| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| wrldtrv |
Posted - 09/14/2006 : 23:55:17
In going over The Divided Mind again I saw that Sarno said something like 98% of his TMS patients fit the profile of goodist or perfectionist. I'm wondering if this holds true for the members of this board. I never thought either of these qualities fit me very well. I don't see myself as "goodist", but maybe it depends on how this is defined. As for "perfectionist", I don't see that either. For most things, incl work, "good enough is good enough." I have no problem taking shortcuts, looking for the easy way. But strangely, I can be very obsessive about minor things that are of interest to me alone and have nothing to do with work or other obligations.
I wonder whether others here think these goodist/perfectionist qualities apply to them. |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| wrldtrv |
Posted - 09/17/2006 : 23:22:09
Thanks Art. And I agree; we do seem a lot alike in our thinking. |
| art |
Posted - 09/17/2006 : 06:49:44
Hey wrld...You've come a huge distance my friend...It's gratifying to see. For some of us, and I'll include myself in this, the books are not enough. We need the constant reinforcement from the forum. It's impossible to see so many people getting better without over time developing a much deeper understanding of TMS and its role in our own lives..
You and I are a lot a like it seems to me, and sometimes just responding to your questions and doubts has helped solidfy things in my own mind. |
| wrldtrv |
Posted - 09/16/2006 : 22:51:33
Thx for your responses. I'm thinking "perfectionist" doesn't necessarily have to apply to the standard issues, eg work. For example, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to fitness and health. Maybe this is my hypochondria, but it bothers me intensely when ANYTHING is amiss. I take pride in the fact that, despite continual symptoms of one kind or another, year after year, I have never actually had anything, never had surgery, never broke a bone--nothing.
Of course, I know this will not always be the case (unless I die at 101 in my sleep). Eventually age catches up with everybody. And this too, bothers me a lot.
I feel so lucky to have stumbled on the Sarno books and this board. I have made serious progress in combatting hypochonria, starting to see any symptom that comes up, first through the lens of TMS. Whether or not it is TMS is somewhat secondary for my purposes. The important thing is taking the emphasis off the physical and transfering it to the psychological.
It's a constant struggle, of course. Just a few days ago I awoke with a very sore and stiff neck. Must have slept wrong, I thought. But when it didn't go away that day or the next I started to wonder if I "injured" it in some way. I remembered that I had stepped into a small pothole a couple of days earlier and had felt a minor jarring to my neck. Now I had something I could point to, but I was dubious because it had been such a trivial misstep, how could it cause all this stiffness? I was very suspicious of TMS because other life pressures have been building up recently. So, I was leaning probably 75% TMS and 25% injury. By yesterday, the neck was much better. But waking up this morning it was the worse yet and it seriously challenged my TMS hypothesis.
This is just one example of the nearly daily challenges presented to me by one type of symptom or another. Each one forces me to decide which side of the fence I will choose; TMS or physical. A year ago there is no question which side I would have been on--the physical explanation--and I would have been much more anxious about it. It may not sound like it, but I see real progress and I thank the people on this board for providing the constant reinforcement of this much healthier way to view physical symptoms. |
| art |
Posted - 09/15/2006 : 10:48:22
quote:
Originally posted by armchairlinguist
I definitely do. More perfectionist than goodist, but more goodist than I thought at first.
I've found that a lot of people who are perfectionists aren't obsessive about everything, so they don't think of themselves as perfectionists. But they are nevertheless, in certain areas.
--
Wherever you go, there you are.
I'm a bit of an amalgam...I can be pretty sloppy with some things, but with the stuff that I'm personally invested in, I'm as perfectionist as they come... |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 09/15/2006 : 10:24:43
I definitely do. More perfectionist than goodist, but more goodist than I thought at first.
I've found that a lot of people who are perfectionists aren't obsessive about everything, so they don't think of themselves as perfectionists. But they are nevertheless, in certain areas.
--
Wherever you go, there you are. |
| Stryder |
Posted - 09/15/2006 : 10:09:51
I wonder whether others here think these goodist/perfectionist qualities apply to them.
Definately.
In going over The Divided Mind again I saw that Sarno said something like 98% of his TMS patients fit the profile of goodist or perfectionist.
So you are in the other 2%. Or, you _are_ a pefectionist in the things that interest you. You can still be a perfectionist even if you are not obsessive about everything.
Take care, -Stryder |
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