what is the core attribute of the TMS mindset?

I'm three weeks through the structured education program. I read Sarno, eventually accepted what he had to say, and didn't get any better. Through the structured education program, I'm seeing some progress, which has been erased in recent days (as a result of a significant life stressor).

I wonder then, what the core or TMS thinking really is. A friend of mine with TMS said to me one day, "There is no TMS, there is just stress." I wonder if there's some truth to this. I often think that if I can just relax, all of my TMS will go away. What do you think?

 

Interesting thoughts, @music321 I think there IS actually TMS, because stress doesn't affect every human being with the kinds of pain TMS people have. I imagine that totally relaxing would give complete relief, but how does a TMSer go about that? It's not a matter of just ridding our bodies of tension, there is so much mental work, too. But, if you're talking about total relaxation of mind and body, perhaps it could be done. I don't think it is as easy as all that, though.

I'm interested in what more experienced TMSers think.

I'm glad to read that you are seeing some progress. I recently had a similar setback after an extremely stressful interaction with someone. I felt as if all my progress had been erased, too, but I wasn't surprised when it happened. Which maybe is part of the problem. I have had some minor success in the last day or two but still wishing for the pain to just go the hell away.

 

TMS is caused by repressed anger and rage and becomes chronic due to either sustained tension or conditioned response.

Stress can make TMS worse. But stress by itself is not the cause.

Example: You have a mean boss that makes your life miserable. You are repressing and suppressing your anger and rage toward her/him. If you have a stressful commute added to that at the end of your work, that stress can raise your level of tension and you have a flare-up.

But if after work you go for a swim or get a massage or doing something to relax, that soothes your work-related tension and you may not have a flare-up.

 

By happenstance, this morning I read on page 146 in Healing Back Pain by Dr. Sarno, a section called "Treatments to Promote Relaxation", in the chapter titled The Traditional (Conventional) Treatments.

"To the prescribers of treatments to promote relaxation I would put the question, "To what end?" "What is your purpose in trying to relax the person?" "What do you hope to accomplish?"

...There is no question that a calm, relaxed person will experience less pain, but again we are engaged in symptomatic treatment. The basic disorder is not being treated..."

My take is that there's no harm in relaxing but if you don't treat the underlying cause of your TMS you will not have lasting results.

I've many times felt great after a massage, or a good yoga class, or an acupuncture treatment but the effects are short term. I did not begin to have any substantial healing from my pain until I started working the TMS recovery plan.

 

When I was desperately looking for a cure, I was asking others about what treatments they had tried and the answer was always the same:

"I've been going to the chiropractor, acupuncturist, massage therapist, herbalist, homeopathic doctor, and so on, for months. I feel better for a little while but the pain comes back."

So I never tried any alternative treatments because they seem to be no better than conventional medicine in treating back pain. Of course, when I learned about TMS, I realized why.

Got to treat the cause.

 

Absolutely, but I did try an awful lot of alternative treatments because I just wanted to feel better, and conventional medicine hadn't help and had actually frightened me, making things worse. I was, however, always looking for the Magic Bullet that would suddenly solve all my problems. That left me chronically disappointed, as well as chronically in pain.

Treating the source of the problem is the only thing to do, that's for sure.

PS. I have your RAPID RECOVERY book in my reading stack. It will be next after I finish Healing Back Pain.

 

Actually, after I finished reading Healing Back Pain, I was left without concrete steps to healing my back pain!

So, Healing Back Pain gives you the concepts and my book gives you the steps to speed it up. It also turns recovery from TMS into a skill, much like how most people can stop their tears at will. By following the steps and applying them daily for a few days or weeks, your brain learns that the same way you can stop your tears you can stop the pain.

FYI: I am starting a Rapid Recovery workshop next week.

 

I am not finding the concrete steps from Healing Back Pain, either but I figure the information will sink into my subconscious and help. I'm glad to know about the Rapid Recovery workshop. I will be following it!