movingcloud
Peer Supporter
Are you having success at recognizing the emotions connected to your pain? If you have, how do these emotions make you feel? If not, what do you think is preventing you from doing this? If you feel comfortable sharing, then post your response in a thread in our Structured Program forum. We would love to hear from you.
Emotions and pain.
When I think of pain coming on strongly, I have a tendency to blame it on the situation. The seat is not supportive enough, I had to sit for too long, stand too long in the kitchen – its always been something outside of me. So, to try with this exercise to assimilate and work with the TMS point of view that my emotions triggered the big pain is quite a challenge.
I can recall an episode at work. I was called out of a complex meeting, and asked to cover a phone call from the public, as my colleague on duty was not at her desk. I am a librarian, and the question from the person on the other end of the phone could be about absolutely anything. It was about buying tickets for an event, using the credit card machine I had not used in the past few months. I think in my head I was panicking – about being good enough, about being perfect even. I finished the transaction, nothing went wrong, the client was happy and my pain went ballistic for the rest of the day. It sounds very silly now to be so worked up over something that never happened, but work is always about proving your worth over and over and over.
I recall enthusiastically telling a friend about how Tai Chi is really fun, and seems to be helping me a lot. She barked at me that “some of us don’t have time for stuff like that, some of us have busy lives” and I was taken by surprise at how vitriolic it was. Perhaps I am often too much like Tigger – bouncing up to people with huge enthusiasm about the newest thing. Perhaps as a Christian she objects to anything that doesn’t fit her philosophy, but I felt she was finding fault with me. Perhaps she was in no mood for new life experiences, doesn’t care at all about Tai Chi! My back pain increased. This reaction must really be about being snubbed, ignored, not listened to. I retreated inside my castle walls, and have not spoken to her for 6 weeks. I don’t want to lose her friendship by challenging what she said to me. There is a strong urge to run and hide when I think I’m under attack. I have never crossed her about anything, and will do what she wants always. I think she might know that!
Emotions and pain.
When I think of pain coming on strongly, I have a tendency to blame it on the situation. The seat is not supportive enough, I had to sit for too long, stand too long in the kitchen – its always been something outside of me. So, to try with this exercise to assimilate and work with the TMS point of view that my emotions triggered the big pain is quite a challenge.
I can recall an episode at work. I was called out of a complex meeting, and asked to cover a phone call from the public, as my colleague on duty was not at her desk. I am a librarian, and the question from the person on the other end of the phone could be about absolutely anything. It was about buying tickets for an event, using the credit card machine I had not used in the past few months. I think in my head I was panicking – about being good enough, about being perfect even. I finished the transaction, nothing went wrong, the client was happy and my pain went ballistic for the rest of the day. It sounds very silly now to be so worked up over something that never happened, but work is always about proving your worth over and over and over.
I recall enthusiastically telling a friend about how Tai Chi is really fun, and seems to be helping me a lot. She barked at me that “some of us don’t have time for stuff like that, some of us have busy lives” and I was taken by surprise at how vitriolic it was. Perhaps I am often too much like Tigger – bouncing up to people with huge enthusiasm about the newest thing. Perhaps as a Christian she objects to anything that doesn’t fit her philosophy, but I felt she was finding fault with me. Perhaps she was in no mood for new life experiences, doesn’t care at all about Tai Chi! My back pain increased. This reaction must really be about being snubbed, ignored, not listened to. I retreated inside my castle walls, and have not spoken to her for 6 weeks. I don’t want to lose her friendship by challenging what she said to me. There is a strong urge to run and hide when I think I’m under attack. I have never crossed her about anything, and will do what she wants always. I think she might know that!
