Adventureseeker
Peer Supporter
Like most people, I wanted to be able to tell an incredible story of healing when I finished this program, bordering on the miraculous. But of course, the more we want our lives to be perfect, the less satisfied and the more enraged we are, and this is just one of the important lessons I learnt while following this program.
So I shall write anyway, despite the occasional aches and pains I still have here and there.
I can still say that discovering about TMS saved my life. I had been suffering from multiple 'injuries', which wouldn't heal, and before I discovered about this, I thought that I either had some degenerative disease which would eventually kill me, or that I'd be limited for the rest of my life.
I could not walk for longer than 5 minutes without getting piriformis, thigh and hip pain in both legs. I could not stretch my arms up, and one of my shoulders was blocked and painful. The nerves in my arms and elbows were on fire. A neurologist told me to give up on sports, a pain specialist told me that sports wrecks havoc on the body. I used to love trekking and rock climbing, and losing those it felt like life was not worth it anymore. In fact, it wasn't, not as I was living it.
I am still angry that I got to discover about TMS almost by coincidence, just because I happened to type the right key words on google. I'm angry that I visited so many doctors, and none hinted at it, although the tests I had were normal. Of course, I consider myself lucky that I discovered about TMS only eight months after the first symptoms appeared, though at the same time I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't.
Sarno's discoveries gave me plenty of answers, and the SEP helped me embark on this journey one step at a time. One week after I started it, my symptoms decreased by 60 %; three weeks later I started going to the gym, and seven weeks later I went on my first rock climb WITHOUT PAIN.
The best I can do to try and give something back to this wonderful community, is post a list of approaches that have and are helping me:
i) I talk to different painful parts of the body, in the same way that I would talk to a stubborn child. For example, "Oh come on don't be silly, you know it's pointless... OR... well we're going for the walk anyway - you can tag along if you like, but it won't make a difference really!"
ii) I stopped whining about my pain with other people. I noticed that my mother had been helping me inflate the problems, so suddenly I just stopped complaining with her about them and decided to deal with this myself. Other people might also mention this or that other person suffering from something similar which ended in physical limitation etc... I didn't want or need to hear those stories.
iii) I worked out - steadily and gradually. If I feel a twinge of pain while working out, I try to notice it without judging it as 'bad'. I give my body time to get used to the new movements, or to the new weights, so as to try not to give it an 'overload' of excuses to react.
iv) I started meditating - still got to work on my patience a lot, and I still can't stay still for more than 15 minutes, but I guess it's a good start.
vi) I no longer 'look forward' to any point in the future... before I used to live solely for my holidays, and work my way through the rest of the days. Now I try to do something I enjoy each day. I do have a holiday planned, but I'm not constantly yearning for the day to arrive.
vi) I remind myself how lucky I am to have gained this insight and relish this fact. I no longer look upon the past pains as a curse or a blot in my life, but as a bridge to a better and healthier life.
Apart from the decrease in pain, I've noticed that some skin problems which I've had for years have also started to disappear... I've also gained some (needed) weight. This work has been the hardest thing I've ever tackled, but I know now that it is and will continue to be all worth it.
I cannot thank Dr Sarno or the designers of the program enough, and do hope that one day TMS will become common medical knowledge. My heartfelt thanks also goes to all those who have provided support on this forum - thank you ever so much!
All the best X
So I shall write anyway, despite the occasional aches and pains I still have here and there.
I can still say that discovering about TMS saved my life. I had been suffering from multiple 'injuries', which wouldn't heal, and before I discovered about this, I thought that I either had some degenerative disease which would eventually kill me, or that I'd be limited for the rest of my life.
I could not walk for longer than 5 minutes without getting piriformis, thigh and hip pain in both legs. I could not stretch my arms up, and one of my shoulders was blocked and painful. The nerves in my arms and elbows were on fire. A neurologist told me to give up on sports, a pain specialist told me that sports wrecks havoc on the body. I used to love trekking and rock climbing, and losing those it felt like life was not worth it anymore. In fact, it wasn't, not as I was living it.
I am still angry that I got to discover about TMS almost by coincidence, just because I happened to type the right key words on google. I'm angry that I visited so many doctors, and none hinted at it, although the tests I had were normal. Of course, I consider myself lucky that I discovered about TMS only eight months after the first symptoms appeared, though at the same time I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't.
Sarno's discoveries gave me plenty of answers, and the SEP helped me embark on this journey one step at a time. One week after I started it, my symptoms decreased by 60 %; three weeks later I started going to the gym, and seven weeks later I went on my first rock climb WITHOUT PAIN.
The best I can do to try and give something back to this wonderful community, is post a list of approaches that have and are helping me:
i) I talk to different painful parts of the body, in the same way that I would talk to a stubborn child. For example, "Oh come on don't be silly, you know it's pointless... OR... well we're going for the walk anyway - you can tag along if you like, but it won't make a difference really!"
ii) I stopped whining about my pain with other people. I noticed that my mother had been helping me inflate the problems, so suddenly I just stopped complaining with her about them and decided to deal with this myself. Other people might also mention this or that other person suffering from something similar which ended in physical limitation etc... I didn't want or need to hear those stories.
iii) I worked out - steadily and gradually. If I feel a twinge of pain while working out, I try to notice it without judging it as 'bad'. I give my body time to get used to the new movements, or to the new weights, so as to try not to give it an 'overload' of excuses to react.
iv) I started meditating - still got to work on my patience a lot, and I still can't stay still for more than 15 minutes, but I guess it's a good start.
vi) I no longer 'look forward' to any point in the future... before I used to live solely for my holidays, and work my way through the rest of the days. Now I try to do something I enjoy each day. I do have a holiday planned, but I'm not constantly yearning for the day to arrive.
vi) I remind myself how lucky I am to have gained this insight and relish this fact. I no longer look upon the past pains as a curse or a blot in my life, but as a bridge to a better and healthier life.
Apart from the decrease in pain, I've noticed that some skin problems which I've had for years have also started to disappear... I've also gained some (needed) weight. This work has been the hardest thing I've ever tackled, but I know now that it is and will continue to be all worth it.
I cannot thank Dr Sarno or the designers of the program enough, and do hope that one day TMS will become common medical knowledge. My heartfelt thanks also goes to all those who have provided support on this forum - thank you ever so much!
All the best X
