GeorgieO Watch where your focus is!

[Forest]

Georgie Oldfield is a physiotherapist in the United Kingdom and a member of this forum. She is the founder of SIRPA, the Stress Illness Recovery Practitioner's Association, a group that trains TMS/PPD/Stress Illness practitioners in the UK and abroad.

Being a recovered TMSer herself, Georgie cares deeply about spreading the word about TMS and has always been a strong supporter of our nonprofit and its mission. To help us launch our new forum, she has kindly given me permission me to repost some of her blog posts to stimulate discussion.

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about the importance of what is happening in the present in my own TMS symptomatology. My symptoms may have roots in the faraway past, but the emotional tension that leads to the tensions play out in the present, and my greatest successes in controlling those symptoms have come from changes in the way that I've handled myself in the present. (Of course, to be emotionally aware in the present, we must understand our past, but that's another story .)

In that vein, I thought I'd share the following post, which I found very helpful.

“When one door of happiness closes another opens, but we often look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us”​

-- Helen Keller​

Have you ever found yourself ruminating on a problem and feeling you’re getting nowhere with it? The trouble is, the more we focus on an issue the bigger it gets and the more insurmountable it appears. This indecision leads to internal conflict which mounts up and then symptoms of stress illness can result when an outlet is required as the internal emotional ‘pressure’ builds up.

The resulting symptom could be something as simple as a sore throat, a stiff neck, sore feet when you get up in the morning, or a more severe condition like back pain, Fibromyalgia or RSI. Remember, just as you might rush to the toilet when you’re nervous, the emotions caused by stressors trigger symptoms via similar unconscious, automatic nerve pathways. Unfortunately if we then focus our attention or even fear on this pain, then this in itself causes more inner turmoil and exacerbates the problem.

When you are in a low mood or feeling overwhelmed by something, never make any important decisions. Sometimes you need to step back and look at your situation from another angle to find a different solution to your problem.

Try offloading how you feel about the problem on paper and noting down any thoughts related to it, including any ideas, fears, pros and cons of any possible actions etc. Once you’ve done this, focus on other things and just get on with your day wherever possible. Make sure you don’t allow yourself to ruminate on the problem any more by remaining mindful or distracting yourself with something else.

The next step is to make sure you take some time out without any distractions. This could be being mindful, doing some mindfulness meditation, or just sitting quietly without allowing yourself to constantly go over the problem. It’s when your conscious mind is still that you’re unconscious mind is able to process things unhindered and often you’ll find insights come to you and you find a way forward. It’s wonderful how things suddenly come to you when you’re not actually looking for an answer, or you pick up on something you hear or read that you realise could help you find a way round the problem.

Next time you have a problem or realise you have some internal resistance to something try these suggestions and see what happens. It not only helps with problem solving, but can help in reducing or even eliminating pain.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it and I'd also love to hear your own experiences regarding where you've found the most success with your own TMS. Was it through deep journaling about the past or was it about being present in your current life? Or is it even possible to distinguish the two?

 

[veronica73]

It's hard to find the balance between reflecting & ruminating. Still working on it!

 

[Linnea]

Right now I´m reading an Eckhart Tolle book, and it´s about how and why you should try to live in "now" and not in "yesterday" or "tomorrow". The more I read, the more I understand the whole point of living with your mind in the present, before I had a bit of a problem fully understandning even though I read a few books about mindfulness and such.

At least for me, all the yesterday and tomorrow thoughts has really brought the biggest stress, anger and sadness and the more I start living in the present, the more I feel that I get a release from those dark emotions, since they can´t take my focus if I´m concentrating on what I´m doing right at this moment. When you need it, you step out of the present and use the "yesterday" and "tomorrow" to plan your life, but as soon as you don´t need it to manage your life practically, you step back into the present again. It´s surprising how little time you need outside the present to be able to live!

I recommend to take a look at som of Tolles books!

 

[Pandamonium]

Right now I´m reading an Eckhart Tolle book, and it´s about how and why you should try to live in "now" and not in "yesterday" or "tomorrow". The more I read, the more I understand the whole point of living with your mind in the present, before I had a bit of a problem fully understandning even though I read a few books about mindfulness and such.

At least for me, all the yesterday and tomorrow thoughts has really brought the biggest stress, anger and sadness and the more I start living in the present, the more I feel that I get a release from those dark emotions, since they can´t take my focus if I´m concentrating on what I´m doing right at this moment. When you need it, you step out of the present and use the "yesterday" and "tomorrow" to plan your life, but as soon as you don´t need it to manage your life practically, you step back into the present again. It´s surprising how little time you need outside the present to be able to live!

I recommend to take a look at som of Tolles books!

I read The Power of Now several months into my TMS journey and it really opened my eyes. I discovered that the past equals Conditioning/ triggers and the future equals Fear and anxiety . Fear and Conditioning are the fuel for TMS, so if you can live more in the Now you can help banish TMS pain.

Sounds like you are on to something Linnea

 

[honeybear424]

I had a therapist about 7 years ago who kept recommending that book, "The Power of Now". I did get it and read quite a bit of it back then, but found the book to be a difficult read. Guess I wasn't ready. I have since started reading it again because I know that the concept it crucial to me freeing myself from this pain. That's why I took up yoga and meditation last summer. It teaches you mindfulness...living in the present moment. Unfortunately, for me it's difficult trying to break a lifelong habit of worry, fear, anxiety, and guilt. I've gotten so good at it!

 

[Linnea]

It´s Power of Now I´m reading! At my library theres also an extended version of this book, with excersises, meditation instructions, I´m going for that one after this, I´m pretty excited about this haha

Good Honeybear, I think that mindfulness really is the key if you´re having a lot of anxiety. I found the Tolle book a bit hard the first 30 pages, then it started to get clearer and clearer, as he repeats his thoughts over and over again, and answers a lot of the questions that arises when you read the first chapters. But I don´t think you have to understand everything, just the point of living in the present.

 

[Pandamonium]

I think with that book you can revisit it several times and each time it brings something new. Honeybear I would recommend reading the Presence Process by Michael Brown, in my opinion it goes nicely with The Power of Now and it's a much easier read.

 

[Forest]

There is an absolutely terrific thread about the Presence Process at the old wiki's forum:
http://tmswiki.wetpaint.com/thread/2671620/the+presence+process