Hi, all. This is my first post, and it's part success story and part "symptom imperative" report. I'm 74, in good general health, still working and active. Over my life I've had some physical problems come and go that I now recognize as TMS: anorexia, depression, hives, stomach and head aches, IC, and sciatica. During a bout with acute sciatica four months ago, a friend mentioned that his back issues had twenty years previously been cured by reading Dr. Sarno's "Healing Back Pain", and the resulting realization that anger over the demands of his life (at that time, four small kids and a high pressure job) was literally making him sick.
I immediately got Sarno's books, watched his lectures and a film about him, began journalling, and called a therapist to discuss current and past stresses. Within two weeks the sciatica was gone, as well as IC symptoms (a constant low-level burning in bladder that occasionally flared into something worse) and the headaches that I thought were caused by caffeine (since TMS awareness I've been drinking coffee and tea with no headaches.)
Sciatica came back twice in those four months, when I was in high stress work situations. While suffering with it, I continued journaling, reading about TMS, and listening to success stories. Each time the leg pain abated. The last sciatica episode was two weeks ago--pain in my foot so acute that I had trouble walking. As soon as I recognized it for what it was--TMS!--I had to laugh. The foot pain disappeared in a few hours and hasn't been back.
BUT--the day after that episode I began to itch. I thought it was bug bites until the welts began growing all over my thighs and back. A week later, I am covered with hives. I have absolutely no doubt that these are emotionally induced symptoms, and would be laughing again at the obviousness of TMS playing whack-a-mole on my body if I wasn't so busy scratching! I just began a course of Prednisone, because even though I know not to "treat the TMS" medically, I need to get these hives under control.
My question for you reading this--have any of you out there had hives as a TMS symptom? Did they go away on their own? How did you keep your spirits up when it seems to be one darn thing after another sometimes with TMS? I need to keep reminding myself of all the successes I've had in such a short time, and how long I was unaware of how powerful mind/body connection is. But I am feeling a bit discouraged about whether I can exorcise all of these TMS symptoms away, permanently. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I immediately got Sarno's books, watched his lectures and a film about him, began journalling, and called a therapist to discuss current and past stresses. Within two weeks the sciatica was gone, as well as IC symptoms (a constant low-level burning in bladder that occasionally flared into something worse) and the headaches that I thought were caused by caffeine (since TMS awareness I've been drinking coffee and tea with no headaches.)
Sciatica came back twice in those four months, when I was in high stress work situations. While suffering with it, I continued journaling, reading about TMS, and listening to success stories. Each time the leg pain abated. The last sciatica episode was two weeks ago--pain in my foot so acute that I had trouble walking. As soon as I recognized it for what it was--TMS!--I had to laugh. The foot pain disappeared in a few hours and hasn't been back.
BUT--the day after that episode I began to itch. I thought it was bug bites until the welts began growing all over my thighs and back. A week later, I am covered with hives. I have absolutely no doubt that these are emotionally induced symptoms, and would be laughing again at the obviousness of TMS playing whack-a-mole on my body if I wasn't so busy scratching! I just began a course of Prednisone, because even though I know not to "treat the TMS" medically, I need to get these hives under control.
My question for you reading this--have any of you out there had hives as a TMS symptom? Did they go away on their own? How did you keep your spirits up when it seems to be one darn thing after another sometimes with TMS? I need to keep reminding myself of all the successes I've had in such a short time, and how long I was unaware of how powerful mind/body connection is. But I am feeling a bit discouraged about whether I can exorcise all of these TMS symptoms away, permanently. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
But point taken about being reactive. Not freaking out, no--but pretty impressed with how visible and uncomfortable this reaction to my new TMS awareness is.