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Book Self-Directed CBT?

S

stanz

New Member
As a life-long sufferer of TMS, and having overcome 14 years of back pain reading the works of Dr. Sarno, and attending his workshops in the 1990s, I continue to struggle with new sites of pain. Almost all are tendon-related. Now in my seventies, I continue to run, cycle, workout, and ski, so there is always the lingering thought/feeling that I may have suffered some grievous, incapacitating, overuse injury. No matter how many times I overcome these “injuries,” my tormented spirit invariably finds a new place work its TMS mischief.

I am interested in trying self-directed CBT in the hope that this will help me to deal with these incessant TMS events. Some recommendations regarding good texts or workbooks would be greatly appreciated.
 
The best CBT book I know is Feeling Good, by David Burns. It’s excellent. But I don’t know if CBT will help you eliminate new sites of TMS. Have you tried journaling to see what’s going on in your life when the new symptoms come up?
 
My understanding is that CBT has not been proven effective in eliminating chronic pain, just in managing it. Since you have had success in the past with Sarno's methods, maybe it would be better to refocus your efforts there. The SEP that is free on this site may be helpful to you. Or you may want to explore some of the more recent approaches by Dr. Schubiner (Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy) or Alan Gordon (Pain Reprocessing Therapy). If you are interested, we can make recommendations for resources regarding these approaches.
 
Hi @stanz. I had lifelong mild TMS until multiple symptoms brought me to to a crisis in 2011, the year I turned 60. When I fortuitously found The Divided Mind by Sarno, I realized that aging was my biggest trigger. Fear of aging, mortality, disability, loss, and isolation. The biggies.

You're not alone, that's for sure. Over the years I've seen many people who had significant success, years and even decades ago with Dr Sarno's knowledge, only to succumb to increasing symptoms as aging becomes an unavoidable reality. Then you've got the current state of the world, which does not help!

At 74 myself, I find it difficult not to be disappointed and discouraged by the amount of inhumanity that still exists in the world, but this forum is a bright spot where people from all over the world come together to give and receive support.

I second @Ellen's recommendation to do the Structured Educational Program on our main tmswiki.org. It's free of cost, ads, or registration requirements. And of course we're here to help!
 
If you’re looking at self-directed CBT for TMS, I’d actually start with REBT (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy). It uses the A-B-C model in a way that maps directly to TMS:
  • A (Activating event): something that angers you or a situation you don’t like (a sharp comment, a delay, a flare while traveling).

  • B (Belief): rigid “must/should” thoughts about A (e.g., “They mustn’t do that,” “This pain can’t happen”).

  • C (Consequence): the emotional and physiological fallout—tension, anger, fear—often experienced as pain in TMS.
    Read the C above again!!!
It’s not A itself but B that drives C. REBT teaches three core acceptances (self, others, life) and gives you a fast daily method to dispute “must/awful/can’t-stand-it” thoughts, replace them with flexible preferences, and then behave in line with the new beliefs—lowering anger/fear, calming the nervous system, and easing symptoms.

Give these two books a look. The first is my Favorite. Game Changer in my opinion.

How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable About Anything — Albert Ellis
  • A Guide to Rational Living — Ellis & Harper
 
Your suggestions and support are greatly appreciated. There's a lot to process, so I've got some reading and work ahead of me. It's a good start. Thanks!
 
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