Day 3 The last time I exercised

I last exercised on June 30, 2015. I spent time that evening on both the curved treadmill and the rowing machine at the gym. After only three months going to the gym, I had to stop. Both my feet and my back were hurting when I left the gym. Over the course of three months, I went from feeling good to feeling awful. Little did I know that the pain would get even worse. I my efforts to recover, my pain would only get worse.

 

Hi Billy
Hang in there. I am on day 9 or 10 and I really do think there is something to this. I an a skeptical person by nature but know,that I have started journaling about my emotions I feel a little better.

Steve

 

Thanks for the encouragement, Steve. Glad to know I'm not the only skeptic.

 

Hi, Bill. Steve is right. You've only been in the SEProgram a few days, so be sure to keep at it and give it all you can.
Don't spend more than half an hour or an hour on it each day or it may be too much deep thinking.

You have stopped going to the gym, but I urge you to exercise at home, however much you can do. Keeping active is vrey important in healing.

I suggest you add meditation each day. My favorite is the Relaxation Response:

Meditation is a time-honored way of relaxing the mind and relieving anxiety, mental stress, headaches, and even physical pain. There are many ways to practice meditation, but many consider the most successful to be a technique called the Relaxation Response (RR).

It is a wonderful way to practice TMS Mindbody healing because it changes harmful thinking in the subconscious mind which Dr. John Sarno says causes pain that is not caused by anything structural.

The RR, practiced once or twice a day for 10, 15, or 20 minutes has a profound positive effect on the subconscious mind, relieving or curing everything from anxiety, hypertension, headaches, fatigue, nervousness, dizziness, high blood pressure, insomnia, stomach problems, all forms of pain including backaches, abdominal pain, muscle pain, neck, arm, and leg pain, and relieves side affects from cancer and AIDS.

RR is like Transcendental Meditation which is taught by TM specialists who charge hundreds or thousands of dollars. But the RR is free and you can do it yourself.

It is practiced, before a meal, and works best if not practiced within two hours after a meal. I do it in bed before arising in the morning and again in bed before falling sleep. Often, I only do it 5 or 10 minutes and it works to calm me and put me to sleep.

Just sit in a chair (or lie in bed in the morning or at bedtime), close your eyes, don’t listen to any music, and try to avoid outside noises. Let your mind think of a word such as

"One " which has no real meaning or association. Or say a calming word such as “Calm” or “Peace,” or add the faith or spiritual element by saying a favorite religious word or prayer. Breathe naturally or incorporate Deep Breathing by breathing in through the mouth to inflate the stomach, suck in the stomach while holding the breath for a few seconds, then say the word when you exhale through the mouth.

Say the word silently over and over. At the end of the 10 to 20 minutes, picture and feel yourself as you were when you felt your best, and in a place where you felt that way.

When distracting thoughts arise during the RR, as they will, just tell yourself, “Oh, well,” and go back to repeating your chosen word.

There are several free videos on Youtube about the Relaxation Response. I especially recommend these two by Dr. Benson:

 

Hey Bill and Steve,

I'm on Day 10 and though my pain is not gone I've seen a significant reduction. I am skeptical and pessimistic by nature, so I've had to fight with my brain in a way to get to acceptance of the diagnosis. The thing that's helping me the most is the evidence list. Every time my pain moves to another place, I have no pain when I normally do, or I experience a new kind of pain I add it to the list. My pain is different every day and jumps all over my lower back and legs. It's been extremely helpful to basically call TMS out and then say to my brain, you can't fool me I know exactly what's going on here.

The other thing I've found useful, which I read at one point on the forum here, is to tell myself over and over "there is nothing wrong with my back". I used to have pain laying on my couch. So I would stack a bunch of blankets and lay on them so that it was more firm. I ditched the blanket one day, laid directly on my soft cushy couch and said to myself over and over "there is nothing wrong with my back". Almost like meditating on that phrase. I fell asleep, something I would not have done on the couch a month ago, and when I woke up my pain was no worse than it was when I laid down. I think the repetition has helped to convince myself.

I still have doubts and the fear is absolutely still there. But as I research more and more I'm finding that we don't have to change our personalities entirely. I am a skeptic, that's the way that I am. So I do my best to believe and have faith. But there will be doubts along the way and I don't beat myself up for that. I talk to the doubts and have a conversation, usually going back to that evidence list.

I'm not out of the woods yet and I still have times when there is significant pain. When I'm really need a pick up I read through the Success Stories forum. It's all a process. I am by no means an expert or cured, just wanted to relay some of the things that I have found helpful.

 

Getting past the fear of exercise is a tough thing. It has been my experience in this process that exercising has made me feel so much better about myself. There have been many days that I considered skipping a workout because my neck and back were killing me, but I powered through and the pain actually diminished because of increased blood flow and endorphins. I tell myself that there is nothing structurally wrong with me. Feeling strong physically helps me tremendously with my emotions.

I hadn't exercised for MANY years and actually started again about 8 months ago at the advice of my doctor. He suggested that my pain was anxiety related and that exercise would be a good stress reliever and would strengthen my body (fairly enlightened for a grumpy old Doctor, I thought ). I am now a faithful 4-5 days a week at the gym. I recently started running (up to 3 miles), which was something I never thought possible a year ago. My goal is to run a 5k this Fall with friends.

I agree with Walt...even if you don't go to the gym, try some exercise at home. You may be pleasantly surprised that as you begin to delve into the emotions and deeply engrained thoughts that trigger your TMS, your pain will go away and you will be able to tolerate physical activity again. Best of luck to you!