| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| andy989 |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 10:22:03
Hi,
I am a 24 yo who has been having pain down both arms and shoulders for a couple of years. I've actually had TMS in the past--my right arm started acting up a couple of years ago, and went away after a few months after I studied TMS, and had TMS-related neck pain just a few weeks ago.
That got me started thinking that my arm/shoulder pain was probably due to TMS. But here's the thing--I don't think anymore that it's due to anything else, but at times, I have trouble COMPLETELY accepting that my issues are due to TMS.
I tell myself, "the pain is just a result of the brain's trying to distract my attention away from unconscious anger," etc. Sometimes, I'm very successful, but other times, I simply have trouble completely embracing it. I don't think that something else explains my pain...I just have trouble completely embracing TMS theory at times. Fairly recently, I have read through The MindBody Prescription, as well as a bunch of articles on the internet.
But somewhere in my head, I know that I have this, and that if I can completely accept it, I'll feel much better. I already do feel quite a bit better when I can really accept the diagnosis.
How many of you have had my trouble with embracing it, and what helped you do so?
Thanks in advance,
Andy |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| sonora sky |
Posted - 02/07/2007 : 08:27:31
Hi,
Don't you find that those physical symptoms DO keep your mind occupied on *them* (the feeling of the pain, its intensity, its duration, why it won't go away, if it's moving to another spot, etc.) rather than on their potential emotional/psychological roots? I definitely think TMS has the distraction thing down pat. At various points, I come to a realization that even though I *thought* I was trying to address the emotions, underneath that, I'm still obsessing about the pain itself. Sarno also says that the unconscious mind is trying to protect us by using the tool of distraction. Its goal is to protect us from what it believes to be a greater threat (that is, uncovering buried emotions).
To counter the TMS gremlin's strategy, I try to look at the pain as nothing but a signal--a positive warning sign--that there are things inside me that need to be addressed. Listen to your mindbody--it's trying to send you a message: slow down and pay attention to what's going on. It is tough to keep a positive spin on things when symptoms persist, and I admit to losing faith at times (when your neck feels like it's in a vice for weeks on end, you can't help but think that some part of me is trying to torture myself in the worst way: but why?)
Maybe this is where the perfectionist down-talking comes in. Many of us are hard on ourselves--I know I often continue to kick myself when I'm down--and I realize this doesn't help things. But these habits become so ingrained over the years, we often do it unconsciously. I've been trying (with some success, ups and downs...) to bring awareness to those behaviors. But the key is, I think, when you realize you're beating yourself up, don't judge (i.e. beat yourself up for beating yourself up); just realize it and stop doing it. It sounds simple, but change does take time...
good luck,
ss |
| andy989 |
Posted - 02/07/2007 : 07:53:51
Thanks for responding Victoria.
I can reason this way--we get symptoms when we're upset, etc...lack of appetite, stomachache, headache, etc. So why not get symptoms from feelings we are currently unaware of, but are obviously there? Seems very logical.
It's a little harder for me, at the moment, to completely accept the part of the theory that says that symptoms are created as a way to distract.
Maybe appetite, stomachache, headache, etc. from being upset are also intended as a distraction?
Can anyone describe how they came to accept that part of it? |
| Victoria008 |
Posted - 02/07/2007 : 02:47:06
Hi, I'm new here and to reading and learning about TMS. Accepting it is the hardest thing for me. My mind wants to tell me that it can't be that simple, that there is something terribly "wrong" with me, even though I have seem many Drs. I have had some minor success and that helps alot! My subconscious is very powerful, when one symptom subsides, another one pops up! So dealing with TMS is simple, but not easy. I think total acceptance is the answer, but the most difficult part. I continue to work on that. Don't give up!
Victoria
Victoria |
| andy989 |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 15:39:45
Ok--one more question--how long was it before you could accept that your unconscious was responsible for your TMS?
I can accept right now that my brain is responsible for TMS (since I feel much better when I can accept that my unconscious is responsible). |
| andy989 |
Posted - 02/06/2007 : 13:49:14
What I meant to ask at the end of the post was what halped you to embrace it? |
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