Shifting symptoms

[cafe_bustelo]

Well, the good news is the pain has moved. Like completely not in the same place anymore, and the old spots don’t hurt at all. I know I should be celebrating that this is a sure sign of TMS… except the new spot is so damn uncomfortable! And it didn’t randomly shift, there was a clear trigger which has my brain thinking “reinjury” even though that doesn’t make any sense.

My brain must know this new location scares me, even though intellectually I know there couldn’t be anything wrong there. It’s also making me feel like I’m losing progress because now it’s often feeling *more* uncomfortable to sit for long periods, where I thought I’d conquered that already.

I know this isn’t supposed to be linear and granted I’m only a quarter of the way through the SEP. It is so frustrating to know what’s going on—Sarno and Steve O spell it out perfectly —and not be able to immediately correct it. Argh. I guess I have to learn to hold this more loosely even though it’s (physically) so uncomfortable right now.

 

[BloodMoon]

and not be able to immediately correct it. Argh. I guess I have to learn to hold this more loosely even though it’s (physically) so uncomfortable right now.

I've revamped/edited this posting to clarify that the following is not to labour a point that you already realise, but just to say that, although it may not be of much (or perhaps any) consolation to you, it's a very common frustration that most (if not all) of we TMSers experience...

Whilst it's good to notice how symptoms shift around as proof to oneself that they are TMS, at the same time it isn't helpful to focus on symptoms as being the judge of whether or not you are progressing. With mind/body/TMS work the real shifts are happening quietly to your brain in the background, and they take time to settle in.

Your pain moving completely—old spots gone, new one replacing—is classic TMS migration. Intellectually knowing this is huge, so now is the time to practice holding loosely amid the discomfort, just as you say.

Below is a quote from Rebecca Tolin who was a TV news reporter in the prime of her life. She won an Emmy for science reporting. Then after a series of events, CFS knocked her down. She recovered using mind/body/TMS work.

"I would say it took a good 8, 9 months of really working with retraining my brain, feeling emotions, calming the nervous system, steeping myself in this kind of knowledge we call TMS, listening to the recovery stories."

Your recovery may be shorter than that or longer than that; unfortunately, it cannot be predicted.

From 'The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook: Using the Brain's Neuroplasticity to Break the Cycle of Chronic Pain' by Vanessa Blackstone and Olivia Sinaiko:

"Always remember that recovery and happiness are not about holding on tightly but about easing your grip. It’s about allowing things to ebb and flow, with the understanding that the sought-after goal will, in its own time, find its way to you so long as you continue to walk the path."

and

"The goal is not to make the pain go away and never come back but to change the way in which you respond to pain when it arises. The sneaky truth? Learning to respond to pain in an outcome independent manner is what ultimately causes the pain to go away. Maybe not this instant but over the long term, this new way of relating to unpleasant sensations is the secret to deactivating pain pathways. On the other hand, if making pain go away is the outcome you’re set on, paradoxically, it’ll make it that much harder to actually achieve. Understandably, you want out of pain... But the tighter you hold onto that goal, the further away it will be."

I had such extreme pain (labelled by the medical profession as 'fibromyalgia') that I was bedridden for a total of over 18 months and housebound for many years (I came to mind/body/TMS work late, hence the latter). In fact I was an absolute mess, riddled with a myriad of painful, disturbing, disabling and frustrating symptoms, so if I can go from bedridden to functioning pretty normally by comparison, then the encouragement that I can offer is that any TMSer can do the same and lose their symptoms, given time.

As is often said on these forums, 'the only way out is through'. Keep going! Wishing you all the best.

 

[cafe_bustelo]

Thank you very much, @BloodMoon , this is very comprehensive and makes a lot of sense to me. These quotes are making me feel more hopeful again—I started reading the PRT workbook recently but put it aside until I have time to actually commit to doing its exercises.

I have these windows where I'm able to truly let go of needing to be better, or to make the pain go away. I think in my regular routine I was starting to feel that way more often than not, but at the moment I'm with my partner's family for the holidays and of course it's a whole new set of triggers and it can be difficult not to think about my symptoms all day.

It is so, so strange and bizarre how many parallels I'm suddenly seeing in my life as I do this work; there's so much that this TMS world explains about me and re-contextualizes. At times I feel overwhelmed and like no one I'm talking to about it really understands or is taking me seriously. But I suppose how could they?

 

[BloodMoon]

I started reading the PRT workbook recently but put it aside until I have time to actually commit to doing its exercises.

What got me further along was "thinking small" with baby steps and embracing imperfection. No need to 'clear the decks' for the PRT workbook—just pick one tiny thing (even a single sentence or exercise) and do it messily when you can. Busy life or not, every little bit stacks up and counts toward recovery.

It is so, so strange and bizarre how many parallels I'm suddenly seeing in my life as I do this work; there's so much that this TMS world explains about me and re-contextualizes. At times I feel overwhelmed and like no one I'm talking to about it really understands or is taking me seriously. But I suppose how could they?

On those parallels—yes, that feeling of sudden re-contextualization is incredibly common in TMS work. It's like pieces of your life snapping into place, both liberating and overwhelming. You're spotting patterns because TMS explanations (repressed emotions, perfectionism, safety signals) reframe everyday struggles as protective brain responses. Loved ones and friends struggle to understand because they lack the framework—they're usually stuck in a 'physical symptoms = something physically wrong (which needs medical intervention)' mindset, which most of us were brought up believing.

Many in the forums echo this isolation, but sharing here builds connection since we do understand. Lean into those "aha" moments as progress; they mean your mind is integrating. Tiny journaling of one parallel daily keeps momentum without overload. You've already unlocked real insight—keep going!