| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| curingCFS |
Posted - 11/14/2007 : 06:14:47
Hi,
I'm looking for anyone who has followed Dr. Selfridge's book Freedom From Fibromyalgia.
If you did would you be able to give me tips, sort of a simplified cohesive plan as to how to do it?
I felt really lost and overwhelmed trying to figure out the "system" to use. It seemed spread out throughout the book and I'm a little lost.
Sarno's books are more straight forward, and the Divided Mind lays it out simply on page 143.
Selfride's book is for fibromylagia and I have CFS which would be the severe form of TMS so because Selfridge is a medical doctor and cured her longstanding FM and put her twist on how to recover I'd like to follow her way if I could figure it out. (She did begin with Dr. Sarno)
Anyone who is good at organizing material I could sure use your assistance!
Thank you,
Linda |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| EileenTM |
Posted - 11/22/2007 : 13:45:37
Bettie, Thank you for your reply. Yes, now that you mention it, I do have blurry vision at times and tinnitus. My brain feels disorganized. Some days it feels better, like yesterday. I keep trying to focus on the psychology when symptoms appear. Asking myself what buried emotions might be causing this. So sorry about your GP. His/her reaction just does not seem right. My GP is very supportive. When I tell her about my positive progress she gives me a hug and cheers for me. She does not really understand TMS, but keeps an open mind. Don't know why yours would not react in a positive way when you make progress. But as we all know, you can get better without his/her help. Happy Thanksgiving (if you are in the US).
P.S. By the way, I got alot out of Selfridge's book. I have kind of made up my own program for recovery based on several books. Also watching how my husband deals with his tms things like knee pain and sciatica. He talks to it very sternly and does not let it get the upper hand.
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| CFSgirl |
Posted - 11/21/2007 : 17:13:11
Hi Eileen,
I didn't have much in the way of those symptoms with the exception of the foggy brain - I was certainly upset and even panicky in the beginning - it is very frightening to lose who you are as you really do when you are no longer able to do the things that once gave you much of your identity. Particularly upsetting is the foggy brain. I remember forgetting my phone number one day - that was scary. I have always been very passionate about teaching math and I lost my ability to calculate. Strangely, if I let go a little bit, I would be able to let my brain estimate - this took time and trust to work out. I realized that my brain still worked but that there were communications issues. I also had difficulty hearing and even focussing my eyes especially when I was tired. I took to wearing very dark glasses almost all the time - especially at night when glaring lights would give me a migraine.
I now wear the glasses less and my brain feels more organized - I will have to see once I am in my own classroom if there are any residual issues, but when I am volunteering I am once again aware of all of the students in the room and able to tune into a problem usually before it starts - so that's a good sign. I've also taken some physio classes in the water in order to improve my strength -especially core strength.
I have been incredibly lucky in my husband. He has truly been a rock and always there to help me see things rationally from other view points. I am sure that without him I could easily have ended up depressed and with mood swings.
It is wonderful that you have discovered this pathway to health Eileen. I think that Dr. Sarno is absolutely right that many of our diseases/conditions are largely due to repressed emotion. Ironically, the rage I felt with my extended disability provider probably held my recovery back. I wonder if I would have felt considerably better if I hadn't been dealing with them even without Dr. Sarno's help
This sounds kind of silly, but I actually have learned to visualize my subconscious as almost a puppy in my brain. I imagine that I am stroking it and thanking it for carrying such a burden, but assure it that I am now able to handle the new stresses in my life (such as my GP - but that's another thread). I do feel that when I do that there is a transfer of energy from my subconscious to my conscious mind and that I am taking more responsibility for my emotions.
Good luck and keep in touch,
Bettie |
| EileenTM |
Posted - 11/20/2007 : 09:55:16
CFS Girl, Did you have depression or mood swings with your CFS? Or just fatigue? My main symptoms are mood swings, foggy brain, but my energy level is ok. I know TMS can have different symptoms depending on the person. Glad you are feeling better. |
| curingCFS |
Posted - 11/19/2007 : 06:30:52
CFSgirl,
I applaud your recovery, thank you so much for coming forward to post. You give me more hope and incentive to carry on. Keep on keeping on, your doing great.
Linda |
| CFSgirl |
Posted - 11/18/2007 : 19:03:44
Hi Linda,
I had CFS for six and a half years and have been free of it for four months now (well - getting my strength back physically, but completely free of CFS). I was lucky enough to be able to download "The Divided Mind" from my local library on MP3. It was abridged, but very good. Perhaps you can find a local library with the book on cd or in MP3 format. It made for a very good listen as at the time I could NEVER in a million years have been able to follow it in print.
I am now having no difficulty with the textbooks I am reading as I prepare to return to work - YAY!
I wish you all the best in your recovery.
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| curingCFS |
Posted - 11/15/2007 : 18:21:25
Well I went to the library today and got Pain Free For Life and read it.
Excellent, clear and well laid out. Now THIS I can follow easily and happily--toss in Truman's scripting and I'm good to go. I especially like his nod to Candace Pert and the notion of these e-motion molecules being stored/trapped and when liberated (brought out of the basement) the energy can flow. The whole unconscoius/subconscious really bugged me--like WHERE is such a thing. This slant really tweaked the whole hypothesis of what causes illness. I can also see how the script can also work if you take it that there is a part of you that knows and remembers everything and that you can set this entity to work on clearing repressed stuck emotions. Such fascinating stuff!
Linda |
| curingCFS |
Posted - 11/15/2007 : 06:28:25
Penny thank you so much! I really enjoyed reading that post/thread of last year. People really recovering from the cureless! Using the search engine is really helpful, thanks for reminding me. I have slow dial-up so I won't be watching the video. But thank you for posting it.
I spoke to Dr. Selfridge the other day as she called me back. I asked her since it's been years since she wrote the book if there was anything additional she could say to help especially for fatigue, that I had chronic fatigue syndrome. She said, no there is no magic, but she said what she could tell me is that those who accept the trauma aspect and meditating she believes is THE ANTIDOTE plus those that journal everyday get better. She said we don't know really why exactly it works only that it does work.
I thought that was pretty great of her to call a non-patient back.
I'm glad that it isn't just me that finds her book such a challenge to put my own "program" together!
I'll be getting Bradys book! The library does have it.
Thank you,
Linda |
| Penny |
Posted - 11/14/2007 : 19:08:15
Here is another link to an old discussion about Selfridge's book with other recommendations.
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2545
BTW, if you type a word in the search box (e.g. Freedom from Fibromyalgia) the search engine will pull allmentions of your search term so you can read posts about your interests. This is quite useful. |
| Penny |
Posted - 11/14/2007 : 18:53:56
Dear Linda ... I hear you, Sister! I read FFF, and it's an amazing book, but it is NOT the best book (IMO) to read with CFS. While the info is great, it is poorly laid out. It reminds me of that game you'd play in people's year books where you tell them to go to page 160, then turn to p160 only to find you are being redirected to page3. It's tough to navigate.
I praise the authors of the book anyway, as they led me to Dr. Sarno's works. After I got thru my FMS/CFS I often went back to FFF book and found different sections very helpful, especially journaling and dream work.
If you find Sarno a little too, well ... much, I'd bet you'd really enjoy Dr. Scott Brady's Book Painfree for Life. He refers to our problem as AOS instead of TMS, but he learned from Sarno and offers many similar ideas to Selfridge, and goes into great details about the types of personalites prone to psychosomatic illness. His book is much easier to navigate than FFF. You can check out this 90 min video online for free, where he spoke to his church congregation: They've removed the page but I found the file anyway 
This is for DSL access:
http://www.forestlakechurch.org/upload/media/painfreeforlife_200k.asx
He is a Christian man, but I feel his teachings and suggestions embrace all religious and spiritual beliefs.
As you read ANY books about psychosomatic illness--whether it's TMS, AOS, CFS-- insert your symptoms in place of the ones listed. I had very specific problems at the beginning of my understanding of TMS. I had Fibro, migraines, extreme exhaustion, episodic scary high blood pressure, Carpal Tunnel, well ... my list is really long. My point is, if the author talked about knees, I would think about my wrists. If the author talked about elbows, I'd think of my debilitating fibro back pack.
You can and will get well, but you've got to tailor your own recovery program. No book will do this for you in the context of your personal story and symptoms. You need to understand that everything in Sarno's books is pointing to whatever pain or mental fog symptoms you have.
You may find that your CFS and FMS stop and all of a sudden you have tooth pain. (symptom imperative) this happened to me and nearly convinced me to see a dentist. But I knew better and ignored it and it went away.
Hang in there and welcome to our recovery club. There are some amazing, courageous and caring people here who will help you.
>|< Penny
"Feeling will get you closer to the truth of who you are than thinking."
~ Eckhart Tolle
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