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Waiting for pain to return

B

Barb

New Member
Greetings, it's been a while since I was last on this site,, and of course am getting into a bit more discomfort so am back at this.... I have a question, does anyone feel like I do,, even when I am completely without pain some days, I just wait for the pain to arrive - I know this gets in the way of progress.., I don't seem able to turn that off and so wish I could... It's been 3 months since I read Dr. Sarno's book...
Barb
 
Hi Barb. Glad you're back!
I just read Claire Weekes's book Hope and Help for Your Nerves. It was written in '69, but much of it still applies. She talks about the nervous system getting overwhelmed by stimuli, and how our fear of the next bout of pain can introduce a type of feedback loop--we fear the pain so the nerves get overstimulated which increases the pain etc. Dr. Weekes suggests a 4 step process--1. Facing 2. Accepting, 3. Floating 4. Letting Time Pass. By Floating, she means taking note of the pain but continuing your normal activities; not letting it stop you.

I'm still working on implementing this, but I've noticed that when I can "float" the pain is less.
 
But isn't that a sign that your symptoms are TMS. If simply thinking about when they will come back can bring back the symptoms, then there is a significant psychological component to them. If your symptoms were caused by a structural problem, what you thought would not change them. What your case really shows is that the TMS distraction is not about your symptoms, but about your fear and preoccupation with your symptoms. In other words, your unconscious distracts you from your emotions by getting you to think about when your pain will arrive. This approach is about recognizing when this is happening, and bring your attention back to the present, and allowing your emotions.
 
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