UK Mental Health Teem Dismissed my plea for help...

I started tms journey 31st Oct 2015, by reading Dr Sarno's books.

I have been disabled by chronic pain since 2004

I haven't yet started Structured Ed' Prog, I think fear is stopping me ... I had started short-hand journalling but again, I don't think I have fully engaged in doing it 'right' as the fear inside me, seems to be holding me back

Up until Christmas week, I was doing rather well with a dramatic reduction in pain levels, and my mobility had increased, but over the last week the pain has come back with a vengeance !!

I hit a stumbling block just before xmas, in that ,I had asked my GP for help with further counselling (I have received 6 months of counselling for childhood/teenage abuse at the hands of my mother/ but this was a year before I knew anything about tms)

But when I went for the appointment, the 'councillor' totally DISMISSED Dr Sarnos approach, and even stated ''there's no such thing as an unconscious mind or repressed feelings/emotions''

I was devastated by this, reported back to my GP about it, and she said nothing - just shrugged her shoulders ... surely a GP has the power to RE - refer to a different councillor ?? I'm due to see GP again soon - what should I do? Go it alone and try to manage doing all this alone? or ask for GP to re-refer again?
I'm from the UK - so any advice would be great

Christmas has been hard, always is, but I think the above hasn't helped either.

I'm really struggling, I'm so sick of all this pain !

 

Hi, breakfree. I think your symptoms came back and maybe stronger because of anxieties about the holidays. I have sinus congestion and hear a little less in my right ear than in my left, but have no other symptoms of a cold or flu. I love the holidays but they are often too buy and tiring for me, at age 85.
I am going to do some deep breathing and relax and am sure the hearing will stabilize again.

It doesn't seem to me that your GP or the councillor are worth seeing again, at least not about TMS. Just keep in the SEProgram and believe 100 percent in TMS emotions causing your symptoms.

Happy New Year!

 

I hope you told that counselor what an f***ing idiot he is.

 

I was seeing a therapist for anxiety/depression, and he accused me of being a narcissist. What he was saying might very well have been true, but it wasn't very helpful for supporting the recovery of a depressed and anxious patient. If a "caregiver" is shutting you down in a way that leaves you disempowered or more unhappy than when you got there, I'd say find a new caregiver!

Have you heard of Georgie Oldfield? She's a TMS therapist in the UK, might be worth giving her a call/email!

 

tried to do the same with several health professionals...had an interesting chat with an old friend who is a Physio.
explained Sarno and how incredible it was and had totally saved me. he went on to talk about a guy who he refers to and is known as the 'chronic pain guy'.

A fellow Physio who has came to the same conclusions as Sarno and focusses on reassuring patients, talking them through the research showing how poorly structural defects correlate with pain etc. Its beginning to really seep through

 

really recommend talking to Georgie if possible!!

 

Huh?! No subconscious intentionality either? A lot that guy knows!

 

Wow. What a scary and chaotic world it would be if our trauma and negative emotions were in our consciousness 24-7.

Your councillor is definitely in the wrong industry.

 

I'm still shaking my head over Mr. There's No Unconscious. Maybe he still thinks the sun goes around the earth.

It's unfortunate how many damn fools are out there pretending to practice psychotherapy. I've had my own encounters with a few of them, and I've heard stories ...

Laughalot, you are quite right about your therapist shutting you down in a most unhelpful way. I hope you got rid of him fast.

The moral is, you have to be very careful picking a therapist. Ask lots of questions, and don't ever be intimidated.

 

Hi David

LOL , well , what I actually said was ''I'm not sitting here listening to this S**t anymore'' ,
got up, asked him to ''excuse me please'' as he was blocking to exit (which I also think was 'planned' !!!)

and told him on the way out that ''I WILL do it on my own!!''

BUT ... I REALLY do feel I NEED help due to the abuse ... as I learnt from a VERY early age that ANGER is nasty/frightening/terrifying/not acceptable - so I have NEVER ever allowed myself to get angry - and now I know about tms, obviously I can see the connections.

But i dont feel angry, I actually feel pity (for my mother)

So I think I need a professional to help me 'find' the repressed stuff

 

Hi Laughalot (brilliant name lol!) & IrishSceptic

Yes that exactly how I felt , in fact if I had had that same dealing with a mental professional 6 months ago ,I think I would of been suicidal from it ... these people are meant to be there to help, not hinder ones recovery ...

Many THANKS for the recommendation of Georgie Oldfield , I will certainly give that some thought

 

I needed help too, for similar reasons.

It took me a long time to find the right therapist. But when I did, it made all the difference.

I suggest looking for someone who does short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. They should be TMS-trained, or at least be on board with TMS. Bring a copy of The Divided Mind and insist that the therapist read it.

 

breakfree, it sounds like you lived up to your username good on ya!

I've spoken with Georgie once before over the phone, she really loves supporting TMSers (it's main clientele) and feels really passionately about the international medical community being more accepting of the "condition." An initial call with her should be free, I'd try giving her a ring and seeing about an initial consultation.

 

Hi there,
I have every sympathy with you. I too am based in the UK and have dreadful response from mental health teams. Tried for 11 months to get support and door finally was closed. TMS in UK is way behind the US, can be very isolating. That is why the Wiki is invaluable. Dont let the buggers grind you down and listen to your own truth x

 

hi billiewells

thanks very much for replying ... so you were NOT able to get anywhere with uk Mental Health ?
did you / have you been able to get ANY help with any tms theory via your GP?
or have you had to do it all on your own?

I'm wondering whether to try asking my gp for psychotherapy

Thanks x x

 

The GPguided me down several mental health routes, I was assessed by three different agencies, but when I explained that I thought my physical symptoms were psychosomatic in origin, it got worse. It took 11 months to get absolutely nowhere. TMS and my GP a waste of time, even though I have agoraphobia which clearly proves I have anxiety issues and my GP visits me at home and is quite sweet.

i think you really need someone who can recognise the concept of mindbody issues. You can Skpe a therapist in the US or there is one person in the UK . . Georgie somebody. I chose the US route

 

Mental health services the UK are laughable. In the first instance if you are lucky enough to get a GP referral before they have tried about 10 different SSRI's on you first you are then looking at waiting about 18 months to be seen. From my experience and speaking to others is that they are also next to useless with anything remotely complex...all they basically want to do is shift you off their books asap.

 

As soon as you tell any medial professional what you suspect is wrong you immediately set yourself up for a fall...they want to be the one providing the diagnosis. I know this from experience as I could almost feel them looking at me as if to say 'oh, this one is an awkward one' if I dared as much to say if I suspected what my issue may have been.

Georgie Oldfield has set up a SIRPA programme and there are affiliated TMS practitioners in other areas of the UK. Where do you live?

 

All one needs to do is watch one of those hoarding programs or obesity programs to see that some emotional issue set those people off on their hoarding - an issue that was never properly dealt with. The hoarding, eating, etc are their TMS. Where the hell did this counselor get their degree from, a gumball machine?

 

Its sad that the medical profession in the UK is so locked by NHS guidelines. It's great if you have something really obvious and treatable, but with chronic conditions they are hopeless. Astonishingly this makes up between 15-30% of primary care patients, and medicating all these people costs a fortune. The NHS is publicly funded and so it is not run like a business, its all about ticking boxes for the government - its lost its way. Lack of support for alternative therapies doesn't help.

My niece is studying medicine and I have tried to open her mind to TMS. She understands full well what the brain is capable of, but without clinical evidence the medical profession tend to dismiss alternative medicine and therapies at voodoo medicine. If you want to follow that route, the NHS won't fund it and even insurance companies are limited in funding alternative therapies on private health care. The cost of private therapy is prohibitively expensive and beyond the reach of many patients that want to pursue it, so you are left with little choice but to try and do it on your own. For some this may work but for many, it like trying to cut your own hair. Even if your manage to find a vaguely sympathetic doctor, chances are you will be referred to a councillor that may not be a trained in the correct form psychology or be sympathetic to TMS.

So getting treatment and diagnosis in the UK is an up hill battle in addition to the one you're already having to deal with.