "pulling" or "straining" or even shifting. I've had experiences like watching my left big toe "pull down" when I've experienced tighness in the area of the cocyx. Likewise, in the years after a left ankle injury, as one can see in old photos and videos my left shoulder was noticably higher! Somewhere along the path of using alternative body therapies (pre-discovering TMS), the shoulders more or less leveled out. Yet, it feels like there is an inner imbalance. Oddly, in the last 6 months it feels like my body has been trying to "work this out". That is, at certain times, usually when I'm only half asleep, I suddenly feel an "expansion" on my right side that works from the hips up or down.
So, I think, perhaps at some level maybe I feel like my symptoms are somehow different. I'm someone who is very kinesthetically self-aware and perhaps because of that I'm tuned into these nuances. If you know of any stories that go beyond just using the word "pain" that might resonate with me, please feel free to share.
Thanks again!
I've reflected on whether or not I doubt TMS at some level. In general, I'd say I think I really do believe in it and I don't think I ever really abandoned TMS. I think I just got engaged in exploring the emotional side more deeply through some approaches to see if I could get deeper. And I certainly did, though I didn't go to a TMS therapist. Then life happened--travel, marriage, moving, etc. and it took my focus away.
So, I don't think I really doubt TMS. But maybe one thing that has been challenging for me in terms of integrating what I experience to what is usually talked about in the Sarno/TMS realm is the use of language. Generally the only word used is "pain" (beyond talking about other symptom manifestations). And the word "pain" has resonated for me on certain bodily issues at times. But really, most of what I have experienced I wouldn't specifically label "pain". Some of it would be a tension, tightness, discomfort, or a sense of muscles "pulling" or "straining" or even shifting. I've had experiences like watching my left big toe "pull down" when I've experienced tighness in the area of the cocyx. Likewise, in the years after a left ankle injury, as one can see in old photos and videos my left shoulder was noticably higher! Somewhere along the path of using alternative body therapies (pre-discovering TMS), the shoulders more or less leveled out. Yet, it feels like there is an inner imbalance. Oddly, in the last 6 months it feels like my body has been trying to "work this out". That is, at certain times, usually when I'm only half asleep, I suddenly feel an "expansion" on my right side that works from the hips up or down.
So, I think, perhaps at some level maybe I feel like my symptoms are somehow different. I'm someone who is very kinesthetically self-aware and perhaps because of that I'm tuned into these nuances. If you know of any stories that go beyond just using the word "pain" that might resonate with me, please feel free to share.
Thanks again!