What is the reason for pain when I wake?

B

BernieB

Newcomer
Hi all. I have been making massive amounts of progress. I have been using Alec Kassin and Miriam Gauche Bongiovani’s Pain Free Comeback programme and have found both Alan Gordon’s ‘the way out’ and particularly Dan Buglio’s ‘Pain free you’ books very helpful.
I have stopped all physio and I am practicing daily journaling and positive talk/mindset.
I am an athlete with all the usual hallmarks of a TMS sufferer. Perfectionist, fear of failure etc.

I have been able to reduce my symptoms massively and would say I am around 70-80% but I’m finding I’m struggling first thing in the morning. I wake up with bad back pain - like I’ve been sleeping in a really awkward position and it takes me around a hour to get to the point where it is manageable. I have stopped all meds apart from Co-codamol when required and would like to stop them as well.
I am 100% convinced this is not structural pain so I am wondering if anyone can help with this last piece of the puzzle. Did anyone else experience this and if so, how did you overcome what feels like the last piece of resistance? I have healing for around 3 months so have made quick progress really.
Any help or advice or experience would be massively appreciated!
 
Hi Bernie.

This looks like learned symptoms. The neuropathways activated by going to bed became linked to the ones that send back pain.
I have this too. The healing comes through neuroplasticity, so it takes time.

Another thing worth to say is that during sleep we give space to our uncounscious. Our cognitive brain isn't there to send safe messages or to engage with life.

Also, if you haven't checked your sleep yet, I recommend you do it. Even with a smartwatch.

You're doing good. 80% of recovery in 3 months is a lot!
 
I usually now wake up with little pain.
Remember the more fuel you give it, the more pronounced it feels.
I conquered this by pre-sleep meditation. Relaxing the mind because as @feduccini mentions, so much goes on in the subconscious with wild abandon during sleep. I wanted a kick start to giving it the message of slowing down.
In the AM I did a short meditation and visualization of my end goals; things I hope to do (for myself it’s paddle boarding and kayak on peaceful waters). I mixed the meditation with days of tapping: ETF using it to acknowledge and AM anxiety and use self talk to reprogram false narratives. Both send messages without adding mental pressure.
 
Thanks for reply. I do listen to meditations before sleep but maybe need to think about which ones! Do you have any recommendations? I am a subscriber to insight timer
 
My current favorites are by Healing Vibrations if you like sound. They have a few meditations which are about 1/4 guided to ease you into working with singing bowls. These are their softer sounds great for sleep. Tibetan Bowls guided Breath work which is 66 minutes (I always drift off to this!), Guided Bedtime Body Scan (shorter), and Quiet Time guided meditation (also longer). Studies show that to get into the best zone for your nervous system to re-calibrate, you want 20 minutes of nice, long slow exhales, although it often takes longer to really quiet the mind.
Many Insite Timer meditations have a lot of direction or discuss a lot of topical "stuff" during what is supposed to be a meditation. Healing Vibrations keeps you focused on your breath and your body, emptying your mind and simply listening to the sounds. Great for those with a busy mind.
 
Cactusflower said:
pre-sleep meditation.
Click to expand...
That was going to be my suggestion as well. Except that I have success just doing a very short visualization with breathing in which I see myself sleeping through the night and waking up feeling fine. It's basically a conversation with my negative brain to convince it that I can create my own desired outcome. I also did this to train myself out of clenching my teeth so I could stop wearing a nightguard.

As @feduccini indicated, you will need to build trust in your eventual success by appreciating incremental improvements, and not beat yourself up for setbacks, because those will inevitably happen. It gets easier over time.
 
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