Steady progress

Hi Everyone,

It's just a month since I joined the forum, and I'd like to thank you all for the great advice, and kind words of support I have received.

When I joined I had been healing from migraines, fibro and bladder problems for almost 2 years. My TMS started 9 years ago.

I felt I just needed some support from people who had the same experience, to help me get totally well.

I have been making slow but steady progress this last month, as has been the way since I first discovered Dr.Sarno et al. All I am left with is some lingering random pain, and low level anxiety on waking, which is nothing short of miraculous compared to the wreck I was 2 years ago. I still have some ups and downs, but nothing I can't handle.

When I was at my worst my life was a meaningless cycle of pain and anguish, I lost my independence and all hope for the future. Now I do anything I want to, I am back in control of my life and I feel great.

I have learned so many valuable lessons on my journey to healing, I feel as though I have been given a precious gift. I have been to the core of myself. If TMS had not happened to me I would have been living a half life of misunderstanding.

I know I will get totally back in balance some day soon, but in the meantime I'm just going to carry on living and learning. I'm trying to think of TMS as an old habit that will just fade away if I don't pay it any attention.

I wish everyone well on your own journeys.

Thanks again and bless you all

 

So glad to read this! I'm happy for you. It can be hard to accept that TMS is a precious gift when we are in the midst of pain, anxiety and related symptoms but it certainly is.

 

Great news! I agree with you, TMS was a gift to me as well. It renewed my relationship with God, open my eyes to my obsession with work which caused me to ignore my wife and son. It allowed me to cry and allowed me to feel life again.

I am so happy for you

 

Thanks yb44 & Pingman for your support and understanding, it means a lot to me. I too was afraid to feel, I had suffered so much emotional pain I couldn't take any more. I've ploughed my way through it slowly and have come out of the other side.

My biggest lessons have been forgiveness of myself and others, and that life is not one great big emergency to be lived at a million miles an hour.

Onward & Upward !

 

I feel the same way. The journey has been very awakening. I am relieved to finally know that I wasn't damaged goods and that it might progress to become worse. I have faith and know the healing will take place in time. After years of pain medication, I have not used any in over a month. It is a funny thing, I can exercise for an hour with no pain, then later it may hurt if I sit too long! Talk about conditioning. I am still trying to break the new symptom of anxiety. I try not to have fear, however something is still causing me to be anxious. In time. Good health to all. My back pain is about 80% better.

 

This is beautiful mermaid. I would think tms got me to understand what my life needed ya know. It was like my body was saying ok here's the signals I need ya help. It is an old habit to cause it takes changing all those old habits that got you in pain to start with ya know. I always say there's two sides to the coin. I can see both sides in everything I do I just prefer to look at the good side although the bad side of the coin has taught me lessons I'd never learned without it like you.

Bless you

PS - Those headaches I told you about have become non-exisitent for me so you will have the same results too cause your doing the same protocol-

 

Hi Joseph

I'm thrilled for you that you have made such great progress. I know what a challenge it is to come off pain medication it took me a year to get off of Lyrica and loads of other stuff. I've been free of medication for 20 months now, aside from the very occasional OTC tablet.

Thanks for your kind words

 

Hi Eric

Thanks for your encouraging words once again. Great news with the headaches, hope to join you soon !

 

Hi, Mermaid. Herbie stopped having headaches and his advice is always great.

Deep breathing and laughing helps me get over a headache.

 

This is such a beautiful reply Pingman. The truth. Awesome. Thanks

 

Aw, Mermaid….so happy to hear of your great progress! I am so glad you're here. And what a great thread this is.

 

Thanks for this thread. Glad you are making some great progress Mermaid! There is also much wisdom in the other comments.

When I first read posts about TMS being a gift I didn't really get it. I saw it as an inconvenience and a threat to my livelihood. I was looking for the quickest way to get back to "normal"
I wanted to be of those who reads one Sarno book and gets back to life without pain.
Through listening to others here, meeting with a TMS therapist, and getting a very thoughtful and insightful email from Steve Ozanich, I'm seeing it differently.

It's not random that TMS affected my ability to play music. I've been carrying around a lot of emotional baggage around my creativity that goes back many years, also perfectionism, which has made writing and playing music less enjoyable.
I'm now getting to understand some of my core issues that have driven this, and it's very freeing.

Dealing with TMS has also made me more compassionate toward others in pain, also toward myself. And it has strengthened my relationship with a higher power. All wonderful things that wouldn't have happened without the urgent messages of my body!

So now when I have symptoms I say to myself that it's a gift which allows me to play music from a deeper spiritual level, allows me to dig deeper and find where I'm stuck emotionally, and connects me with others in a beautiful way. Lately I've been saying thank you for the TMS and guess what, the symptoms lessen and go away much quicker. Maybe I'm starting to understand "what you resist persists."

I'm also very thankful to have found this community where I've met some wonderful people and continue to learn and grow. Thanks to all of you.

 

This is great. I love you all !

 

Msunn, I really appreciated your post…a good reminded to me as I find myself frequently having to remind myself to practice gratitude as I get crabby and angry over the onslaught of aches and pains. (Last night I actually ended up laughing, it got so ridiculous. From one limb to another to tinnitus to a tingle…all in rapid succession. It reminded me of the kids in the back sit during a long car ride asking in rapid fire succession, "Are we there yet? Are we? Huh, huh, huh?" TMS looking for a place to land and preoccupy me.

And I agree about the compassion. I've always tended to be a fairly compassionate person but I feel like there's a depth to it now. Whenever I see a hurting person, I almost immediately look past the physical pain and wonder what's going on in their heart.

I am so grateful for this community!

 

I chase pain around too. One day I'll catch it....................

 

I try to fit gratitude into every day, thanking the Lord for all the blessings he's given me.
If we count our blessings, our glass may be more full than we think.

 

That's great news Mermaid, and encouraging as well.

 

Thanks North Star. I also get the moving symptoms. I like the children analogy

I've been getting better with accepting that the healing will take as long as it takes, and that TMS is teaching me some great lessons. It's still challenging!

Thanks Walt for your always optimistic posts. I can make things very complicated. You keep it simple which I really appreciate.

 

I am so pleased to hear how well you are doing Mermaid. You have obviously suffered a lot over the years and you can now put this all behind you and really enjoy life. I can understand what you mean by " a gift". As hard as it is to go through the process of digging up emotions and delving into our personalities, once you come out the other side the joy of getting back your life must be indescribable. And then to be able to go through the rest of your life with all that insight is a wonderful thing. There are many people on this site that are only in their 20's wrestling with their pain, but once they recover, I always think what a fantastic place they are then in. To be so young, but with all that knowledge about the way our minds and bodies work - well, that is a powerful thing.

 

Yes, anyone young who learns about TMS and heals is a real lucky person.
I hope they will spread the good news to other young people.
It could be the "Knowledge Penicillin" Dr. Sarno writes about that could help a lot of young people of any age.