| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| balaenoptera |
Posted - 03/14/2013 : 13:39:50
As I understand, balto (impressive story) and some others on the forum had tremendous success in combining the ideas of Sarno and Claire Weekes. I have read and reread the Mindbody Prescription, I have read Hope and Help for your Nerves and listened to some of Weekes audios (which you can download here: http://www.junior-anxiety-depression-exchange.org.uk/Relax.html).
I think she must have been a marvelous lady. Her voice (even in low quality audio) sounds so compelling and empathetic. Her work was all about anxiety and panic. I have some questions on how to transfer her ideas to pain, or if I got the message at all. And I am also wondering how to combine Sarno’s way with hers.
The main points I got:
1. Just accept, never ever fight against anxiety, fear, pain or depression
2. View your reactions or sensations as normal reactions of your sensitized and conditioned mind and body
3. Don’t try to switch off or to run away or to distract from your feelings or sensations, don’t force yourself to relax. Relaxation will come with practice.
4. Rather just let go, try to float in anxiety/feelings/pain.
5. Never ever test yourself. If you test yourself, setbacks (which will always occur until fully recovered) will defeat you. Testing adds again tension and stress.
6. Just practice. If you just practice there is no urgent demand, no tension. Setbacks can be viewed as normal, telling that you only need more practice.
7. Be patient with healing, it takes time.
I think these are the main issues. Correct me if I missed something. I interpret the “never fight” that you also never should become obsessed with healing? Like, you should not search the whole internet for the best book, the best solution, or read ten books about TMS. In the beginning this surely is what you have to do, to find the knowledge (in Sarno’s sense), to get confirmation, to find the methods that suit you. But at some point this again adds endless tension, right?
I have problems with the floating. I can imagine how to float in anxiety, fear or other feelings. Claire Weekes also said: “look right through the panic, the cure lies on the other side”. I have no clue how to transfer that to a constant pain, to a muscle or joint. Any suggestions?
The knowledge factor in Sarno’s approach fits to Claire Weekes’ because it enables the acceptance.
But Claire Weekes approach is more in the here and now. She doesn’t mention anything to become aware of your underlying emotions or your rage. And this I think is the main difference. Is it useful to dwell in the past? To analyze your feelings and traumas from ten or more years ago? Isn’t that in contrast to let things just go? Something that pulls you more down? Is it better to narrow that down to current issues?
I am very much open for suggestions on how to combine the two approaches, because I think both are helpful.
|
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| eric watson |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 17:33:04
quote:
Originally posted by gailnyc
quote:
Originally posted by balaenoptera
For those of you that have been following this path: Did it happen to you that severe setbacks occur? Maybe right in the beginning when you seriously try to follow? Fear and/or pain got worse in the beginning? If so, how did you cope with it? What were your thoughts and reactions?
I know, if it happens, this must be some self-defense of your old habits which don’t want to let you go. Or fear of the unknown. Like, even if this situation is horrible, at least you know it, but you don’t know what’s coming and that produces fear. What helped you most in such situations?
Thank you again for your encouraging and inspiring contributions!
This is exactly what is happening to me right now. I have been using her methods for a couple of weeks with very positive results, but I noticed that I wasn't doing them consistently throughout the day. I also hadn't been using affirmations.
Today I've been practicing responding to every feeling of pain or discomfort with an affirmation and a relaxation into the pain, rather than a fight against it. I was feeling great for a couple of hours and then my symptoms not only returned but got worse, in a scary way.
I am trying to remind myself that it is only TMS, my mind trying to scare me, but it is hard.
gailnyc- hey good to see you here again, stay course, if it worked for two hours, the next time will be three or 4 hrs - then you will keep getting closer and close gradually- stay course- you all are doing great- i love me some folks getting healed with their hearts- thats what it takes guys- the hard work is all heart |
| eric watson |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 17:28:35
quote:
Originally posted by Barbara Carroll
Can u talk more about floating?
Thank u
Barbara
barbara, nice to see u here again, floating- letting the rough times just be there and dont fear them- balto laid it all out.
and um barbara remeber aces keys 1-11 at first, but really id pick the ones that applied to me but see thay all really apply to all of us-babara write me when u can ok- god bless
balaenoptera- sounds like you got a hold on this- keep up the good work |
| Barbara Carroll |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 14:56:25
Thank u Bala! |
| gailnyc |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 14:21:06
quote:
Originally posted by balaenoptera
For those of you that have been following this path: Did it happen to you that severe setbacks occur? Maybe right in the beginning when you seriously try to follow? Fear and/or pain got worse in the beginning? If so, how did you cope with it? What were your thoughts and reactions?
I know, if it happens, this must be some self-defense of your old habits which don’t want to let you go. Or fear of the unknown. Like, even if this situation is horrible, at least you know it, but you don’t know what’s coming and that produces fear. What helped you most in such situations?
Thank you again for your encouraging and inspiring contributions!
This is exactly what is happening to me right now. I have been using her methods for a couple of weeks with very positive results, but I noticed that I wasn't doing them consistently throughout the day. I also hadn't been using affirmations.
Today I've been practicing responding to every feeling of pain or discomfort with an affirmation and a relaxation into the pain, rather than a fight against it. I was feeling great for a couple of hours and then my symptoms not only returned but got worse, in a scary way.
I am trying to remind myself that it is only TMS, my mind trying to scare me, but it is hard. |
| balaenoptera |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 12:53:58
Balto, thank you for your comments, they are always helpful!
Barbara, I am about to learn the concept myself and apply it to real life. Basically it is one of the important keys from Claire Weekes to overcome anxiety and panic, and also seems to be very helpful for pain, and depression.
Floating means not to withdraw from the situation (panic, pain...), but also not fight it. Rather go right into it, accept it, just let go, so you can experience that it will not get worse. Which will lessen what she is calling the "second fear". The second fear, or the fear of the fear, is the reason for the vicious cycle. If you practice that, your sensitized and conditioned mind/nerves will become less sensitized. But you have to be patient, because it takes time.
If that sounds useful to you, download the mp3 files of her lessons. The link is in my first post. Or get a copy of "Hope and Help for your Nerves" from Claire Weekes. |
| Barbara Carroll |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 12:10:57
Can u talk more about floating?
Thank u
Barbara |
| balto |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 07:19:19
quote:
Originally posted by balaenoptera
For those of you that have been following this path: Did it happen to you that severe setbacks occur? Maybe right in the beginning when you seriously try to follow? Fear and/or pain got worse in the beginning? If so, how did you cope with it? What were your thoughts and reactions?
This happened very often at the beginning, and this is the biggest reason many people give up so soon using her method.
In the beginning we sometime don't see result right away for whatever reason. And it is very natural for human mind to produce doubt and discouragement. So now beside fear we also have doubt and discouragement, and this will intensify the symptoms a bit. Then if this doubt and discouragement go on a little longer it may produce self anger, you may got piss off and loose your belief in Weekes' teaching, and that will also make the symptoms worst.
The key to success is to stick with it, to give it "time" for our brain to reset and start healing. Dismissing fear is a new habit you have to practice and practice and some more practice. It always seem difficult at first, but if you keep practicing dismissing fear thought, if you keep floating, if you just be patient and really really living in the NOW, one day it will just click and you can literally feel the pain melt away.
When we took that first puff of ciggarette, we choke, we cough, and it taste terrible. When we first took a sip of that beer, it taste bitter, it caused hangover, it made us dizzy. Well, after a while people just love them. With practice many people find smoking and drinking are comforting to them, something used to choke them now became their friends.
Same with dismissing fear thoughts. There will always be resistance from our brain when we try to acquire a new habit. But when it became a habit it will just be a part of our "true" self. And dismissing fear is a very useful habit in our fight against MB ills.
So just keep floating, just keep practicing removing fear thoughts, and remember to give yourself enough time for it to work. It a wonderful world waiting for you on the other side of FEAR.
------------------------
No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
| balaenoptera |
Posted - 03/17/2013 : 05:16:57
For those of you that have been following this path: Did it happen to you that severe setbacks occur? Maybe right in the beginning when you seriously try to follow? Fear and/or pain got worse in the beginning? If so, how did you cope with it? What were your thoughts and reactions?
I know, if it happens, this must be some self-defense of your old habits which don’t want to let you go. Or fear of the unknown. Like, even if this situation is horrible, at least you know it, but you don’t know what’s coming and that produces fear. What helped you most in such situations?
Thank you again for your encouraging and inspiring contributions!
|
| Dr. Zafirides |
Posted - 03/16/2013 : 19:36:06
Bala,
What a beautiful post to read. Don't ever doubt your strength. This forum is testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit.
You can AND WILL feel better if you put in the time.
Thank you again for a beautiful post.
Kindly,
Dr. Zafirides |
| gailnyc |
Posted - 03/16/2013 : 13:14:16
Something I notice as I re-read her book is that she repeatedly emphasizes, this is not your body. Your body is fine. You will feel fine again. It's just like Sarno's message.
The only difference is that he stresses the role of the subconscious, while she does not. His approach is Freudian while hers is cognitive-behavioral.
Oh, and he focuses more on back pain while she focuses on the physical symptoms of someone with anxiety or panic attacks. But they are all physical symptoms caused by something psychological, rather than a physical problem. |
| bryan3000 |
Posted - 03/16/2013 : 12:59:53
There is very little difference between what Weekes and Sarno actually prescribe as far as action to take. As Plum pointed out, numerous success stories around here directly quote Weekes, while dozens of others quote her methods without knowing it.
You'll find some posters here attacking others for not being Sarno purists, but the fact is... Weekes was Sarno's predecessor. I'll bet if we could ask Sarno, he'd tell you he was directly influenced by her work.
They both offer brilliant advice... Weekes just simplifies the message a bit, and calls TMS by a different name. (Anxiety.)
Look at Ace's keys to healing. Most of the are right out of Weeke's methods or take-offs.
Acceptance, floating, not straining... these are all concepts Weekes was pusing for years against an industry dead set on drugging people.
|
| balto |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 20:46:22
quote:
Originally posted by RikR
Balto
Maybe what you had is anxiety - it can cause pain
Three surgeons wanted to operated on my back Rik.
I've been to the hospital and doctors for - Anxiety & panic attack, agoraphobia, ptsd, depression, suicidal, headache, IBS and other digestive problem, CFS, tintinus, tennis elbow, shoulder pain, knee pain, backpain, sciatica, toe pain, gout, hip pain and clicking noise, kneck pain, rash and hive, pimples and other skin problem, tinnitus, chest pain, heart palpitation, sensitive to noise, sensitive to bright light, SAD, eye pain, ear pain, arthritis in fingers and knee, burning sensation in different parts of the body, pins and needles, buzzing muscle, burning mouth & tongue, unexplain dental pain, burping , belching, gas, nightmare, insomnia, sleep walking, sleep talking, night sweat, night terror awakening,...
None of them can help me. Sarno's and Claire Weekes' combined cured me.
Your doubt is what keep you in pain.
------------------------
No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
| RikR |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 17:45:54
Balto
Maybe what you had is anxiety - it can cause pain |
| gailnyc |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 16:58:14
Very well said. |
| balaenoptera |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 12:59:38
I guess most of what can be achieved is in yourself. The work of Sarno, Weekes and others is invaluable, but it is “only” the starting point. As long as the basics are met (understanding the process, acknowledge that it is psychological and conditioned…) the biggest work is that of yourself, a strong dedication for example. And that might be the reason why some method works for one but not for the other. You could even call it a matter of taste. If you want to exercise but hate running you can try biking. But you shouldn’t state that running is of no use for anyones health, or that biking is the only sport that is good for health.
My TMS has a lot to do with fear and anxiety, and such the Sarno/Weekes approach is most appealing to me. I don’t know if I will succeed but I will give it a fair try. |
| plum |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 10:56:03
I'm with Balto.
I'll also take my cue from the countless people here who healed from tms using Claire Weekes' methods. The archives are full of them. |
| balto |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 10:03:13
Bala, I didn't get good result with Journaling so I quit doing it. Journaling somehow just brought back bad memory and my mind tend to relive those memories and create new symptoms.
------------------------
No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
| balto |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 09:56:57
speak for yourself RikR, I and countless people I know have completely cures ourself from tms, anxiety, panic, chronic pain, gerd, cfs, .... by using her teaching. Many people on this forum also cure or greatly reduced their symptom by following her method.
Somehow her method just didn't click with you.
The only thing I can think of that maybe you're too intelligent or your high education somehow made you think that you need something more "advance", more "complex", mor "high tech" than what she taught.
Mindbody is so simple to cure of, but you can only understand that feeling when you're cure. People make it into something so horrible, so complex, so "freudian"...
------------------------
No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
| RikR |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 09:40:30
Claire Weekes work was primarily designed for panic disorder where the symptoms are brief and transitory. It was not as effective for chronic symptoms other than to educate patients not to fear them.
It does little to deal with core issues of anxiety or TMS.
Weekes work was a way to stop the secondary anxiety caused by the story the patients tells themselves about the symptoms...also good for TMS. |
| plum |
Posted - 03/15/2013 : 09:27:20
balaenoptera,
You've summed Claire Weekes up beautifully. I'm one of those who's combining approaches and while it is early days, I feel it'll be successful.
All wonderful answers thus far. My understanding of floating with reference to pain is well described by Gail. I journalled a lot in the beginning but less so now. It's hard to say how much that has contributed. While it hasn't diminished my pain, it certainly hasn't harmed me. I don't think you need to go looking for trauma, if it's there then you may want or need to work through it. Claire Weekes didn't believe it was necessary but current neuroscience suggests to the contrary. Search for posts by Dr. James Alexander and chickenbone for insightful thoughts on this.
Must echo Balto's comment. Your English is excellent. |
|
|
