TMS potentially resurfacing

Hi all,

My journey started just over 2 years ago with chronic back pain. It first started as an extreme stiffness, then moved into sciatica, numbness, twitching, and tingling in both legs. In the thick of the back pain, I also started experiencing neck pain as well. It was a terrible experience and put me into a depression. I thought I was never going to be myself again because I wouldn't have been able to do basic activities that I love. I was also very worried about work because I was planning on starting a career in the corporate world that involved lots of sitting at the desk. I thankfully came across Dr. Sarno's work in early 2022, and it truly saved me. I was probably 80% pain free within a week, and I was totally sold on the TMS theory because of the success I was having. I kept working on my TMS rehabilitation for months and reached I'd say 85-90% pain free which I'm very content with. I noticed my anxiety went up quite a bit as my body pain faded.

Just as things were getting good with my back and neck I suffered a concussion. This happened almost 3 months ago. I've had a bad concussion before that lasted over a month so I am no stranger to them. I had the regular concussive symptoms like sensitivity to light and screens, loud noises, messed up vision, and general fatigue when doing too much. These have mainly faded away but I still have certain symptoms.

I feel like I made most of my recovery within a month and a half after my concussion. For the past month I've been dealing with similar symptoms that I believe have plateaued. The biggest one is a feeling of fatigue and dizziness when I sit down at my desk to do work. This doesn't happen in any other situation. I can exercise, party, do all sorts of things and I am fine. The weird part is that sometimes I feel this fatigue and sometimes I don't. I had to complete an assessment for a job which involved me working all day on the computer. I was fine. But then there's days where I get fatigued and dizzy after doing light internet surfing for a couple hours. I also have mild pains in my head and eyes that I wasn't really even having too often at the start of the concussion. I feel that I am very agitated and frustrated with the whole process. I am constantly worrying about getting better as I start a new job in 2 weeks. I'm nervous I wont be ready for work and am not relaxed at all. I think a lot of this is anxiety and TMS related, because it doesn't really feel like I'm concussed anymore. I just feel like I've kept the fatigue's from the concussion, but I think this could be mind induced.

I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts. Thanks for reading.

 

Fatigue and dizziness are tms. They mean nothing. You’ve had some elevated stress and anxiety. Deal with your feelings surrounding a potential relapse, they happen. Deal with how you felt about your injury. Be kind to yourself.
You will be ok!

 

thanks for the reply means a lot!

 

Have you picked up a real pen and paper and tried some writing exercises? That's what helps me when I'm relapsing and I feel like my thoughts are out of control, and if you did the SEP earlier this year you learned several techniques.

Just do at least ten minutes of free writing any time you feel particularly bad, and definitely at the end of the day. I often start by asking myself (literally, on the paper) what's on my mind, then I start answering that question, sometimes with a list of stuff.

Don't think too much about it, and above all don't edit what you write. Scribble fast to the point of illegibility. Write things down even if your brain tries to convince you they aren't important (maybe they aren't earth-shattering, but if your brain is resistant, there's something going on!)

At some point, always write down at least one thing, from your day or about your life, for which you are grateful.

Don't feel like you have to keep what you write. The experts advise throwing it out (I can't even read mine).

Free writing, using whatever technique you prefer, has been shown in numerous studies to calm the brain and help us become more mindful of our negative thoughts and fearful brains.

So common, as you probably already know. If you never read Hope and Help For Your Nerves, by Claire Weekes, it was essential to my recovery from lifelong anxiety that became debilitating in 2011 and it has helped countless people since being published in 1969 if you can believe that.

I call that success!

You can have success over this setback as well. These are tough times, so be sure to give yourself a break.

~Jan

 

I think the answer is right here:
I am constantly worrying about getting better as I start a new job in 2 weeks.

Starting a new job is one of the most stressful situations. Your brain is rebelling big time.

 

TMS recovery is never linear, and you should never expect fast and steady recovery, because it is a false expectation. Dr. Sarno specifically talks about extinction bursts, which is sudden appearance of new symptoms or return of original symptoms after initial improvements. It is common, and getting spooked by those symptoms will only slow down your recovery. Plateaus are also normal. In my recovery, I went through many extinction bursts and long plateaus. As long as you continue believing that you are on the right path and continue doing whatever brought you initial improvements, you will eventually succeed.