Share your favorite tricks!

Hi everyone,

I'd love to hear everyone's favorite tips and tricks on dealing with those gnarly relapses.

Just finished cancer therapy and going through a divorce and started a new job last month. It's been a lot. I have lots of family and seeing a therapist to talk things through. But I bottle stuff up still. Shockingly (sarcasm font), last week my right shoulder started giving me trouble. No injury, no excessive exercising, normal healthy shoulder. I can feel all the tendons being inflamed and tense. It's my dominant hand and I use my hands directly for a living.

I've had relapses before. When they happen in my original pain areas they actually don't bother me, I don't care if they even stick around - they just don't scare me. And so they go away same day usually.

But this shoulder pain is very sharp and for some reason it is REALLY getting under my skin. It's a pretty strong pain during certain movements.
Oddly enough it completely stopped hurting for two days, and is back again today.

I can't seem to stop being afraid of it. I'm scared of the sensation even though I know there's no injury. I'm scared of the pain itself. Why? And how do I stop thinking "it'll never go away"?

Thanks a bunch.

 

Tell yourself that if it comes and goes the way your shoulder pain did, it is TMS. There is no "structural" injury that randomly stops hurting for 2 days. It came on randomly with no cause other than TMS and will go away. Fear of the pain always makes it worse. Think of "rolling out the welcome mat" for it if you feel it and then distracting yourself with something positive.

 

@chepolina

I used to have some gnarly shoulder pain. I finally said to hell with it and would knock out some sets of jumping jacks before my jogs. It eventually just disappeared.

 

Thank you for your advice!

It's been a couple interesting weeks. The shoulder pain got much worse at some point and finally pushed me "over the edge" where I decided I am done buying into it and will not let it control me.

I combined that with reading on this forum and doing the TMS 60-day program.
The shoulder pain then STOPPED for 4 days entirely. I sort of stopped my TMS work as well.... The pain then developed in my knee / wrist / a bad headache.
And finally today the shoulder pain returned. I won't lie, it somehow still managed to get me really upset. At first. But the truth is it just means I still have more work to do.

I wonder why this specific pain is so effective. Will report back with more..