| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| kjarvis |
Posted - 02/19/2006 : 20:44:14
Hello my name is Kevin, I am a police officer in Canada and I only mention this because I feel TMS is very common among fellow officers. Does anyone have any success treating anxiety with TMS principals? I have eliminated the pelvic pain I have suffred from but I now deal with anxiety which sometimes seems more difficult to treat. I was hoping to hear from people that have treated anxiety with TMS principals and have succeeded.
Thanks
Kevin |
| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| n/a |
Posted - 02/20/2006 : 04:46:59
Hi Kevin
Welcome to the forum. I have to go off to work now, but this is a subject that I can really relate to. I've copied a reply to a post on this topic that I did last year. Some of covers what you ask:-
"I can relate to what you describe here. Two years ago I went through something very similar. Back pain - anxiety - panic - fear - sleeplessness - on and on, ad nauseum. It was horrible.
I got it under control and I've got the defences in place to stop it coming back. Firstly, I have to say that I was in a position to give up work so I didn't have to worry about being unable to cope there. Most people can't do that, I know. That allowed me to concentrate on getting better from the anxiety/TMS. I don't have a magic bullet, but I'll tell you what worked for me.
I tried a variety of things - medication - I took low dose valium for seven months. That got the worst excesses of the panic symptoms under control, enough to let me explore other methods. That worked for me, but I know that valium is addictive and some people have problems. I had a supportive GP and weaned off it easily. I haven't taken it, or wanted to take it since.
I tried cognitive behaviour therapy. I found it no help at all. To me, it was a form of avoidance and I needed to get in behind what was happening and try to work out why it was happening.
I found hypnotherapy equally useless - avoidance again, I think.
Psychotherapy helped a great deal. My doctor wasn't keen. Psychotherapy is out of fashion in the UK right now. Eventually, after phoning just about every therapist in my area I found someone who believed strongly in a mind/body link, although she was not aware of Dr Sarno's work. I worked with her for around six months.
I read widely on anxiety/panic conditions. I had to read a lot of dross to find the helpful stuff. The books I found most helpful were those by Dr Claire Weekes, Jon Kabut-Zinn's 'The Whole Catastrophe' (that one got me into 'living mindfully' and was recommended by ny therapist), and my favourite, Rick Carson's 'Taming Your Gremlin'. It's light hearted, funny, but gave me lots of insights and strategies. Quite a few of us who post here like the Gremlin book. None of these books deal with physical/psychological links, although Kabut-Zinn does touch on that, but I found as the anxiety lessened the chronic back pain became less of a problem and gradually disappeared. I do still get pain but it is far less bad and doesn't last long.
Getting better was hard work, but well worth it. There is a fundamental change in how I deal with things now. I am calmer, more relaxed. Things don't get to me anymore. "
Best wishes
Anne
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