Forest
Beloved Grand Eagle
Hi, all...
At the beginning of Part 1 of the Alan Gordon TMS Recovery Program, Alan provides some tools for accepting the TMS diagnosis. One of those tools is an Evidence Sheet, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on it.
I think that the real benefit of having an evidence sheet like that is not for when you are writing it, but rather for when you need it in an emergency. Dr. Sarno taught us that accepting the diagnosis is key to healing and that we need to think psychological rather than physical. This is no good because when we think physically, we tend to get scared, and the TMS has us in its grip. One of the benefits of thinking psychological is that it helps us overcome our fears.
When symptoms increase (which they do because TMS healing isn't linear) or if we are just having a bad day, this also can be very scary. The trouble with fear is that when we are afraid, it makes it hard for us to think rationally. From the perspective of brain science, what happens is that the amygdala, a fear center, shuts down our prefrontal cortex, where our more rational thought happens. However, you don't need to know all of the brain science to know that when we are afraid that our TMS may never go away or that our pain may be physical, we can panic a little bit - get all revved up - and then it can be hard to think clearly.
This is where the evidence sheet comes in. When you are having difficulties accepting the diagnosis and might be starting to think physical, you can always review the evidence sheet.
Here's one way that this helped me: for two years I had TMS symptoms in my right knee. I developed a conditioned response so that whenever I ran or even walked, I would have pain around my right kneecap. Frankly, it terrified me because the more I walked, the worse it got, and it never seemed to get better. Would I ever be able to walk freely again?
Well, when I first discovered, TMS, one of the things I did was I started walking more. Sure enough, the pain got worse. But I kept walking anyway, and, after a while, it stopped getting worse and even got better. Now I can walk wherever I want. I even joined a broomball team that one of my friends started. I ran around on an ice rink in tennis shoes like a maniac (unfortunately not like a ninja) and while I was very out of breath, my knee was fine. As before, it got worse at first, but then it died down completely once I overcame my fear.
Well, I live in a city, and periodically I have to run down a hill for a subway (usually, I'm late
). When I do, my right knee begins to hurt again. Logically, I know that it is just conditioning, but the old fears of injuring myself pop up, and it's easy for me to start worrying or thinking about my body, which I think is the kiss of death for TMS. Instead, I use that broomball story like an evidence sheet. I remind myself that I am perfectly healthy, that my body is strong. When I played broomball, I ran much more than this, so I know that I have nothing to worry about. This allows me to get back to living my life and enjoying whatever I'm doing, which I think is the key to TMS healing. The symptoms don't scare me at all because I know it's TMS.
Having the evidence from the broomball team at my disposal helps with this. I won't say it's a massive effect, but it gives me a tool that I can use when I need it, which helps me stay positive. And once you get your mind right with TMS, your body will follow. It's just a matter of time (though it does take an awful long time for some people - to anyone reading this, don't worry if that's you. It's just the way TMS works.).
Has anyone else tried using an evidence sheet? Did it help?
At the beginning of Part 1 of the Alan Gordon TMS Recovery Program, Alan provides some tools for accepting the TMS diagnosis. One of those tools is an Evidence Sheet, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on it.
I think that the real benefit of having an evidence sheet like that is not for when you are writing it, but rather for when you need it in an emergency. Dr. Sarno taught us that accepting the diagnosis is key to healing and that we need to think psychological rather than physical. This is no good because when we think physically, we tend to get scared, and the TMS has us in its grip. One of the benefits of thinking psychological is that it helps us overcome our fears.
When symptoms increase (which they do because TMS healing isn't linear) or if we are just having a bad day, this also can be very scary. The trouble with fear is that when we are afraid, it makes it hard for us to think rationally. From the perspective of brain science, what happens is that the amygdala, a fear center, shuts down our prefrontal cortex, where our more rational thought happens. However, you don't need to know all of the brain science to know that when we are afraid that our TMS may never go away or that our pain may be physical, we can panic a little bit - get all revved up - and then it can be hard to think clearly.
This is where the evidence sheet comes in. When you are having difficulties accepting the diagnosis and might be starting to think physical, you can always review the evidence sheet.
Here's one way that this helped me: for two years I had TMS symptoms in my right knee. I developed a conditioned response so that whenever I ran or even walked, I would have pain around my right kneecap. Frankly, it terrified me because the more I walked, the worse it got, and it never seemed to get better. Would I ever be able to walk freely again?
Well, when I first discovered, TMS, one of the things I did was I started walking more. Sure enough, the pain got worse. But I kept walking anyway, and, after a while, it stopped getting worse and even got better. Now I can walk wherever I want. I even joined a broomball team that one of my friends started. I ran around on an ice rink in tennis shoes like a maniac (unfortunately not like a ninja) and while I was very out of breath, my knee was fine. As before, it got worse at first, but then it died down completely once I overcame my fear.
Well, I live in a city, and periodically I have to run down a hill for a subway (usually, I'm late
Having the evidence from the broomball team at my disposal helps with this. I won't say it's a massive effect, but it gives me a tool that I can use when I need it, which helps me stay positive. And once you get your mind right with TMS, your body will follow. It's just a matter of time (though it does take an awful long time for some people - to anyone reading this, don't worry if that's you. It's just the way TMS works.).
Has anyone else tried using an evidence sheet? Did it help?
