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Ensoul
7 Posts |
 Posted - 09/28/2004 : 05:51:52
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My back was really sore yesterday. I woke up this morning and my back a little better.
I was walking to the train this morning and my back really started to hurt. I was getting frustrated. I got on the train, read Dr. Sarno's chapter on treatment. Meanwhile my back was still hurting.
Obviously the whole point of the treatment is to keep your mind busy when the pain starts. I was on a busy train, so I started to make observations about everything around me to keep my mind busy.
Things like "That guy is tall, that girl has a silly tattoo, that guy is fat, that McDonalds looks good, I just kept saying stuff, no matter how stupid it was.
I walked from the train to work (meanwhile still making observations)with NO pain at all! This may not seem like a big deal, but the fact of the matter is that my back was really hurting me 45 minuets before, so walking to work with out any pain was really big for me!
Obviously I can't keep my mind racing all day, but this may be a good technique or an idea to build on for other people. |
Edited by - Ensoul on 09/28/2004 05:55:19 |
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Agata
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2004 : 06:03:27
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| In my experience reading Dr. Sarno’s books do the trick. I noticed that the pain relieve never comes right after reading. It takes little time to take effect. Never more that one hour. |
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floridaboy
40 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2004 : 07:31:28
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| ENSOUL...great observation. Let me relay my trick I learned recently. I belive all TMS'rs have "two sets of eyes". We have the eyes we see with and we have our mind's eye. I know this sounds hokey or some might think even a bit Schitzo but let me elaborate. While I experience pain. It is like everything goes on autopilot while I obsess about the pain. i can be typing, driving, standing,walking talking...whatever might cause me pain. While it hurts, even though I may be see what is around me, my intenal mind's eye is 100% preoccupied with the location and source of the pain. My big break through with this happened Sunday while running. Most of the time I run, the focus is all on whether or not this will be a day where my calfs/shins hurt. From step number one..."was that pain"..."ouch that hurt" and once the pain begins...It is really hard to focus on anything but structral physical stuff. I decided to bring my minds eye in sync with my visual eyes. I started to "raise my head up" while I ran and started to focus and observe what I saw around me. "wow look how tall that tree is", "look at the mud puddle...must be dirty", "look at how the road winds around that bend". Just like you, my pain disappaited. I am very excited about this new discovery. I was thrilled to see someonel else experience something similar. I guess Sarno would say that we are teaching our brain that physical symptoms no longer serve as a successful distraction. If I am not distracted by the pain...what good is it. I am looking forward to experimenting with this even more. It has been working pretty good as I type this too. |
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Ensoul
7 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2004 : 07:47:16
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I am glad it's working for something else.  I am still having a problem sitting though. While my back was fine walking into work it hurts whenever I get off my chair.
I tried this trick again and didn't work when I first get off my chair. My back hurts right now, but at least after knowing what I did this morning on my way to becoming better. I need to condition myself so I don't get pain when I get up off my chair. |
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Allan
USA
226 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2004 : 08:05:56
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| During my recovery process I went to see a TMS doctor who studied under Dr. Sarno in New York. The doctor put some emphasis on “filters.” He said that the mind has to filter out messages in order to concentrate on the one that it considers the most important at the time. I hope I recalling his statement correctly. The classic example is a soldier who receives a major painful injury and is not aware of it until hours later. Fred Amir suggests substituting positive thoughts for negative thoughts. Perhaps this is what is happening when one concentrates on something else. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2004 : 10:17:46
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Good thread fellow TMS'ers! I think we're getting to the essence of TMS here. It's not the elbow that's the problem, nor the hip, nor the wrist, the shin, the calf, etc., etc., etc.,--it's the brain and it's perception of it's relationship to the outside universe.
Reading your comments has given me a new mantra-EXPRESS, DON'T REPRESS !!!
I have recently posted about my cursing vociferously while commuting and the release and relaxation I feel at the end of my drive. The strategy mentioned in this post seems to serve the same purpose, of distracting us from our TMS pain and out to the world around us. When we focus on the world around us we are more likely to see that everyone around us has TMS symptoms of some sort. We are not alone. This can lead to acceptance of our pain and putting it behind us. It's a part of the human condition. We all have it or are subceptible to it at some point--it's a level playing field.
So, if TMS is caused by REPRESSING our emotions-wherehousing them inward until they explode in the form of TMS psychogenic pain, then the corollary is EXPRESSING them outward. Turning the head upwards, the eyes outwards, will aim our focus universaly, rather than inward on our petty problems.
So my mantra for today will be EXPRESS, DON'T REPRESS. |
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mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2004 : 22:04:10
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Hi everyone,
It's been a while since I've posted but have been reading the messages regularly. This particular thread interests me a lot because what I have been doing for the last 2 months is trying to ignore the pain. For me, I've learnt that thinking about the emotional doesn't work - believe me I've tried. What works is:
ignoring the pain. When I hurt, I just say 'I know you are tms, I know you are just tms......' I do this for about a minute. Then immediately, I do something to show my brain that I know this thing is harmless. For eg. if my back hurts when I sit, I just sit longer. Sometimes I will focus on doing something else to divert my attention from the pain. Believe it or not, it works.
The way I have figured it out for myself (and this may or may not be true for all) is we all have a brain-pain circuit which, in people with tms, is just too active. Somehow, in some people this brain- pain circuit becomes hyperactive. Normally when a site or area is hurt, messages get sent to the brain to signal pain. When the site of injury has healed, the signals of pain stop. In many people however, the signals don't stop even when the site of hurt or injury has healed. This is tms.
What we need to do is somehow break this vicious circuit. This can be done in many ways:
-by saying that you know this is harmless. (and it is according to Sarno)
-thinking about emotional stuff like Sarno says so you are not focusing on the pain . (this works for many but not for me)
-doing physical stuff like sarno says coz that takes your mind off the pain.
-getting interested in other things around you when you hurt like looking out of your window, at other people.
-just plain ignoring it.
-reading the good doctor's book.
The idea is to create pain free gaps or breaks in your circuit. The more you do it, the more your brain gets used to this idea and the more you are in control. Eventually the pain goes. How you do this is by doing what works best for you. The principle is the same but the ways of getting relief will vary. Why doesn't one thing work for all? Well, becoz we are all different and the way our minds work is different too. It would be too simple to say that 'one size fits all'.
Hope this helps. Let me know what you all think.
Oh, by the way, that's why when you hurt yourself somewhere else (like someone mentioned breaking a toe) your original pain goes away because another circuit has been set up temporarily and the pain signals are sent to the brain from that new site.
Good Luck & Good Health
Mala |
Edited by - mala on 09/30/2004 22:07:57 |
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A little trick I tried this morning!
