| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| badger |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 06:38:23
Hi,
only my second post,please bare with me!
I have ''RSI'' pain in shoulders/arm and back and alot of trigger points that really hurt,especially during certain movements/tasks.
I'm just reading Sarno's books and they make alot of sense to me as I've always suspected a mind/body link with myself.
I'm very anxious,a big worrier.
I have a problem in that,I haven't had bad lower back pain for a year now-it used to come on when standing for periods of time or long walks. The pain was really bad and I could actually feel where the muscles had tightened and couldn't even bend to touch my toes without pain once it had come on,whereas before it came on I could easily touch my toes.Once it came on it would take maybe a couple of days to completely go.However,this part of my problem hadn't recurred for a year and I felt it was cured.
Since I've been reading Sarno's book,I've been getting this horrible lower back pain again! I'm sure it's come back because I'm thinking of it-consciously,not sub-conciously.I'm realising that that back pain was caused by my mind alone and I've been worrying that it'll come back from worrying! a viscious circle.I feel I have no control over that part of my mind-the anxious/worrying part of it.
For example,it(the lower back pain) came on the other week, for the first time in a year, when i was in a clothes shop.I reasoned that it was a one of,maybe i was stiff,etc and it went away in a couple of days.
However, two weeks later I was in the same shop-I was fine,but then suddenly thought to myself-"last time i was in here i had back pain"-within 10 minutes it came on worse than ever-I could hardly walk for the pain and it took ages to go-had to sit down for a long while.I had been touching my toes and stretching only that morning! now I couldn't even bend half way without pain.
My point/question is this-If I can bring on the pain just by worrying about it-how do i stop it?I am aware it's not a physical injury,it's the mind doing it,I know this! but the pain is there and very real. Should I consider some sort of psychiatry? I used to suffer from obsesive compulsive disorder when i was very young and it still affects me if i'm very stressed.it's a similar sort of worry/thought process to OCD.I know that if it was out of my mind,if I wasn't worrying about the back pain and tensing up it wouldn't hurt! but as i mentioned earlier, i feel like i have no control.It's very frustrating/depressing.
Any ideas?
Thanks! |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| stanfr |
Posted - 05/30/2007 : 13:25:31
hey badger, i feel yer pain, im doing battle with a major recurrence of a TMS equivalent (now psoriasis) and it aint fun! I immersed myself in thinking psychological; first night i had a horrible headache and sore throat--this morning; neck pain and nausea--but i aint givin up! unfortunately(fortunately?) iver quickly realized that this is a serious problem that isn't going to go away easy, it's gonna take an all out effort--ive started therapy and am psycho-analyzing big time. The toughest part hands down has been to fight the horrible fear of the symptoms returning with a vengeance--all i an say is FIGHT! One suggestion i have is to do something that will totally distract your body as well as your mind--this is a bit of a departure from the idea of thinking psychologically but i believe it has helped me: if you engage yourself in something so physically or mentally demanding (in my case, i went on a long tortuous hike) that you are simply faced with the choice of thinking about physical or emotional exhaustion, or thinking about the pain, i've found that often the brain choses to think about the exhaustion. This seems to give my inner mind time to process all the other things im thinking about, so the temptation to 'fall back' to fear is less. Good luck! |
| Stryder |
Posted - 05/30/2007 : 12:10:42
Hi badger,
Yes, it is very difficult to "stop playing the movie". You know what I'm talking about, re-run after re-run of past experiences, both good and not so good. It just seems to be something that perfectionist / OCD people do. I think it has to do with the planning/planning/planning to prevent from making a future [possible] mistake in ones life.
2 things to try...
- Recognize, and continue to monitor yourself, that you are playing the movie in your mind.
- Once recognized, substitute another distraction as suggested in some of the previous replies here to your post. Do/think about something else so your mind can't play the movie again.
Take care, -Stryder |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 05/30/2007 : 11:45:30
Another thing you can do is catch the worrying thoughts and set up another emotion by getting angry. For me this is the best way of disrupting worry, because if I try to think about less intense emotions, worry will distract me again. Doesn't matter what you think about to get angry, could be the thoughts themselves (angry becaus you are sick of them) or anything else. It's a way of saying "I will not let myself worry to distract myself from my other emotions" (which I believe is what obsessive worry is). It gets you experiencing some emotion, discharging some anger (which is the most "dangerous" emotion according to the unconscious, thus a good one to dip into to show you aren't scared). It kills the brain's notion that worry is an effective distraction, in the same way that thinking psychological and physical activity kills the brain's notion that pain will work as a distraction.
The tendency to worry doesn't go away though, you have to keep practicing this habit. :-)
--
Wherever you go, there you are. |
| Sky |
Posted - 05/30/2007 : 10:35:02
Hey Badger,
Sarno's Mindbody PRescription healed me of a terrible bout of RSI, as well as other minor TMS symtoms.
I'm confident that the way you unlock the vicious cycle of worrying is to realize that the excessive worrying, just like your RSI pain, is a distraction that your brain uses to keep you from facing/feeling/addressing underlying thoughts/emotions.
So the next time you get scared that the pain will come on, realize that that very fear of pain is another distraction technique designed to protect you from facing uncomfortable/painful emotions or thoughts.
Having fear is healthy, but when the fear multiplies to a level far beyond any rational level, it becomes a phobia. Irrational phobias are TMS equivalents in my mind. They're distraction techniques used by your brain to keep you from facing other underlying emotions.
So every time the phobia comes on, ask yourself everytime what underlying emotions are the source of your phobia. |
| badger |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 16:32:30
Thanks for your comments.
I haven';t tried journaling yet,i'll give it a go.
I can see how my RSI came on through my subconcious,from several factors but as I said,I find it so frustrating that I seem unable to stop myself bringing on symptoms by concious thought too-eg-the example of the clothes shop. I seem to always think the worst,panic when things are going well,it's almost as if I'm subconciously trying to f@ck things up for myself! ruin things.It could be something simple like looking forward to meeting up with friends for a drink and all of a sudden worrying what could go wrong and worrying that for example-that I'll get a bad headache,then of course from constant worrying it comes on! It doesn't make any sense! Or thinking that if we have to stand in the bar as there are no seats, my back will kill me, and it does,so the evening is ruined!it's like I don't deserve a good time. I'll keep searching...........
I can definitely relate to what Mickeysama says about thinking things in the morning. Also looked up ALGOPHOBIA,it's a fear of certain things/events and some of applies to my situation.
Thanks again.
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| electraglideman |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 16:07:04
When you were in a cloths shop and you thought " last time I was here I had back pain" and ten minutes later you had back pain. That reminds me of a phobia I read about not long ago called ALGOPHOBIA. Do a google search on that word and see if it fits you.
When you start reading Sarno its perfectly natural for your unconscious to start making other parts of your body experience pain. Your unconscious knows you have figured out what the problem is and its trying to put your attention on the pain in your lower back instead of whats going on in your troubled mind. |
| MikeySama |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 14:47:52
I often find myself doing what you are doing, whenever i have a relapse of pain. And why i have relapses so often is another matter, that i recently figured out.
In any case when i feel pain coming on i start reading again, do some journaling. And then the pain at some point goes away, but for a long period after that, whenever i wake up. I will think has the pain gone away? Is it still there? I sure hope it isn't there anymore... etc etc.
I know i did not feel anything when i woke up, but the moment i started thinking those thoughts i just mentioned the pain is there again within the hour.
Now i haven't been able to figure it out as to why i do that. But the important part is , which is hard. Is to forget the physical ( there really is nothing wrong with you ), and start thinking psychological again. Also it helps to have faith and to reall believe that at some point this will all get easier... |
| Littlebird |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 14:26:56
Hi Badger,
The feeling of not having any control over what the mind is doing to our bodies does seem to make the situation worse at times, but we can gain some sense of control through journaling and therapy, and then we can develop the confidence that we will be able to influence our mind enough to stop the pain. If you aren't journaling, that might be a good first step. Focus on what might be creating anger, other than the sense of having no control, which definitely causes anger in itself.
I'm also a big worrier and feel anxious most of the time. I just started reading a book called Stumbling On Happiness, which is about how we can have a really distorted view of what the future will be and how we'll feel when it gets here--both the near future and the distant future. I haven't got far in the book yet, but what I've read so far does seem to be helping me to feel less anxiety.
Hang in there, and try journaling or even therapy, if need be. |
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