What Next??

N

NIClubber

Peer Supporter
I have been journalling for most of the last two years. I have also read the Sarno book, "The MindBody Prescription" three or four times.

I have had a few temporary reductions in back pain and with a couple of other symptoms, but no permanent reduction.

What should I try next - exercise (swimming in my case), meditation or something else??

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
NIClubber said:
What should I try next - exercise (swimming in my case), meditation or something else??

Thanks in advance for your help.
Click to expand...

Hi there, it's great that you've read the book again and journalled. Hopefully you've identified some of your limiting beliefs that require transformation.

If I were you don't try one or the other, participate in both and do it on a regular basis. If you aren't able to swim on a daily basis, practice light yoga excercises. The key is not how long you do it for, but how often. It takes time to reap benefits, so try and keep these to a minimal and really give it your dedication and all, so it forms new healthy circuitry within the mind-body.
 
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I have identified that I was completely emotionally neglected as a child and for prolonged periods of my adulthood by my parents, and I think I have ignored this part of my life in the journalling. I will continue trying, but I will also try some of the others that you have mentioned.

Thanks.
 
Hi, NIClubber. Being emotionally neglected as a child can cause TMS pain. I know that from experience. My parents divorced when I was seven and left me with feelings of abandonment and insecurity. I think we can ignore those early feelings for years, but then something triggers the old repressed pain. For me, I think my back pain began when my best friends with three preteen children divorced. I had felt like part of their family,now I was on my own again, an 82 year old bachelor.

I think your subconscious thought it is time for you to bring your repressed emotions up out of the basement and deal with them. I journaled in that direction and it led me to understand my parents better and to forgive them. My pain they went away. But also took 100 percent belief in TMS. That can be hard to do. It was for me. I withheld about 10 percent belief, but when I upped that to 100 percent, my back pain left me.

Swimming and meditation are both excellent in TMS MndBody healing. Meditation is a time-honored way of relaxing the mind and relieving anxiety, mental stress, headaches, and even physical pain. There are many ways to practice meditation but I have found the most successful to be a technique called the Relaxation Response.

A TMSer who is a psychiatrist says about it: “It is so good, so well established. I taught this approach to stressed out teachers, with success! It is simple, not "spiritual," and readily available. This is important: It is the practice, and becoming a habit that is powerful.”

It is done 20 minutes once or twice a day, before a meal and works best if not practiced within two hours after a meal.

Just sit, close your eyes, don’t listen to any music, try to avoid outside noises. Let your mind think of a word such as "One " which has no real meaning or association. Say the word silently over and over. At the end of the 20 minutes, picture and feel yourself as you were when you felt your best, and in a place where you felt that way.

Follow the technique below and see how fast you calm. It is similar to Transcendental Meditation but unlike that technique which many consider to be a religion or cult, and that costs $1,000 from a trained TM coach. The Relaxation Response is not a religion or cult and costs nothing.

Here is an article about the Relaxation Response and how to practice it:

Herbert Benson, M.D. documented benefits experienced through traditional forms of Christian and Jewish prayer. Benson published his “Relaxation Response” method of stress reduction without the mysticism associated with TM. Short structured rest periods provide health benefits.
Herbert Benson, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
and founder of the
Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine
824 Boylston St.
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-2508
Phone: (617) 991-0102 Toll free: (866) 509-0732
MBMI@CareGroup.Harvard.edu


The following is the technique reprinted with permission from Dr. Herbert Benson's book
The Relaxation Response pages 162-163
1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Deeply relax all your muscles,
beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face.
Keep them relaxed.
4. Breathe through your nose.
Become aware of your breathing.
As you breathe out, say the word, "one"*,
silently to yourself. For example,
breathe in ... out, "one",- in .. out, "one", etc.
Breathe easily and naturally.
5. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.
You may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm.
When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes,
at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened.
Do not stand up for a few minutes.
6. Do not worry about whether you are successful
in achieving a deep level of relaxation.
Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace.
When distracting thoughts occur,
try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them
and return to repeating "one."
With practice, the response should come with little effort.
Practice the technique once or twice daily,
but not within two hours after any meal,
since the digestive processes seem to interfere with
the elicitation of the Relaxation Response.
 
I sent my former best friend and said that I felt he had ignored me for most of the last decade. The level of pain went up immeasurably.

I had been thinking he had ignored me previously, but that was the first time I had written it down, I think.
 
Hi niclubber

I read this interesting article on the forum yesterday about somatic experiencing.
http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Somatic_Experiencing (Somatic Experiencing)
I am reading the book 'in an unspoken voice' by traumaspecialist peter levine.
He has invented the SE traumatherapy and he claims that trauma also has to be released through the body first and foremost, which is exactly what tms is saying as well, but he has these activating exercises where stuck energy (stuck emotions) are being released without having to dredge up all the memories. This is very simplistic explained but this method could also be helpful to you if you are interested in it.
Look up his books 'waking the tiger' and 'healing trauma' as well. There is a lot to be found on this approach also on the tms site.
hope this helps you along
 
Eve,

Thanks for the info. I have checked the UK site, but I live in Northern Ireland (hence my user name being NIClubber), and there doesn't seem to be any practitioners in NI. I will have to go to London or possibly Glasgow to see someone. Is that crucial - to see someone in person??

I feel I'm getting closer to the root cause of the TMS, and would love to do it using journalling.
 
Hi NIClubber

I have no idea if it's crucial to see somebody in person. I always prefer it though myself. But I have a therapist from London (and I'm from Belgium) and we have sessions per Skype and that works really well.
I have just booked my own first appointment with an SE therapist, but I have spoken to someone else on the TMS forum who says that sessions through Skype work also very well with the SE therapy.
Maybe you could ask those practioners in London or Glasgow if they can do it as well?
You could also start on your own getting familiar with the SE exercises, because they are explained in his practical book "healing trauma" where he explains his 12-phase healing exercises.
It's because I had such strong reactions to the exercises that I really wanted to have this kind of therapy.
But ofcourse, if you prefer journalling, then please do. It was only a suggestion, because just like you, journaling is not doing the trick for me.
After reading so many things in books and on the tms forum, I believe that it is not about finding that one mysterious memory burried deep down, but for me it is about feeling your feelings rather than intense emotions. That is also what Levine wrote in his book. Recovering from trauma is just about feeling your feelings. He says that we do not have relive every memory from the past from our childhood, but rather revisit them. Levine explains this in his books and I think he is right.
all the best
 
I have written about forgiving my mum (and dad) but no response. Should I maybe journal about forgiveness towards my best friend for ignoring me for such a long time???
 
NIClubber said:
I have written about forgiving my mum (and dad) but no response. Should I maybe journal about forgiveness towards my best friend for ignoring me for such a long time???
Click to expand...

I understand forgiveness to be like a muscle, the more often we practice compassion and empathy, the stronger the part of the brain associated with it becomes.

Unfortunately, I don't think one can truly become better at forgiveness through journalling alone. I'd try practicing loving kindness meditation, where the key focus is the person you wish to forgive. The more often you practice, the stronger connection you'll make with self. You'll also see the other person with loving eyes and without judgement.
 
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