Day 1 The ups and downs of tingling and numbness

Write a short post about the level of acceptance you have of the TMS diagnosis, and of any doubts or worries you may have at this point.

Leading up to 2020, I always had a lot of tightness in my shoulders and upper back. I figured it was because I would work out a lot- I'm a very active guy.

In Mar 2020, it started feeling worse and I was getting tingling down my right arm. So went to see a doctor who diagnosed me with cervical radiculopathy.

Unfortunately, before I could do any treatment- the pandemic hit and we were locked in. For 3 months, I tried to take care of it myself at home. A lot of worry, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of stretching and exercising that didn't feel effective.

4 months later in July of 2020, I went to see a neurologist who confirmed that there was delayed signals in my nerves. I went on to get X-rays and an MRI where I was told it was "degenerative disc disease" and a "disc bulge in my cervical spine."

After that I did 3 months with a chiropractor and physical therapist. I did myotherapy, high-intensity laser therapy, massages, and stretching. They helped in the moment, but never led to permanent relief.

Fast forward to today, 2 years later. I've been to physical therapy on and off- especially when I get too worried. I discovered TMS, John Sarno, and Alan Gordon's stuff earlier this year and I would love to believe this but it feels like my worry and anxiety is still very strong.

Every time I start to believe in TMS I worry that maybe it is very serious and that I am missing something.

What would a life without TMS mean to you?

It would mean not being so worried about my health.

And I would be able to do the activities and hobbies I enjoy without having to always manage my pain

 

Welcome, Javier. Please be assured that this is your brain on TMS. Your fearful primitive brain has an investment in you staying worried and always on high alert, and any sign that you might relax that vigilance will be met by a panic reaction.

If the medical community can't offer you anything at this point, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by adopting a mindbody approach, which is non-invasive and, if you're doing our SEP, totally free. Your subconscious brain is going to fight back. You can literally thank your brain for being worried, and assure it (and your conscious, mindful self) that you are perfectly safe.

100% belief is not required to start doing this work - just a willingness to hang in there and keep going.

 

This is very helpful to hear. I was afraid that if I had doubts it wouldn't work for me (yet)

 

And now that we've addressed that, I will say that you DO need to do the emotional work with 100% self-honesty. Your fearful brain will try to talk you out of that - it will try to convince you that you can skip over something, leave something off the list, not go too deep, or rush through in order to supposedly recover faster. These are all tricks of your fearful brain to prevent you from REALLY doing the work. Do not be fooled!

 

I too am on the new Journey, still struggling with the belief that my crampy tingling sensations in legs are TMS but actually know that it is! Lots derp emotional stuff going on with me right now so its all linked, must say that my symptoms do not stop me from being active and are more evident when my nervous system is aroused. No other physical symptoms either apart from the anxiety this is causing ( worry in case ive something nasty- but sort of know i haven't!)
This forum is very inspiring.. thank you

 

I get those a few times a month , always in my hand. It is also always about 5 minutes into playing guitar. I was already aware of that being a TMS symptom when they first started so I have never taken them serious but just continued to play and it always goes away in another 5 minutes.

Like Javier said, Things like that are scary. If you don't allow the fear any traction, it goes away fast. remember Sarno said He didn't treat pain.. the whole point of TMS education is to prevent new outbreaks, spasms, issues etc. It will often try to turn into something else. Learn what those things are and tell them to 'hit the road' and they will.