Scared of Somatoform Disorder now...

Hi all,

So I've had pretty thorough work ups with nothing significant coming back. But my leg/arm discomfort continues. I of course was Googling the other day and stumbled upon somatoform disorders which sounds exactly like TMS, however all the things I'm reading have me scared: poor prognosis, being ignored by the medical community, etc. There are no success stories on the forum for this and that scares me further. I've had OCD/anxiety/depression long before any chronic pain symptoms so it wouldn't make sense that I have this somatoform disorder...and it's super rare and not really understood at all. I don't know why I'm so scared of this. Is anybody familiar with this?

Also, I've been seeing a conventional CBT psychologist because I had a scary bout of panic attacks/suicidal thoughts in March. He pretty much dismissed TMS, and although I like him and he's helped with my OCD in the past, I can't help but feel a little confused on how to move forward. Thanks for reading...

Steve

 

Steve,
This disorder is probably poorly understood and treated by the medical community because it is tms and they don't recognise and treat it as Dr. Sarno and others advise. Oftentimes when the words syndrome and disorder are used it is a tms clue.

I believe the reason you are so scared of it is that your brain is trying to distract you because you are so close to the truth. I think this would be a great question for you to post in the ask a therapist sub-forum on this sight. Getting their expert answer would be good "knowledge penicillin" as Dr. Sarno says. I hope this helps.
Lizzy

 

I had similar experience. He looked at me as if I had ''ten heads''!
this is a very misunderstood condition, just persevere on your own or consult TMS therapists.

 

See or skype a TMS therapist, all the conventional psyches I know function as paid-for-buddies or wanna' be white-coats, looking for allopathic chemical answers. They have never heard of Sarno, TMS, and don't relate to psychosomatic pain, although you would think they should be the most on-board with it.

 

Steve, now you think you may have somatoform and that probably is giving it to you.
It's a risk business to go online to Doctor Google about any ailment or pain because you can
easily be misled. Doctors also can mislead us. Especially those who do not know about TMS
or reject it as the cause of our symptoms. But that MindBody belief goes back to the ancients.
and is having a terrific revival, thanks largely to Dr. Sarno.

I recommend good books on TMS such as Dr. Sarno's, Steve Ozanich's THE GREAT PAIN DECEPTION, and
my own recent TMS healing book, GOD DOES NOT WANT YOU TO BE IN PAIN, co-authored with
another TMSer, Eric Watson, available in paperback and Kindle cheap at amazonsmile.com.

Keep believing in TMS and enjoying life, despite any pain.

 

Here's a link to the newest psychiatric manual's (DSM-V) definition of somatoform disorder. http://www.dsm5.org/documents/somatic symptom disorder fact sheet.pdf It does sound just like TMS. It's a matter of wording/semantics, and the DSM-V is what psychologists/psychiatrists have to use codes from in order to bill for services. It's probably not as rare as they say... and I wouldn't worry about what they say about prognosis because there are plenty of people on this forum who have beat the odds!

 

I agree with this. Most good psychotherapists can help you with the OCD/anxiety/depression. And with the TMS background, you will more likely get the help you want.