Day 8 Struggling with pain that has moved behind my heels.

Hello, Im grateful I have found this forum . So I have been working on my journaling and Im on day 8 on of the structural program and things have been tough the progress has been really slow. I also have started to work full time again and work can be very stressful at times but most of the time i try to be present and not let my emotions cause me stress at work. The pain in my left knee is still there the tendons ache when i do squats and the pain has move to my right heel in the past few weeks. It takes a while before i can walk normal because of the intense pain in my heel but after i warm up its better until i sit down for a while then its the same cycle all over again i know its tms but i just need to focus on the program more. I guess im just looking for some encouragment to keep me going and just not sure why the pain isnt leaving.

 

Hi Nick,

Good for you for working the SEP, and I want you to know you're not alone in your frustration at this point in the program. A lot of the questions that people post are very similar! Only the symptoms are different - although once you know it's TMS, the details of symptoms don't really matter.

You're already working on being more present in your thoughts, which is good.

At least some of your pain has shifted, which is also good.

Here are a few things:

- Let go of perfectionism, especially when doing the SEP.

- Stop worrying about the calendar and don't count the days.

- Read this post by Alan Gordon, about "outcome independence"

- We all have negative messages in our brains - see if you can start hearing them! Then, find a way to replace them with positive messages.

- Most TMSers need to practice self-love and acceptance.

There are a lot of ways to go about this work - the SEP gives you the basic structure, but you can branch out and find additional things that will help you along. There are a lot of resources right here on the forum. If you haven't read any of the Success Stories, reading one of those every day will provide you with inspiration and also ideas for continuing your own work.

Good luck, keep the faith, and keep posting, Nick!

 

Hi, Nick. Jan has given you some very good advice. I agree with her and if you need a dose of encouragement, here is one from another person who healed thanks to belief in TMS:


nowtimecoach Well known member
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Oh its been so long since I've visited all of you wonderful people - the healed and the healing folks. My life is forever changed as a result of this forum, the books that were suggested, read and discussed and the opportunities to receive support from so many people on the TMS recovery path.

Am I 100% recovered? Not quite but when I have a flare up, its usually been a situation or circumstance that is extremely stressful. Usually a feeling of being trapped and out of control. It depends upon my acceptance of what is and a surrender to self-care that predicates how long the flare up will last. I've had a few instances in the last 2 months as my partner and I decided to sell her house and move to Tucson.

So many changes, deadlines, pressure and lots of "I don't know!" brought up a few bouts. But they rarely last more than a day or two. And because I practiced what everyone suggests on this forum, I always knew what to do and I didn't ruminate or worry that it was going to last long.

I am so eternally grateful to all of you. I am grateful to everyone who has written a book that gives us the solution, the hope and hammers in the fact that we have control over TMS. To all of you in pain today, I promise that you will get better if you keep accepting the psychological component to all of this. I remind myself if I have a flare up that I'm vulnerable to old habits. That vulnerability leaves me open for my brain to pop up its old directive to send pain to my back. Its just an old outdated mechanism of protection that still does not serve me very well.

I hope you read this as a message of hope. Never stop believing that you are going get better! Stay close to the wonderful people on this forum. Read the books. Do the work and you'll be rewarded with a pain free life. For me, I got the bigger bonus of a greater self-awareness, of patterns that I was blind to and a sense of empowerment. All this because of TMS. So it ended up being a gift. Of course, I would NOT be able to say this so cavalierly if I was still in pain 24/7!!!