What is your strategy for Onset of Symptoms?

When you first feel the onset of a TMS symptom, what strategies do people use to make the pain, numbness, discomfort, etc., go away?
What works best for people?
Thanks for your support and input.

 

This is a question on which we all would like an answer.

The problem is that the answer does not exist, because everyone has to find their own way, which is not to face the single symptom of the moment.
Focusing on the single symptom can make you lose the overview.
Perhaps we should look at the symptom as an advice to follow, while most of the time we see it as an enemy to fight ... but how difficult it is to make peace with all our pains ...

 

Newbie to the forum as well. Just posted my account earlier if you would like to read that. What works for me on various occasions:

• At the onset of pain I would start to think about all the issues that I had been repressing. All the things in my life that stood against my vision of myself as a perfectionist.
• I had a pretty rough childhood that I had shut out. I threatened my brain that I would dwell on that should a pain occur. I get into a silent screaming match with my brain.
• I would tell my brain to take things easy. I would tell it - Whatever the issues, we would work it out together. Maybe a good cop bad cop routine
• I would tell my brain to supply oxygen to the relevant parts that were in pain
• Right now, I am trying to ask my brain to switch pain to a body part that does not debilitate my daily activities - say pick the hand for RSI instead of the back when I have a trip come up. I am not sure if this works but will report back.

 

I accept that it may be a few days or a week before it gets any better. I seek out new books to read to understand better the root of issues.

 

Complete acceptance of the symptoms, do not fight it, do not be afraid.

 

Sarno tells that one story in Healing Back Pain about the woman who came down with the hip pain. She had been treated for TMS , gotten better but then came down with a 'new' symptom that she did NOT recognize as TMS. She finally (after treating it physically) got around to talking to Sarno and 'had a talk with her brain' and the symptoms vanished.

OK... I used to read that and get totally pissed. For the first few years after I recovered I had to go back to the book, page one, day one and go through it just as I did the first time. Some stuff hung around for a couple of weeks.... my knee thing (during my divorce) hung around for two months

Then, after a few years I began to be more aware of the type of stuff that triggered new symptoms so I had my 'alert system' on. Usually new jobs, social pressures, career stuff and of course the ever present Family obligations. Usually one quiet night or morning of review was sufficient to end it.

and now, when I feel anything peculiar the connection is close to instantaneous and I usually laugh out loud...like at an annoying pesty child... "wow..is that all you got? Go away"

and it does

 

Something new I'm trying is telling my brain that it's okay for me to have anger, rage, loneliness, sadness, etc. That I'm allowed to have negative feelings, and to accept them, as they are part of me and what makes me a human being. And maybe they're not even negative emotions, but just emotions that live in all of us in our past, present & future. I don't need my brain to protect me from my humanity. They're only emotions--they can't hurt me -no one punched me or hit me, no one broke my arm, my hip or my knee...
I hope this new self-talk will bring me some peace.

 

@candysworld, I'm going to steal that self-talk. I especially love "I don't need my brain to protect me from my humanity". Awesome, thank you for sharing this!!