Day 1 Where I am in my treatment

I very recently found out about TMS. I read the following articles in the TMS Wiki: Introduction to TMS, So you think you might have TMS, TMS personality traits and the TMS Recovery Program by Alan Gordon. I am now starting Day 1 of the Structured Educational Program.

Level of acceptance I have on the TMS diagnosis: at least for my arms problems, I always suspected there was a psychological component, even if there were a structural component as well. The MRI showed nothing really relevant for my arms, so 8 years ago it was already strange to me why I was in pain. Reading about TMS, I recognize myself a lot in the personality traits of TMS sufferers, and I really want to believe 100% that this is my diagnosis. I've kind of been searching for an explanation like this for years. However, I am a really skeptical person, very very much indeed. So I hope the evidences will be enough to convince me. I know I need to believe 100%, and I want to, but it is not that easy. I'm on my way!

Doubts or worries I have:
Worries: I worry I may injure myself when resuming activities. I mean, it is possible for a 100% healthy individual to injure himself during vigorous activities. So it is still a risk, even if I believe my pain is not structural.
Doubt: If I decide to read one of Dr. Sarno's books, should I read The Mindbody Prescription or Healing Back Pain?

 

Hi, Rocco. Both Sarno books are excellent, but if I chose between them, I would read Healing Back Pain. The good doctor explains TMS best in it. I suggest you look at more of the subforums of this web site for more examples of people healing through TMS. Also look at videos on Youtube about TMS and MindBody healing.

Keep working on 100 percent belief in TMS.

 

Hi Rocco,
Yes, as Walt says, keep working on full belief. For me, I had to read in great detail the Divided Mind, another book by Dr. Sarno. I am detail oriented, with training in psychological dynamics, and this really helped me explore and remove doubts. It may take you a little time and persistence, but the evidence for success is all around you. Ask questions of the Forum, like "did you have this symptom, and did you recover?" Or use the search feature to find people's stories. Ignore the non-successful threads. Not everyone can actually digest this material down deep, and that is a fact. It will not prevent you though. You are on your way!!
Andy B

 

Exploring how your tendency to doubt affects your Inner Child might be interesting!!

 

I think believing 100% takes a while. Believe 85% at first. Then when you have another piece of evidence, believe 88%. And so on. It might take time. Try to be OK with that.

 

Thanks for the replies guys! It's been only two days but I've been spending all of my free time reading. Gradually increasing my belief. Also, I already noticed some improvements from the little I have done (so far i did a little bit of each: educating myself, journaling, reading success stories, compiling an evidence sheet, experimenting with dreaded activities etc.).

A copy of The Mindbody Prescription is already on its way to my home. I didn't expect anyone to respond this thread so fast, and I really wanted to have a copy of one of the books. So I ordered The Mindbody Prescription. But thanks, Walt, for the recommendation. Maybe after reading this one I'll purchase Healing Back Pain as well I've heard of Pain Free For Life, which also caught my attention. Since I'm following the Structured Educational Program, I think I already have a lot on my plate. There is a lot more reading than I expected on the program. So I'll leave the other books for later.

As to my doubt about possibly injuring myself, for what I read I guess the trick is to increase the activity level gradually, to build up some confidence. So far I've had only positive results with my not so daring attempts.

By Walt's recommendation, I checked a few youtube videos, although it seemed to me that ther isn't much content there. One of the videos recommended looking reviews on Amazon, and I did, found some interesting stories and advices there!

Best regards,
Rocco

 

Andy B, I'm not sure I get what you're saying. Explore how my skepticism affects my inner child? I don't get it. But maybe I'm still not so familiar with this inner child stuff. Gotta do more reading

 

This tendency to doubt is based on a fear that the world is not safe for us, that we have to make sure of things. Maybe rather than exploring the effects of doubt on Inner Child, my direction would be to encourage you to feel how the Inner Child feels about the world. If TMS is a distraction from deeper feelings, then the fear of not being safe, or other fears can be explored, and felt, with a mind to understanding. Related, there is the endless efforting, which is pressurizing, to "make sure." You might feel empathy for your Inner Child, and know more about "what does not want to be felt." That is what I meant to suggest.

 

I guess I wanted to make the point that whatever the barriers are in your personality as you approach Dr. Sarno's work, the things which seem to "get in my way of doing this more successfully" ------these tendencies can be easily folded right into your inquiry. We all find ourselves with TMS from countless moments of inner feelings and relationships which are tightly bound to our identity. All our patterns can be explored as grist for the Understanding-TMS-in-Me mill, rather than seen as real barriers.