| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| MrBushido |
Posted - 09/30/2005 : 03:12:14
Hi guys,
I'm new to this site and this is my first post, how are you all doing.
I've just finished reading Dr Sarnos book, healing back pain, and I now accept the fact that my pains are the result of TMS. It's the fourth time that I've read it as it seemed at first such an "out there" concept. How could so much pain be caused by my mind playing tricks on me. I now realise that I fit the TMS profile perfectly.
I'm a complete perfectionist, I suffer terrible anxiety, I bottle up all my feelings and get angry. I also had quite a troubled upbringing because my father was an alcoholic. This caused me no end of problems as a teenager and as a result now everything I do has to be perfect. I think this is a defence mechanism that I developed as a kid. If I didn't get anything wrong then I wouldn't stand out as stupid and get riddiculed and criticised, which happened a lot.
The problem I'm having is knowing what to do now that I have accepted the TMS concept. The pain is so deeply ingrained in my mind that I struggle to think of it as anything other than a chronic bad back. It hurts when I sit down, It hurts when I get up in the morning, It hurts when I put my shoes and socks on, and yet I'm a Karate black belt and go training four times a week.
I know I can beat this thing. It started in 1997 as a supposedly slipped disc causing terrible sciatica in the right leg. My doctor told me that I would probably end up eventually having surgery. No way are you doing that to me I thought so I took up Karate and within a year the pain had gone. But it was shortley followd by pain in the shoulder. The doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my shoulder and to try some Ibuprofen tablets which I did and the pain went (placebo). After a while the pain came back as sciatica in the left leg and this time it's worse than ever before and it really kills me. It's taken over my hole life, I can't do anything without thinking about it, it's just there all the time.
So how do I get my head round it, are there any special techniques.
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Steve. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| HilaryN |
Posted - 10/02/2005 : 03:22:42
Hi Steve,
I’ve been working on my RSI (repetitive strain injury) for the last 6 months and it’s practically gone. I had it for 10 years (maybe longer – I’ve lost count). I read Dr Sarno’s book 2 years ago. Because it didn’t work immediately I gave up. (I had the impression that once you understood the reason for the pain it should go away, and as it didn’t, I gave up after a month.)
Some time later my plumber told me how the book had cured his back pain. He was so enthusiastic that I decided to have another go. The first couple of months were the hardest because I could hardly see any improvement. I think the thing that really helped me was encouragement from someone else who had recovered from RSI through reading the book. (I didn’t know about this forum then.)
There's no hard and fast rule about timescales. I'm a cautious person and a complete coward about pain. I could maybe have recovered in less than 6 months, but there was no need for me to do so as I can work fine with voice recognition.
I'm now at the stage where I only switch on my voice recognition if I need to check something out (like I can't remember how to do something by keyboard and need to look at one of my macros - or if someone on a forum asks a question about how to do something by voice).
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| Jim1999 |
Posted - 10/01/2005 : 22:20:44
quote:
Originally posted by MrBushido
It would also be nice to hear from anyone on this site who has defeated their pain syndrome completely.
I have also made a complete recovery, as Dr. Sarno defines it. I only have occasional pain, and it doesn't last very long. I no longer have restrictions on what I do. For example, I had given up bicycling for 6 1/2 years, but now I bike about 1200 miles a year.
For my recovery, journaling was very important. I have written about my journaling in the following thread: http://tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1135 The thread also contains posting by others about what worked for them.
Hope this helps,
Jim |
| MrBushido |
Posted - 10/01/2005 : 07:25:58
Cheers guys, especially you baseball65.
It's great to hear that you do all the sport stuff. I went training last night and was in a bit of a bad way. I was in a lot of pain and couldn't move properly which is ridiculous. I wasn't handed my black belt for doing nothing so why has my standard suddenly dropped. Work worries is the answer.
I'm going through a bit of a worrying time at the moment with my business and that's what must be causing all the pain again. What I realised was that part of me was thinking "I shouldn't really be here because I've got to concentrate on this whole work thing". The other part of me was thinking "Damn, I'm in so much pain, when is it ever going to stop, am I going to have to stop training because of this".
The truth is I could afford the time to go training as work is not that bad. In fact I'm quite busy really. I'm just working on something that could be very big or a major flop so I guess that's what is doing it.
I tried the swearing thing again today and it worked quite well. I was driving my van at the time so I could scream at the top of my voice. The sharp stabbing pain went away but the nagging discomfort that's always there stayed.
I know now that I can beat this thing completely so I'm going to come on here everyday as it definitely helps. I'll also read as much as I can, maybe start writing about it too in some kind of journal or diary.
Thanks for the advice and keep it coming.
Steve. |
| Stryder |
Posted - 09/30/2005 : 13:44:12
quote:
Originally posted by MrBushido
So how do I get my head round it, are there any special techniques.
Welcome to the forum MrBushido,
Keep reading Dr. Sarno's books.
Go back and read all the posts archived in this forum, there are hundreds of examples of techniques that you can consider. Pay extra attention to posts by gary (austingary), Dave, Tennis Tom, Baseball65, the list goes on, many many people have made a huge time investment describing their cases and how they have become pain free.
Invest your own time, do the TMS work (as Dave says), you have nothing to loose but your pain.
Scream and yell at your TMS, in the car is a good place, no one can hear you scream and no one gets hurt.
Take care, -Stryder |
| Baseball65 |
Posted - 09/30/2005 : 10:30:46
Hello Mr. Bushido.
Wow...a black belt? very cool.
Yes,I have completely 100% banished ALL of my pain.zero.nada.zilch.
I'll reiterate here what I have written in other posts.One might get the impression reading the forum that a lot of people are still struggling with the concept.This is a bit misleading,as the way human nature is constituted,most people only post when they have a problem....as soon as they recover,they forget about the forum.
My friend who read the book and recovered last winter has never even bothered to join.
I have no pain,but I have NEVER forgot the pain that drove me to the brink of suicide...the deepest darkest morass of despondency and frustration in my life...all at the ripe old age of 32-33.
I went from a complete cripple to back at a hard labor job and playing sports in 4-5 weeks.I read the book,spent a lot of time writing about my angers,fears,frustrations,read the book,focused my mind on reconditioning my pain patterns ,read the book ,and returned to every single action,motion and activity I had ever been able to achieve,whether I wanted to or not.
I had a few minor episodes of relapse in the early going(a few days here and there) but NEVER went anywhere close to the place I had been in '98-'99 when I was a double sciatica(always)complete atrophied left leg(disgusting)double cane,corset wearing,vicodin addicted,angry and depressed pile of TMS.
I now play baseball(been drilled in the spine with an 80MPH pitch...a couple of times) Skateboard in empty swimming pools and the like(falling a LOT) and perform heavy labor tasks without the slightest consideration of my back,neck shoulder...whatever.
Swearing at it is good therapy...talking to it and ridiculing IT(not yourself) is even better! When I feel the oh so rare twinkling of a TMS symptom,I usually say something like: "Oh no...not you,you little puss...I don't believe you at all...go away and bug someone else,because I'm not listening to you or paying you any mind at all...C-ya"
painfree for years.
-peace
Baseball65 aka piggy aka Marc
Baseball65 |
| molomaf |
Posted - 09/30/2005 : 09:49:08
As Dr. Sarno says, TMS is a cradle to grave condition. That isn't to say we have to suffer but that we may get a pain or two every so often. The "trick" is to recognize what it is and then ignore it because it really is nothing to be concerned about.
We are always getting angry and building it up inside. The idea is to recognize that and try to figure out what is bothering us. As time goes on, you get better at knowing consciously that you are angry before it becomes a body symptom. Even if it does, you can get rid of it quickly.
TMS comes in so many forms. But it does take time to get your mind to accept it. We have been ingrained that all aches and pains have some physical reason.
Keep reading-you'll get there!
Michele
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| MrBushido |
Posted - 09/30/2005 : 08:56:17
Thank you very much for the encouragement Jane and Paul.
It would also be nice to hear from anyone on this site who has defeated their pain syndrome completely.
One thing I tried the other day was swearing at it. I came to stand up after sitting at the computer for quite some time at work. There had been a bit of pain that I was aware of all the time but when I stood up it felt like someone had stuck a knife in my backside. This sudden and very intense pain made me swear my head of at it. Good job nobody was around to hear. The sharp pain went away but the small nagging pain that I feel all the time stayed there.
I suppose It just goes to show that I'm at least pointing in the right direction.
Thanks. |
| pault |
Posted - 09/30/2005 : 05:07:15
Sounds like you are on the right track.Try to be patient,as you are changing your whole thinking process,it will take some time for your unconscious brain to react to this new thinking.Your belief and recognition of the process is the biggest part of the battle,so you will do fine.Just keep reading the book and this forum and you will get results,with your positive attitude.Feel well soon. Paul. |
| ladyblue |
Posted - 09/30/2005 : 04:39:49
Hello Steve,
I'm quite new to the site and the Sarno concept as well but allow me to tell you straight away that you're in good hands.
Already I have recieved tremendous support/encouragement and advice.
Your back pain sounds so very similar to mine, except that I'm unable to engage in any exercise at the moment...lol..God knows I'm exhausted by the time I've managed to get out of bed in the morning! (have posted a new question about that today actually)
Like you I suffer terrible anxiety, bottle up my feelings etc, I guess I always try to present a very "in control" person to the world, of course inside I'm not...far from it.
Isn't it incredibly hard to see "beyond the pain", or even to accept that we can create something so debilitating to our lives. Afer a while you find that it's somewhere in your every thought and if not dominantly....it's sort of shadowing you.
But it is true Steve and belief is the first step on the road of your journey, which is about where I am right now.
I'm finally going to tackle all those emotions that have brought me to where I am now, yes it is scary...but exciting too!
Read as much as you can, whenever you can Steve and act upon what you read, trust that you will be led to the books that are right for you and trust that you can deal with this.
All the very best.."the journey begins"...Jane |
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