Day 42 What an amazing journey!

What have you learned about yourself by going through this program?

I have learned that I am strong, and my body is strong. I have learned to trust my body and its healing capacities. Even more than that, I have learned to listen to my heart. I have learned not to be afraid of challenging emotions and to let them right in and to feel them. It’s okay to grieve. It’s super painful to grieve and it’s really important to feel and experience the depths of emotional pain.

I have also learned that I have many personality patterns that align with TMS, especially: perfectionism, do-goodism, and being extremely hard on myself. I can see how these patterns together with certain life experiences conspired to bring about TMS symptoms throughout my life. It was only after this latest and very extreme form of debilitation, which never made sense on a physical level, combined with learning about Dr. Sarno and then this tmswiki site that I’ve been able to move past a medicalized and physiological model and tap into my subconscious repressed and often consciously suppressed emotions.

I am so grateful for this amazing healing and learning process, for this program, for this community of support, and for the tenderness that I’m learning how to offer myself.

Janine

 

Hi Janine,

I am happy you found so many important things in your TMS inquiry.

These are the parts that touch my heart reading your words.

How wonderful and full this life is! To feel tenderness for myself is not a permanent condition. But each time I return, it is like coming home. I am always surprised by love.

Andy B

 

Hi Andy,
Your reflections on life and our tender hearts move me. What is your recommendation for continuing to connect with this community? Is there a specific forum that you feel enables continued interaction and exploration? Thanks again and again for everything you've offered, to me and so many others.
Janine

 

Hi Janine,

I don't know of a particular Forum here, other than to remain part of the overall Forum, and participate as you would like, as I do. I don't know of another Forum either, on another site.

With regards to TMS work, you might consider doing the fine TMS Recovery program, which also has a supplemental activities at the bottom of the program page. This offers some different takes on things, and is important for understanding TMS over time.

With your propensities toward self-tenderness, I might also suggest you contact me if you would like to get on a list for an on-line Self-Compassion Training that I am cooking up. It will be a few months before this happens, but I am collecting contact information from interested people between now and then.This will create a sort of on-line community, at least for the duration of the training.

Thank you for acknowledging my support. I am always so interested to observe and help folks who find TMS work is deepening their relationship to themselves. To become more and more ourselves is a precious gift to the universe!

Andy B

 

Hi, Janine. I, too, am so glad for you. You have been blessed with some wonderful insight into yourself and I am sure it will help you with your relationships with others.

Andy, your up-coming self-compassion training sounds great and could help a lot of people. So much of TMS pain comes from not understanding or appreciating ourselves and how strong and good we are. I am 85, living at home with my darling dog and getting unexpected help with meals and other things from friends and strangers. They must like me, and helping others. It's a great way to live. For me and them.

 

I'm so glad that you're feeling grateful and blessed, Janine. And we're blessed by you!
I try to check in on this wiki each evening, and offer support when I can. It keeps me grounded in a thankful attitude.
Blessings on your journey.

 

Thanks Walt and Gigi! Both of you have offered such beautiful and wise support during this incredible period of exploration, discovery and healing in my life.

Thanks Andy for your suggestions. I like the idea of staying connected via the general forum and also offering support on the structured forum. I'll also check out the TMS recovery program. I sent you a message as a "private conversation" with my contact information.

Much gratitude and blessings to you all!
Janine

 

Janine it it wonderful that the support and information on this site are helping you and that you are making progress. I am so happy for you! Would you say that through your discovery and healing that your physical symptoms have diminished at all, or is it more of an acceptance that you have found?
Debbie

 

Hi Debbie,
Thank you for your kind message. Yes, my physical symptoms have diminished significantly. I now only have slight numbness and discomfort in my knee, whereas prior to discovering Dr. Sarno and this program, I was in such excruciating pain that I only walked a few minutes at a time and couldn't stand for any period of time. The other day I walked for 2 hours in the woods with my children!! I am elated!
Janine

 

It is wonderful to hear of your recovery. It is incredible what the mind is capable of, both good and bad... Best of luck Janine.