| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Hillbilly |
Posted - 05/27/2006 : 10:29:03
In addition to the trembling, shaking, headaches, and overall yucky feelings that come from an overwrought nervous condition, isn't it possible that most of us with back pain are just "sensitized" or conidtioned to feel the back pain most acutely when we are hemmed in, much like the panic attack sufferer is conditioned to feeling the flash of panic come when he/she is trapped?
I have studied my back pain pattern and determined that it is always there, though mild, until such time as the alarm bells go off to a real or perceived (mostly ill-perceived) danger being present. Like when a customer starts to annoy me or I am hemmed in at a meeting. My neck and upper back are so stiff I constantly attempt to crack it, move around, etc. IS this anyone else's experience or just mine? I have noticed this mostly since reading Claire Weekes' book on the subject of anxiety state.
Also, there is a former agoraphobic named Jim Neidert who has a site with free mp3 downloads of Dr. Weekes recordings as well as his own story (www.controllinganxiety.com). In it he mentions that he thinks his back pain (told by a chiropractor that it was scoliosis) worried him to the point of having panic symptoms and led to an eight-year battle.
I have noticed that many of you suffer concurrence of panic/nervous illness/anxiety state or whatever you call it with an acute fixation on stress symptoms and pain. This description is so like the book that I can't help but think that for many of us the pain is nothing other than a symptom of anxiety brought about by rumination. If we were able to just let go of our grip on it, stop allowing it to occupy our every thought, then it would ease along with the tension.
Interested to hear what others think. I know many are bewildered by how to fight TMS, do I journal or not, how many times a month to read the books, etc. Could it be that the answer is much more simple than that? |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 06/01/2006 : 18:23:19
Hi Hillbilly,
Thanks for the reply. The "white-coat" impramature can be very effective to help one overcome TMS. If I were you, I would mortgage the farm or take out a loan to get the funds to see a TMS doctor.
There are TMS doctors in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota-not that far from Ohio. If you have insurance, I don't see why they may not accept it--it depends upon your plan.
To find TMS doctors check out this link:
http://www.tarpityoga.com/directory.html
Good Luck,
tt |
| Hillbilly |
Posted - 06/01/2006 : 08:57:07
Tennis Tom,
I live in the Cincinnati area, about as far as possible from a TMS doc. Not a lot of extra money for travel and since these guys don't get insurance reimbursement, I'm pretty much left to go it alone. The Freudian concepts are frustrating me because if there is one thing in the theory I don't believe or agree with, I find myself rejecting everything. This, I know, is common for know-it-alls like me, so I confess I stand in my own way far too much. Something in Claire Weekes' work struck a chord with me, probably because she is so down-to-earth and rational in her approach. Her whole approach is to realize that the gas that is fueling the fire is coming from within (totally agreeable with Sarno), so the valve is inside our mind and hence can be turned off. Then it just takes time (about two months, she suspects)to heal the nerves that we have frayed from constant fretting. I will post my results from my new approach as soon as I have them. I am giving myself two months to try her approach. I am speaking Sat. morning with the gentleman who created the site linked above in the thread. That conversation should provide me a big boost to get going. I go on vacation the following week and have declared a moratorium on reading or visiting this board and for the two months. I hope to have fully recovered by then. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 05/31/2006 : 23:37:52
hi hillbilly,
just curious, what's stopping you from seeing a tms doctor? |
| n/a |
Posted - 05/31/2006 : 16:18:25
I think that people need to do what is right for them. It's great when reading Dr Sarno's books are all someone needs to recover fully. Some of us, however, have had success by coming at TMS from two different directions.
I 'got' Sarno - no problem - in fact, I'd been actively searching out verification of what I had come to strongly suspect before I'd ever heard about TMS; namely that my back problem was psychological in origin.
I definitely found it helpful also to tackle my worsening anxiety disorder.
As the anxiety lessened, so did the pain. There probably isn't a one size fits all cure for this most debilitating illness.
It worked for me - no question. |
| alix |
Posted - 05/31/2006 : 15:29:24
I also believe that there is a direct correlation (in some cases) with anxiety. I am frustrated doing the Sarno protocol for months without success but then suddenly I go for a short relaxing vacation in the middle of this and the pain goes away temporarily. |
| Hillbilly |
Posted - 05/31/2006 : 13:52:49
Thanks, Suz
I don't want to refute anything anyone says, because I have no answers myself. You obviously speak from a position of knowledge, having overcome this menace. I do know that there are many who are doing the work (as I have solid for months) and still getting nowhere. You don't mention in your post if you also had panic/anxiety symptoms. If you did, you might realize just how similar panic disorder is to TMS in the way it affects the mind.
My reason for posing the question is simply this: Can one rid oneself of concurrent pain and panic by taking an approach to rid themselves of the panic alone? If so, there is documented evidence of one such gentleman who, I would venture a guess, has never heard of John Sarno, who did just that. Dr. Weekes' book is also all about working through fear without tensing against it. Aren't the two of them saying about the same thing, in essence?
Finally, I believe that those who are struggling with getting over their pain owe it to themselves to investigate as many approaches as possible to curing their condition. Those of us who haven't been to a TMS doctor and won't ever be able to must attempt cure this way when frustration sets in. I am happy for all those cured and think Dr. Sarno is brilliant, but just take a look at the difference in approach taken by the spinoff authors Siegel, Hueftle and Amir. Obviously there are many roads up this emotional mountain. |
| Suz |
Posted - 05/31/2006 : 13:22:49
The answer lies in Sarno's cure - everything is there as to how to get well. We really don't need to look further. He has the "cure" for TMS. I persisted and did the work - took a year and a half. I have absolutely no pain now - it's awesome. Please don't drive yourself crazy looking elsewhere. Sarno has found the answer. I had suffered from Sciatic pain for 12 years - it was excruciating |
| elise8 |
Posted - 05/30/2006 : 17:47:07
Thanks for the great link. I am in the process of listening to the downloads. I will post another link later...
Elise
Elise8 |
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