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Amy
USA
18 Posts |
 Posted - 08/18/2007 : 06:39:13
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Does anyone supplement the TMS prceedures outlined in chapter four of Divided Mind with some relaxation techniques. Last night I used the "relaxation response." It only took 5 or 7 minutes and allowed my mind to stop going a mile a minute which resulted in me falling asleep more easily.
I am just wondering about peoples opinion about using things like relaxation as a supplement to Sarno's TMS therapy |
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skizzik
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2007 : 13:52:34
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per Sarno, he asks in the cd "to the promoters of relaxation, I ask: To what end?" "It is an adjunct at best."
Now, if you were to read Dr. Seigels book "Back Sense" he uses Breathing Meditation to break the pain cycle. Dr. Seigel was cured after finding Sarno.
I think it (relaxation) helps personally in the treatment. Sarno does say that people who are too busy to do the treatment need to find 15 quiet minutes in the day to meditate and do the mental work. |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2007 : 14:10:53
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I personally meditate several times a day as well as doing the self-talk that Dr. Sarno recommends. Here is what he writes in Healing Back Pain.
"Talk to Your Brain
Another useful strategy sounds silly at first, but has great merit. Patients are encouraged to talk to their brains. So many patients reported having done this on their own with good results that I now routinely suggest it, despite lingering feelings of foolishness. What one is doing is consciously taking charge instead of feeling the helpless, intimidated victim, which is so common in people with this syndrome. The person is asserting himself, telling the brain that he is not going to put up with this state of affairs—and it works. Patients report that they can actually abort an episode of pain by doing this. The woman whose case was described under "Current Therapeutic Concepts" did just that and experienced an immediate cessation of pain. It’s a very useful strategy."
*******
Sarno-ize it!
Read chapter 4 of Dr. Sarno's "The Divided Mind." It's all you need to know in order to recover. |
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Littlebird
USA
391 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2007 : 15:55:54
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I don't really meditate, but I have my own technique that I use to fall asleep. I've had problems sleeping for years becuase my mind won't stop bouncing around, rehashing various events or planning various future tasks. I've found that if I just focus on mentally designing or building something--currently I'm imagining a house, but I've also mentally built doghouses and sheds; it has to be something I'm not actually going to do in real life anytime soon--I can shut out all the other thoughts that prevent me from falling asleep. When my mind drifts to other things, I just bring it back to focus on the project. I spend months working on the details of just one small part of whatever project it is, and it often seems that the more I go over the same details, the quicker I fall asleep. It's probably the same sort of thing that meditation does, shutting out the noise and focusing on something that I find relaxing.
I also do it in the afternoon sometimes, when I'm getting tired and need a break. I don't actually fall asleep, but I do slow down and relax.
Shawn, I enjoyed that quote from Healing Back Pain, a book I don't have yet. Shifting out of that helpless, intimidated victim mode has been a change that's brought major benefits to me. Yesterday I saw a man in the parking lot at a grocery store, who appeared to be about my age (50), using a walker, and when he got into his car he had to use his hands to move his leg in--something I've done in the past, but don't need to do now--and I noticed that he just had that whipped look of someone who feels their body has betrayed them and there's nothing they can do about it, and I was so glad that I'm not stuck in that attitude anymore. |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2007 : 16:18:53
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| IMO, "mind going a mile a minute" is a TMS symptom. If relaxation techniques work, effectively you are conditioning yourself to ignore that symptom. So I see it as a good thing, just like physical exercise is a good thing. |
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Does anyone supplement
