| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| teachme |
Posted - 08/15/2010 : 08:01:01
Hi Everyone,
I'm a 23 year old male who has had terrible back pain for about 3 years. I picked up John Sarno's Healing back pain and felt instant relief after finishing the book. Although, I received significant relief there is still lingering pain. I am confident the source is not structural but mental yet I still can't eliminate it. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jordan |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dave |
Posted - 08/25/2010 : 11:12:09
quote:
Originally posted by teachme
I have tried to focus on emotions and issues in my life but its very difficult to figure out what thoughts are the culprit.
You can't. By definition the emotions that cause TMS are unconscious and cannot be felt.
Luckily, it doesn't matter. It is the act of trying to figure out the possible culprits that is important. This serves two purposes: (1) To send a message to your unconscious that you are going to think about these "bad" things despite its attempts to distract you; (2) To focus on your emotions rather than the pain.
One of the most important things to accept about TMS is that the pain is a conditioned response. You need to take steps to undo that conditioning. |
| teachme |
Posted - 08/25/2010 : 05:09:33
Thanks everyone for these posts. It helps tremendously. I think that is my main fault. While I do keep telling myself its all mental not physical, I am constantly focusing on the pain. This is probably to a fault. I have tried to focus on emotions and issues in my life but its very difficult to figure out what thoughts are the culprit. |
| Darko |
Posted - 08/18/2010 : 02:08:27
Guej.....that's good stuff! |
| guej |
Posted - 08/17/2010 : 06:36:11
I haven't posted on the forum in awhile, but in the past few days, there have been some great posts that I want to strongly agree with (great ones from Darko). Everyone is different, but for me, the key to getting better (and I'm still in the process) is accepting the pain and not focusing 24/7 on it or letting it get me in an emotional funk. It's hard, but when I get it right, I see the most results.
I don't know how to cut and paste on this forum, but awhile back I printed out the following excerpt that really hit the nail on the head for me. I believe it was from HellNY, whose approach made the most sense to me:
"What keeps people in pain:
If you are depressed about the pain, it WILL REMAIN.
If you worry that it will continue, it WILL REMAIN.
If you are frustrated and upset about it, it WILL REMAIN.
In short, when you engage your emotions into it, it remains. Because the brain will continue to process and represent anything we give emotional significance to".
Hope this is helpful. |
| Darko |
Posted - 08/17/2010 : 06:03:38
Hey Teachme,
my pain started when I was about 21-22, so I know what you're going through. I healed after I read the book in about 6 weeks. The only thing I could say to you is, don't attach to the healing outcome. By thinking about becoming pain free constantly, your mind doesn't understand negatives.......so all it understands is that your focusing on the pain.
Focus on your emotions and what is happening in life and how you feel about it.......maybe this might help. The longer you get hung up on being pain free the longer the pain will stay......trust me on that one.......my longest pain stint was 5 years.
D
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| teachme |
Posted - 08/16/2010 : 21:03:20
Thanks Tom! The thing I really do believe in concept 100%. I guess I just need to give it time. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 08/15/2010 : 10:18:12
Hi Jordan,
1)Check out the H-R list below to discover the life stressing events that are causing your TMS pain. Once you can clearly identify the real emotional situations that you are going through, it should be easier to accept TMS theory, that repressed emotions can cause real psychogenic pain.
2)See a TMS doctor to boost your confidence in the dx.
Good luck and Just Do It!
p.s. A couple of stressors that are filling my TMS reservoir of rage at the moment, that may not be on the list, is my cat barfing on my bed a moment ago and my girlfriend sprinkling See's chocolate crumbs all over the bed too.
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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