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TMS RoundTable Successful Recovery of CRPS, Meet Tamara Gurin & Rita LaBarbera

TMS RoundTable Global

TMS RoundTable Global

Well known member
What an inspiring show, Rose and I spent an evening on the Roundtable with Rita and Tamara. We heard each of their stories, suffering and ultimate healing; and saw their strength of character unfold.
So much healing was revealed as well as many healing insights for anyone with TMS.... to take responsibility and progress with their healing journey.
Incurable is a Choice.






Please don't hesitate to ask any of us questions.. We are here to support you 100%.
 
What an incredible video, Rita and Tamara! Your story is incredibly inspiring and will surely provide hope to many people who desperately need it. Just as important, it will let people know that there is a way out for them!

One of my favorite parts was from 28:21 to 37:30, where you both talked about your takeaway advice from your healing journeys. Here is my attempt at a summary, which I hope to post as a comment on the original YouTube video as well.

For Tamara had responsibilities that anchored her. Each person has to be their own doctor, because you know about yourself, except sometimes you need a look from outside. For her, having to go to work and care for her family was important. It gave her distraction and a purpose to take her away from a cocoon of absolutely maddening pain.

For Rita, knowing intellectually that she was fine gave her peace and allowed her to take responsibility. It came down to shifting focus to her life rather than her symptoms. With inspiring self-compassion, she found things that were productive and that she enjoyed and cultivated safety. A yearof therapy helped contend with difficult emotions and dismantle false beliefs. Shifting focus to life told her brain that the symptoms were not important but that her inner life is important. This disabled the TMS strategy and helped her take care of herself.​

Did I get that right? Any corrections or additions from either of you? Any other favorite parts that people had?

Congratulations to both of you for your courage and wisdom. You will help many people with your stories!
 
Thank you so much for the kind words Forest, and thank you for helping to shine a spotlight on this form of tms! As always, you cogently encapsulated our hard won lessons lol!
I just wish to add that this process is very doable for anyone. Many people in the crps world think that a person's age, duration of suffering, severity of symptoms and location(s) in the body, increases or decreases their odds of "recovery". That could not be further from the truth! It ALL comes down to one brain...YOURS. I got better despite simultaneously going through a divorce as well, so this can be done by anyone!

Thanks again! :)
 
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Thank you, @Forest, for taking time to watch our interview! You got the key points very well, and I hope that our story would help people to defeat CRPS, one of the worst possible cases of TMS! Just today, I had a long phone conversation with a woman who saw our interview, she has had CRPS for years. She started crying when she told me how excited she was to learn that CRPS can be reversed.
 
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TMS RoundTable Global said:
What an inspiring show, Rose and I spent an evening on the Roundtable with Rita and Tamara. We heard each of their stories, suffering and ultimate healing; and saw their strength of character unfold.
So much healing was revealed as well as many healing insights for anyone with TMS.... to take responsibility and progress with their healing journey.
Incurable is a Choice.






Please don't hesitate to ask any of us questions.. We are here to support you 100%.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Tovah and Rose, for having us on your Roundtable and for everything you do for the TMS patients!
 
TMS RoundTable Global said:
What an inspiring show, Rose and I spent an evening on the Roundtable with Rita and Tamara. We heard each of their stories, suffering and ultimate healing; and saw their strength of character unfold.
So much healing was revealed as well as many healing insights for anyone with TMS.... to take responsibility and progress with their healing journey.
Incurable is a Choice.






Please don't hesitate to ask any of us questions.. We are here to support you 100%.
Click to expand...

Just echoing Tamara, to thank you, Rose and Tovah, for inviting us and for all your tireless outreach around the globe!tiphata
 
I listened to this last night and it’s fabulous. God Bless you both Tamara and Rita for not only the amazing contributions you make here, but for founding a new place specifically for CRPS because even though we know TMS is TMS no matter how it manifests, we also know how vital it can be to see ‘your’ specific issue addressed, particularly in the early days.

It’s absolutely incredible to see Sarno’s work bloom and become more accessible, and dare I say it, edging towards the mainstream. When I reflect on the reach of Sarno’s message over the last decade I am profoundly grateful to have known fantastic people like you and @Forest for everything you do and have done.

Plum ❤️
 
Thank you so much @plum and I just wish to second Tamara in thanking you for all your support here on the wiki! If it were not for members like you and Forest, Steve, Walter, Ellen, Colly, Herbie, and many others back in the day, I don't know where I would be right now, and that is the truth. This site and the community here was a Godsend for me and for many many others!
 
Thank you to @miffybunny and @TG957 for a very uplifting episode. I love that you were so honest and straight forward and actually gave concrete ways for your healing like mindset and your frank descriptions of your personality traits.
Sometimes I worry that things aren’t going in the right direction for me. You inspire hope.
 
Thanks @Cactusflower for your kind words and I'm so glad you found the discussion helpful! There is way too much gloom and doom in the medical world when it comes to chronic pain, and none of it is based in truth or hard science. We want to dispel the myths as much as we can and when it comes to crps, boy are there a lot!! The fact that you are even on the wiki and absorbing all of this is proof positive that you are going in the right direction!! The details of Tamara's and my stories are unique to our lives and personalities, but the general concepts apply to everyone. You have every reason to hope and believe!
 
Cactusflower said:
Thank you to @miffybunny and @TG957 for a very uplifting episode. I love that you were so honest and straight forward and actually gave concrete ways for your healing like mindset and your frank descriptions of your personality traits.
Sometimes I worry that things aren’t going in the right direction for me. You inspire hope.
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Thank you, @Cactusflower ! It always takes longer than our expectations allow for, but with more patience you will get through!
 
Wow wow wow! Tamara & Rita that was one of the best discussions on TMS ever. You were both so open, eloquent & coherent. I've always found your posts on the TMS wiki inspiring & on point & now I can put a face to your names which is just fantastic.
Tamara I love how you made your book Defying the Verdict so accessible & readily available on amazon & I highly recommend it. It's a must read.
Rita thank you for being so honest & for your wonderful insights.

Guys pls watch this video if you haven't already.

Mala
 
Mala said:
Wow wow wow! Tamara & Rita that was one of the best discussions on TMS ever. You were both so open, eloquent & coherent. I've always found your posts on the TMS wiki inspiring & on point & now I can put a face to your names which is just fantastic.
Tamara I love how you made your book Defying the Verdict so accessible & readily available on amazon & I highly recommend it. It's a must read.
Rita thank you for being so honest & for your wonderful insights.

Guys pls watch this video if you haven't already.

Mala
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Thank you so much, Mala!
 
Excited to listen to this. Rita and Tamara are so inspiring. Please don’t take this the wrong way but are there any other CRPS success stories out there involving people using mind/body techniques? I only ever seem to find Rita and Tamara when I look.
 
tmstraveler said:
Excited to listen to this. Rita and Tamara are so inspiring. Please don’t take this the wrong way but are there any other CRPS success stories out there involving people using mind/body techniques? I only ever seem to find Rita and Tamara when I look.
Click to expand...

Sweetheart, I think this is because Tamara and Rita are trailblazers. There will be others in time but these amazing women are forging the path. I remember the day Tamara joined the wiki… and to see all she has accomplished and contributed now makes my heart happy. (I was on hiatus when Rita joined but I adore her postings and find her uniquely inspiring as a fellow carer).

@tmstraveler Be a trailblazer too.

plum x
 
Thank you so much for your kind words @plum ! @tmstraveler ...I totally understand the desire to read others stories but CRPS is kind of a new diagnosis on the scene and new to the "tms party" lol so we are working hard on spreading the word and compiling success stories. Tamara and I do know a few (one member Colly is on the wiki and I'm friends with her). I once read a quote "If only 2 others have done something before you, be the third, if only one other has, be the second, if no one has, be the first!" . Why not right? Tms is tms is tms at the end of the day so don't get too caught up in the crps label. :)
 
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