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So are anxiety and tms the same animal?

G

Goldy

Peer Supporter
I didn't have pain early on like some report in tms cases, but i suffered from anxiety and depression much of my life; no doubt from childhood trauma.

I've been going through pain for two years, but it started in one knee and then the other knee two months later. I feel intense stiffness in both knees all the time which I feel in my thighs as well. I work out regularly and no matter what I do, they will not loosen up! I pride myself in not going onto support groups talking about symptoms because I am highly suggestible, but this is the one symptom that is on my mind quite a bit because all the reading on tms, no one talks about tightness. The tightness makes it hard to walk most of the time, and I feel like I'm going to break from all the tightness in my knees, thighs.

I've been through childhood trauma, and when this happened to my knees, I had a lot of things happen to me that were very very stressful, so I don't doubt that this could be or is tms. I've been through all the imaging, several surgeons, tons of alternatives and I've been through 6 or 7 physical therapists. According to Dr. Sarno, these are normal abnormalities. The last doctor said fibromyalgia. I am making some progress with my tms programs and gaining more and more knowledge, but when I read, most of my problem is extreme tightness and everyone is talking about "the back", "migraines"...I do have a thumb and ankle and butt and ankle that hurts on and off, but it's the stiffness...my low back and hips are also extremely stiff.

I think I will accept tms if I know that others are experiencing this. There are no tms doctors in my area. Going to see a therapist, hopefully soon, that actually attending one of Dr. Sarno's lectures, so maybe she can help me work on my suppressed emotions. I know I've squashed my emotions down pretty deep.

Could this be an anxiety disorder, or is this tms or is this all the same animal?
 
well I put "tight tendons" into the search box on this site and there were about 10 pages of posts on the subject of tightness...

I hope that helps!

(I also have problems walking because of tight tendons)
 
This does help. I really need to hear this a lot that this is another symptom. Appreciate your help! It happened right after some very stressful events in my life. First one knee and then another. Still stiff after two years. Just found out about TMS last month, so I'm working on what I need to do.
 
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The summer That I moved out on my own after my wife demanded a divorce, I had chronic knee issue.... I say ISSUE because the symptom changed many times, which is what made me think TMS.

After our last attempt at reconciliation I was at work, got startled and my knee froze. It literally would not bend. No pain, it just was stiff as a stick.I didn't think TMS because there was no pain.
I limped around for a few days, but as I needed to bend to work I went to a 'sports therapy' place. They said it was 'fluid'. They removed about the displacement of two 25 cent pieces worth of fluid. "That little amount made my knee freeze? That doesn't even make any sense from a physics point of view!" I know you can stop a car with wedges but not with 1/4 inch wedges...they have to have SOME mass.

I immediately 'aha'd' and realized it was TMS.... and now it switched to pain. It Bugged me for weeks. I ignored it and ran, played baseball and exercised. It only hurt when I paid attention and I only paid attention when I was quiet. Obviously my unconscious was trying to save me from the pain of my divorce.
It also moved around. Sometimes the pain felt like it was on the lower part above my calf and sometimes it almost felt like it was my thigh. My knee even looked swollen and ugly with a noticeable bag....

Then I realized I have been on my knees working for 30 years... of course I have ugly knees, but they didn't hurt until I needed a distraction. That baggy looking thing is still there now as I look...that is also my preferred knee to rest on when I kneel down to cut in the floor (I am a painter/plasterer/construction worker)

That happens a lot with TMS...we 'notice' something that was always like that...just now its a problem. OCD.

None the less it went away. It was probably the longest relapse I have had since first being cured in '99..... I never count but it was off and on until I finally focused on it and 'kicked it out' doing the work..maybe 4-5 weeks?

HOWEVER... us sharing similar symptoms is NOT necessarily going to help you identify it... the nature of TMS is to distract and scare us, so you will be reading my post and saying 'yeah, but...'

TMS tells us: " Something really bad is happening.... I better be careful..... Oh shit,what the F is this?...... Oh no... it can't be TMS because....Because....because...."

The best way to distract you is to SCARE you and that's what it's job is as well...Sarno called it physicophobia. So it makes really peculiar sensations. I remember telling a Dr once that I felt like I had broken glass under my skin...fire.... a sander grating my nerves... or frozen with no pain.... stiffness.

Your description of symptoms and lack of respite screams TMS. That is why there are so many new diagnoses around these days...CRPS, Fibromyalgia, neuropathy,etc,etc,etc all a bunch of horseshit. The doctors having cured NO ONE, NEED to invent a new diagnosis every few years to explain their complete lack of success.

I have been pain free two decades, minus a verrrry small amount of time to sympto-distracto-obfuscatio. That's the new diagnosis I just made up... maybe it will catch on? I mean, as long as we're making stuff up, right?

be well
 
Baseball65 said:
HOWEVER... us sharing similar symptoms is NOT necessarily going to help you identify it... the nature of TMS is to distract and scare us, so you will be reading my post and saying 'yeah, but...'
Click to expand...
LOL - I call this the ""Yes, But..." Syndrome. Unlike so many syndromes "discovered" in recent years, which @Baseball65 correctly identifies as utter bollocks, the "Yes, But.." Syndrome is a real thing, designed by our brains to keep us stuck. We have to listen to it, and find the strength to reject it. Simple in concept, but, as I know from my own experience, hard to put into action, because the primitive survival mechanism that wants us to live in fear is very very strong.
 
Baseball65 said:
The summer That I moved out on my own after my wife demanded a divorce, I had chronic knee issue.... I say ISSUE because the symptom changed many times, which is what made me think TMS.

After our last attempt at reconciliation I was at work, got startled and my knee froze. It literally would not bend. No pain, it just was stiff as a stick.I didn't think TMS because there was no pain.
I limped around for a few days, but as I needed to bend to work I went to a 'sports therapy' place. They said it was 'fluid'. They removed about the displacement of two 25 cent pieces worth of fluid. "That little amount made my knee freeze? That doesn't even make any sense from a physics point of view!" I know you can stop a car with wedges but not with 1/4 inch wedges...they have to have SOME mass.

I immediately 'aha'd' and realized it was TMS.... and now it switched to pain. It Bugged me for weeks. I ignored it and ran, played baseball and exercised. It only hurt when I paid attention and I only paid attention when I was quiet. Obviously my unconscious was trying to save me from the pain of my divorce.
It also moved around. Sometimes the pain felt like it was on the lower part above my calf and sometimes it almost felt like it was my thigh. My knee even looked swollen and ugly with a noticeable bag....

Then I realized I have been on my knees working for 30 years... of course I have ugly knees, but they didn't hurt until I needed a distraction. That baggy looking thing is still there now as I look...that is also my preferred knee to rest on when I kneel down to cut in the floor (I am a painter/plasterer/construction worker)

That happens a lot with TMS...we 'notice' something that was always like that...just now its a problem. OCD.

None the less it went away. It was probably the longest relapse I have had since first being cured in '99..... I never count but it was off and on until I finally focused on it and 'kicked it out' doing the work..maybe 4-5 weeks?

HOWEVER... us sharing similar symptoms is NOT necessarily going to help you identify it... the nature of TMS is to distract and scare us, so you will be reading my post and saying 'yeah, but...'

TMS tells us: " Something really bad is happening.... I better be careful..... Oh shit,what the F is this?...... Oh no... it can't be TMS because....Because....because...."

The best way to distract you is to SCARE you and that's what it's job is as well...Sarno called it physicophobia. So it makes really peculiar sensations. I remember telling a Dr once that I felt like I had broken glass under my skin...fire.... a sander grating my nerves... or frozen with no pain.... stiffness.

Your description of symptoms and lack of respite screams TMS. That is why there are so many new diagnoses around these days...CRPS, Fibromyalgia, neuropathy,etc,etc,etc all a bunch of horseshit. The doctors having cured NO ONE, NEED to invent a new diagnosis every few years to explain their complete lack of success.

I have been pain free two decades, minus a verrrry small amount of time to sympto-distracto-obfuscatio. That's the new diagnosis I just made up... maybe it will catch on? I mean, as long as we're making stuff up, right?

be well
Click to expand...

Thank you! This helps me. OCD, the "oh shit, what the F is this", the "yes, but..."

Today was a little tough for me, but it's comforting to know that I have all this support. So much appreciate your help! It helps tremendously! I feel as though I have a little demon in me that I need to release. Just have to find the right code/emotion to release!

Thank you!
 
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JanAtheCPA said:
LOL - I call this the ""Yes, But..." Syndrome. Unlike so many syndromes "discovered" in recent years, which @Baseball65 correctly identifies as utter bollocks, the "Yes, But.." Syndrome is a real thing, designed by our brains to keep us stuck. We have to listen to it, and find the strength to reject it. Simple in concept, but, as I know from my own experience, hard to put into action, because the primitive survival mechanism that wants us to live in fear is very very strong.
Click to expand...

I definitely have the "yes, but..Syndrome!

Thank you!!!
 
I had terrible pain for over 2 years. Now it’s so much better, but still not quite all gone. (I, too, have that little demon I need to release.) But sometimes I don’t even know if I’d cal it pain anymore. Well sometimes it certainly is, but at a minimum it’s definitely always stiff. Sometimes maybe just “discomfort” and sometimes pain ... I think. I try not to think about it too hard or spend time trying to categorize it. I feel it’s all just TMS and hopefully some day my subconscious will catch up to what I now understand—that it’s all about emotions.
 
healingfromchronicpain said:
I had terrible pain for over 2 years. Now it’s so much better, but still not quite all gone. (I, too, have that little demon I need to release.) But sometimes I don’t even know if I’d cal it pain anymore. Well sometimes it certainly is, but at a minimum it’s definitely always stiff. Sometimes maybe just “discomfort” and sometimes pain ... I think. I try not to think about it too hard or spend time trying to categorize it. I feel it’s all just TMS and hopefully some day my subconscious will catch up to what I now understand—that it’s all about emotions.
Click to expand...

I wish you well. We all have the same goal and journey...
 
I have another goal regarding the tightness in my knees. Last night, my knees were particularly tight, but I took a mile walk. My thinking is that I'm structurally sound and healthy, so this morning, I'm very sore. Is this "TMS normal"? My daughter was sick, so I went to her house yesterday to help out with her toddler. I cleaned her house a little too. I should be able to do all this. Why am I so sore all over my body?
 
Goldy said:
My daughter was sick, so I went to her house yesterday to help out with her toddler. I cleaned her house a little too. I should be able to do all this. Why am I so sore all over my body?
Click to expand...
So you "SHOULD be able to all this", sounds fearful (or angry) to me!
 
I've been pondering your statement off and on today. I just don't know how to interpret this fearful or anger comment. Not that it's incorrect, but I really have a hard time with the anger, and I can't understand the fear with this.
 
Goldy said:
I've been pondering your statement off and on today. I just don't know how to interpret this fearful or anger comment. Not that it's incorrect, but I really have a hard time with the anger, and I can't understand the fear with this.
Click to expand...
Well I suppose what was trying to say is that the fact that you used the word "SHOULD" implies that you fear that you won't be able to, or that you might be angry about the fact that you are not able to without pain, and I believe that TMS symptoms are caused by our negative emotions. In other words, we have to accept the pain and carry on as if we were feeling ok... which I am having to do at the moment, because I have only had an hour's sleep, so I know how difficult it is. (I have a hard time accepting all the corrections that I have had to make in typing out this reply)!
 
One of our original founding members was fond of saying "don't Should on yourself!" Very wise advice, I always thought.
 
JanAtheCPA said:
LOL - I call this the ""Yes, But..." Syndrome. Unlike so many syndromes "discovered" in recent years, which @Baseball65 correctly identifies as utter bollocks, the "Yes, But.." Syndrome is a real thing, designed by our brains to keep us stuck. We have to listen to it, and find the strength to reject it. Simple in concept, but, as I know from my own experience, hard to put into action, because the primitive survival mechanism that wants us to live in fear is very very strong.
Click to expand...
Oh, that's my case. It's so hard to admit the truth through fear and anxiety
 
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