| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Suz |
Posted - 09/21/2004 : 08:58:51
Hey all,
I have been doing so well the last 2 weeks with no hip/sciatic pain - felt like I was on holiday. My skin on the other hand totally broke out - I looked like a teenager.
This morning, I woke up and my entire upper back is stiff and in pain. I cannot bend my head forward at all. This is unbelievable. I never get pain here so I guess the TMS is on the run. My skin of course has cleared up.
Yesterday, I had a very stressful day at work - someone took my parking space - after telling him the day before that I parked there and one never gets a ticket. ( He was pumping the meter during the day) I came in the next day and his car was in my space. I was furious - an argument via email ensued - which is very unlike me. My whole day was dominated by this and I did not have time in the evening to journal it out or to read my Mind/body prescription book.
I guess - the TMS is still around. I had terrible dreams about defending myself and being angry at people!
I really hope that i don't have to journal forever and this TMS will stop. Right when you think you have it beat, it starts up again.
Suz
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| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 09/22/2004 : 16:39:01
Dear Suz, yes pain shifting in my experience and according to others is a good sign. I don't have my Sarno handy but I assume there may be citations in the books regarding pain shifting. For me, the experience of the pain shifting from my hip to my neck for a week and then back to my hip was a TMS eppiphany. Because of it, my relationship with the pain has changed. I now view it as something that I can manage rather than allowing it to manage me. My goal is to hopefully be pain free someday (before my ultimate demise, that is). Everyone is diferent. After many years of learning about TMS, I feel 98% and play tennis 4-6 hours a day. My hip does get sore if I play hard and it may take me several days to recuperate. I still work and think that as long as I am involved in the urban/suburban rat race, with it's myriad of enraging, annoying and irritaitng situations, I will never be totally pain free. It comes with the territory for us perfectionist/goodist TMS personality types. A common denominator on the board is that TMS goes away on vacation. Perhaps I have to trudge through the TMS desert for 40 years before I can get to the promised land--Palm Springs or Florida, I hope.
Suz, you said you don't normally get into conflicts, like your e-mail exchange, with your parking space thief. I would view it as a positive that you are expressing your anger rather than repressing it. If we weren't in a civilized society we would probably be hitting each other over the head with clubs rather than sucking it in--and we probably would not be afflicted with TMS either. Have you thought about taking it one step further and having a face to face "chat" with the scoundrel? I have found that my TMS gets better when I deal with life's unpleasant issues head-on and resolve them short of fist-ta-cuffs. The worst thing that might happen would be some unpleasantness. Maybe the culprit is clueless. Or maybe you can shame/guilt him into giving your space back since you tipped him to it's existence. Of course, don't do this if it may result in your being fired. Or maybe being fired would be the best thing for your TMS, since it would get you out of the financial world, pressure cooker that fuels TMS. |
| 2scoops |
Posted - 09/22/2004 : 12:13:42
Suz, I think you should be very grateful for the pain moving around, that shows your TMS is just trying to hold on for dear life. I wish my pain would move around and leave my back, legs and feet. But you should know that the pain has no relevance any more and it will soon be gone. |
| Suz |
Posted - 09/22/2004 : 10:16:21
Tom,
You really think that the pain moving around is good? I guess I will keep reading and journalling and hopefully it will go. It is so stubborn. I wonder what the average time is for people to see a near complete relief of their pain is? How long did it take you?
Suz |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 09/22/2004 : 09:12:21
Dear Suz, thanks for the explanation of the parking situation. It sounds like it falls into the catagory of, "life will let no good deed go un-punished". In reality it sounds like the spaces are on a first come, first served basis. Your situation is part of the urban/suburban rat race that helps to fuel our anger pool.
Your symptoms moving around are a good thing. It should serve as evidence that the pain does not have to be permanent. Good going on the running. It will help keep you mentally and physically strong to be able to fight the TMS gremlin.
If I had the opportunity to attend the Good Doctor's group sessions, I would do so in a N.Y. minute. |
| Texasrunner |
Posted - 09/22/2004 : 08:59:25
The parking spot issue reminds me of another forum poster's pain that was brought on because a tiny styrofoam packing peanut blew on to his property from his neighbor's. This enraged him. I recently noticed I was bothered because my neighbor was allowing a friend who has a shutter installation business to park almost blocking my driveway. He'd leave his van there for days, staying at my neighbor's house and working on his shutters in the driveway. What the peanut, the parking spot, and the shutter guy incident all have in common is that they invoke "Narcissistic Rage." This is basic to Sarno theory. We take it personally that these people would dare do such things.The result is repressed subconscious anger and rage. The reality is that the actions of these people have absolutely nothing to do with us. The trick is to acknowledge your reaction, examine it, reflect on it. Think about why it might bother you, feel it, make fun of it... |
| Suz |
Posted - 09/22/2004 : 07:14:05
Tom,
The parking scenario is as follows:
We have lost many of our spaces in our normal parking lot at work and many of us more "junior" employees have to park on the street. There are 12 hour meters and also 2 hour parking spots. I discovered that I could park in the limited 2 hour parking spaces without getting a ticket the whole day. I was coming back from running an errand in the middle of the day and I saw one of our analysts (I work in the investment business) going to his car to pump the 12 hour meter. I told him that you could park in the 2 hour spaces and I pointed to where I parked.
The next day, he was parked in my spot - he gets there much earlier than me. I was furious and at first made a jokey complaint but the next day he did it again. I told him that I could not believe he would take my space - that it was obnoxious and selfish and he had no good manners .........I was absolutly furious.
Anyway he has continued to park in my space and so I have just accepted it. He and I have different ethics I guess in life.
On another note, I am still in pain - it seems to be at night time - my whole upper back is "stuck" so I wake up all night from the pain. Also, my sciatic pain is twinging a bit this morning after 2 weeks of no pain. My skin, because of going back to my strict diet is totally clear. I think that is why the back pain has come back
It is definitely in a totally new spot. I still went running last night.
I am wondering if I need to go to Sarno's small group or not in the city, although I am doing one on one work with a therapist |
| 2scoops |
Posted - 09/21/2004 : 20:17:33
Serenity, I am curious to hear your story on being a perfectionist. I have recently started journaling, I know I'm the goodist, sel-motivated, high achiever, and perfectionist type. My life had to be perfect, you know good job, nice house, car, etc. I put a lot of internal pressure on myself to succeed. I guess I am getting your point, that it was not church, my parents or peers, that put this pressure on me, but it was myself, I created it. It that what you are saying? If so, I sound a lot like yourself. I am curious to see what you found out and how much your pain has gone down. See years of putting myself through these internal pressures I believe is causing my back pain, the burning in low low back, legs and feet, the soreness and tightness in the low back, I feel that nerve twinge in low back, butt, and I have a little leg weakness and weakness in the left knee. I would really like to end this, and I'm sure everyone else would also, but Serenity I am curious if you would please elaborate more, because I believe it could be beneficial to myself and some others on here as well.
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| tennis tom |
Posted - 09/21/2004 : 15:15:55
Suz, sorry to hear you had a lousey TMS day, but it sounds like you're figuring out the relationship between emotional stress and physical pain. I'm curious about the parking space situation that was the trigger for your TMS outbreak. Could you please explain it? I couln't quite picture the situation. It seems like traffic and parking hassles are a big source of daily stress, especially if we live and commute in congested urban areas.
Thanks and hope you have a better day and nicer dreams. I've been having (or remembering), my dreams more recently, as my hip TMS feels better. I think the dreams are some form of a TMS psychological equivalent, creating another negative distaction.
Good luck,
tt |
| Suz |
Posted - 09/21/2004 : 12:42:35
Susie,
You are very nice and encouraging to say that - thank you! I don't give myself enough credit in general for things - often end up looking at what I need to work on and not what I have acheived - this of course is the perfectionist in me.
It does take time getting used to thinking psychologically - and it is becoming easier now to do that every day.
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| Susie |
Posted - 09/21/2004 : 09:27:34
Suz-I think you have it mastered! You had pain this morning, but you immediately knew how to find the cause. You did't obsess over the pain but instead, went right to the trigger. I'll bet the pain will be very shortlived. As to whether symptoms ever totally quit showing up,I don't know. I still get them all the time in reactions to stress and anger, but they are pretty weak and not a big deal. It has almost begun to fascinate me rather than frighten me. Our bodys and minds are so closely connected. There is an article in Newsweek that says between 60% and 90% of all doctor visits are the result of mindbody illness. |
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