| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| verdammt |
Posted - 04/02/2005 : 20:36:14
I'm beginning to wonder if there are two kinds of TMS:
1. the familiar type that fixates on bodily pain, as decribed by Dr. Sarno; and,
2. a conscious variation that fixates on external sensory stimuli (smell, sound, sight, physical discomfort, etc.)
Just for convenience, I call the latter X-TMS, as in external-TMS. It has a lot of different names: irritability, intolerance, hypersensitivity or just plain peevishness. Whatever the name, it seems to serve the same purpose as Sarno's TMS, in that it provides a convenient distraction from our unconscious rage, anger and anxiety.
It affects me all the time. I'm surprised at how many things bother me and have bothered me most of my adult life. I can't stand many smells (perfumes, scented detergents/soaps, cigarette smoke). I don't like noise (airplanes, traffic, barking dogs, a neighbor's kid bouncing a basketball, a loud TV in an adjoining hotel room). I'm always just a little too hot or too cold (constantly fidgeting with the home thermostat and the heater/AC controls in the car). I don't like brightly lit rooms or too much direct sun.
The majority of people can ignore this stuff. I tend to fixate on it. I've become hypersensitive to the world around me. I don't think I'm alone with this syndrome.
What do you think? Could this sensory hypersensitivity be another form of TMS? If I defeat all my physical TMS problems, will external irritants bother me even more?
The closest Sarno comes to discussing this is in relation to allergies.
|
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| verdammt |
Posted - 04/19/2005 : 08:13:03
Fox - Funny you should mention Bounce. I feel the same way when our neighbor cranks up the clothes dryer (like clockwork, every Sunday...not that I'm keeping track...heh, heh...)
Best not to say anything. I kind of pity them. All their clothes stink of industrial perfume.
Then again, they probably don't notice it inside their Armor-All-coated car. And one of them smokes.
As for walking the dog, I'd sooner take a whiff from the Stoop & Scoop bag than Bounce. At least K9 doo is organic. |
| Fox |
Posted - 04/19/2005 : 07:37:42
Verdammt -- thanks for the thoughtful response and the good ideas. It's funny that you mentioned the popcorn counter-smell idea. My brother, who was sitting on my right that night in the movie theater, was eating popcorn and I found that, if I leaned toward him, the delightful smell of his popcorn would mask the dreadful smell of the perfume. I should have thought to have bought my own popcorn as a defensive measure.....Now, if I can just figure how to handle the sickly sweet smell coming from one of the neighborhood houses that drifts all over the neighborhood and often strikes when I am walking my dog....Don't even know which house it's coming from. Probably best that I don't know because, if I did, I'd probably make a fool of myself by going to that neighbor and telling him/her that I have "multi-chemical sensitivities" or whatever (really fibromyalgia/TMS) and asking that person if they would switch to Bounce Free - and I'm sure what I did would get all over the neigborhood and my wife wouldn't be happy about that. |
| verdammt |
Posted - 04/18/2005 : 18:28:30
Fox - Whenever I smell something, I try to welcome it, and breathe it in. I tell myself I'm just a little bit more alive in the process. I'm in control. I'm deliberately using a sense that has been perverted to detect only dangerous and unpleasant things.
I don't know how I would have reacted in the theater. I suppose I would have freaked out and moved, or obsessed about it like you did. Maybe baseball65 is right. Maybe it is a mild form of OCD, if only because we KEEP CHECKING. (Sniff!...Is it still there?..sniff!)
We sensitized ourselves, so we should be able to desensitize ourselves. Maybe the more we deliberately smell things, the less sensitive we become. If you never go outside without sunglasses, the sun will really bother if you forget to take them along. You'll squint for a while, but you'll adjust eventually.
There's also the "fight fire with fire" approach. Deliberately smell something you can control, like popcorn, licorice, candy, etc. at the theater. Or go on the offense and wear your own cologne/aftershave/perfume.
You probably can't smell two things at the same time. In historical movies, you often see aristocrats holding a scented hanky to their noses to shut out the unpleasant smells of the lower classes. Maybe it works. You just have to do it without attracting attention.
|
| Fox |
Posted - 04/18/2005 : 13:23:53
Verdammt -- Besides exposing yourself to the smells that you fear, a behavioral approach, did you use any mental imagery or other cognitive approach which allowed you to succeed....Last night, I saw a really fun movie, "Sahara", with my son and my brother, but I was nearly constantly distracted by the strong odor of perfume coming from the row of seats in front of me and by my resultant anger about the inconsiderate individual who had splashed perfume upon herself. I thought about telling the family members whom I was with what the problem was and then moving over a seat or two to get our of the perfume range. I didn't because I didn't want to seem to be the wierd one in the group plus I wanted to face my fears and see if it got any better as the movie progressed. I sat there for 2 hours and never lost the feeling of nausea, feeling that I was suffocating, and the panic. I did find out that it wouldn't kill me, I guess, but I don't feel that my hypersensitivity to chemical smells lessened a bit....I do have 2 events in my life that relate to the smells issue...I had my tonsils removed when I was 5 and I can still remember the panic as I was put asleep with ether...I can even still imagine the smell and the taste of the ether....It is my earliest childhood memory...Also, 10 years ago, I had major sinus surgery, and that's about when I started panicking around chemical smells (that's also when I developed tinnitus -- which I have beat with TMS plus Johnathon Hazel's ideas - which have been discussed in earlier posts). I figured my new nose had just become a "super sniffer" since the sinuses had been bored out so thoroughly....Anyhow, Verdammt (or others), do you have any additional ideas as to how to beat hypersensitivity to smells. |
| Dave |
Posted - 04/13/2005 : 10:16:22
Many allergies are TMS.
But in your husband's case, I would guess that something else is going on. Passive agressiveness? An (unconscious) desire to prevent you from enjoying things that bring you pleasure? Hmm... lots of potential emotions to explore there. |
| Laura |
Posted - 04/13/2005 : 10:02:34
Verdammt,
What you said reminded me of something with my own husband. Every time I light candles in the house he starts talking about how I'm going to burn the house down. I don't know any women who don't like candles -- it's like, men and sports, you know? It's just something we like to do -- buy candles, light candles, have a bath with candles. Now my husband starts sneezing when I light candles and tells me he's "allergic" to all the candles. Really? Or is this his way of keeping me from "burning down the house." I don't know but now I'm wondering...
Personally, I think a lot of "allergies" are in people's heads anyway. They have proven it time and time again, for example - taking fake roses and putting them in front of people who are allergic to roses, and sure enough the person sneezes even when the fake flower is introduced. I applaud you, Verdammt, for desensitizing yourself to fragrances like that.
Laura
|
| Fox |
Posted - 04/11/2005 : 09:01:41
Verdammt -- you're a brave man -- exposing yourself to those dreadful smells. I guess that I'll try to do it too, but I'm not very excited about it. |
| holly |
Posted - 04/10/2005 : 19:22:41
I have read all your replies regarding this interesting post. I too need to take a white noise machine to every hotel to block out sound. I have always been a very light sleeper. My daughter has a sleepover and forget about it ,I can't sleep even if they are being quiet. Just knowing they are there keeps me awake. (everything has to be perfect) I am sharing a house this summer for a couple of days with some families for the first time and I am already worrying about it now. My husband says I am not flexable enough to do it. (I am going to try real hard) I use a sleep mask at night to block out morning light too. My clothes detergent is fragrance free and so is my antipersperant. I can go on! I too do not wash my hands alot or anything like that. So this must be a personality trait of us TMSers.  |
| Tunza |
Posted - 04/10/2005 : 16:32:05
That's brilliant Verdammt! Deliberately sniffing those smells you have been avoiding is a perfect example of paradoxical intent (I think that's the correct term).
I love reading about these kind of successes.
Kat |
| verdammt |
Posted - 04/10/2005 : 12:21:01
Rubbing my nose in it:
I've overcome my hypersensitivity to smells since I started this thread. Just talking about it with you people really helped. It made me realize how much of it was a control issue - or maybe a power struggle with my wife. I wouldn't allow potpourri or scented candles in the house, and always made a big deal about the smell of her hair spray. What a jerk.
I'm getting better. Now I deliberately smell things at every opportunity: bath/shower gel, shampoo, candles, etc. All the things I was so peevish about before. They don't bother me now. They're harmless.
Even at work, if I smell something, I can just shrug it off and not say a word about it to anyone. A big step forward.
So, thanks to all. This has had a really calming effect on me.
|
| verdammt |
Posted - 04/05/2005 : 18:27:44
quote:
Originally posted by Tunza
Do you think the princess from the fairytale "The Princess and the Pea" had hypersensitivity?
She could feel the pea that was underneath all those mattresses. 
Kat
Good one, Kat!
Maybe this story has a lasting effect on the unconscious minds of children, especially girls who want to grow up to become princesses. It could be a cause of internal rage later on in life, too ("Where's my @#% prince?!")
Anyway, it gives new meaning to the expression "a royal pain."
|
| Louise |
Posted - 04/05/2005 : 18:22:55
Boy, this subject is hitting home with me, although not that long ago, I wouldn't have admitted it. Today I was sitting in the Brake shop, waiting on my car, and the woman on the couch next to me kept SNAPPING HER GUM!!! I wanted to deck her!
It seems like I'm perpetually pissed off - at almost everything and anything. Traffic (I live in LA, so it's understandable), co-workers, bosses, you name it. I've come to the conclusion that because I'm angry with myself, I've become hyper-critical of others. Sort of like I'm trying to find fault with others before someone finds fault with me. Because, you know - I'm perfect, or at the very least - I'm madly and tirelessly striving to be! 
Lately, I've been trying to be mindful of this, and acknowledge it when it happens - I liken that urge to react with an angry comment or judgment to the gremlin in Rick Carson's book. I've been trying to chastise myself with humor - in Louise Hay's book, she says that arthritis comes from a constant pattern of criticism. So I stop & tell myself - Louise, you're gonna give yourself arthritis. It makes me stop & laugh at myself. |
| marytabby |
Posted - 04/05/2005 : 16:06:59
SSJS,
YOU ARE CORRECT! It's us angry so we have to find SOMETHING to pick at. So true. |
| marytabby |
Posted - 04/05/2005 : 16:04:10
Laura,
But I bet your father will never have TMS! He expresses what he thinks, doesn't hold it in, neither does your mother apparently. Same with my mother, she blurts out the most inappropriate stuff, like she will open a birthday card, immediately scan the card for cash, and when there is none, you see clearly on her face her disappointment or she will say: "no money from you, huh?"
So see, they will never have TMS, they just live in utter bliss as they are and they will never understand this TMS stuff, because it's beyond their ability to see past their own noses. At least, that is how my mother is anyway. |
| Laura |
Posted - 04/05/2005 : 14:35:13
That's what probably scares us the most; ending up doing something like our mothers (or parents). Recently my parents were visiting. Every little noise makes them crazy and provokes a response or comment. We were sitting in a local restaurant, having lunch, and a group of adorable preschoolers were having an outing. They were a few tables away from us, behind a partitition, but it was still prety loud. My parents couldn't stop making faces and commenting on it. While it bothered me, it didn't bother me to the point it did them. When they were finally leaving, my father made a rude comment as they walked by, something to the effect of "It's about time you took those noisy kids outta here you stupid ass." I was mortified.
Maybe that's part of the rage too. The "I don't want to become anything like my parents" and yet, you start developing some of the same traits.
Laura
|
| Caroline |
Posted - 04/05/2005 : 14:22:40
[quote]Originally posted by Tunza
Do you think the princess from the fairytale "The Princess and the Pea" had hypersensitivity?:)]
This quote really caught my attention. The princess on the pea describes me to a T. I find this discussion absolutely fascinating. For years I found my mother insufferable because she would complain about everything and everybody: the noisy neighbors upstairs, the
honking of the cars, the unwrapping of candy at the theater, etc. her sensory intolerance seemed to focus on the auditory. Well guess what is happening to me now? I am doing the SAME thing! I spend a good part of my time with ear plugs (when I read, fly, sleep, etc.)
Verdamnt and Baseball I think you have hit on something there. It NEVER occurred to me this could be a form of OCD or that it could be related to TMS but it makes perfect sense. Thank you for these enlightening posts! |
| ssjs |
Posted - 04/04/2005 : 21:06:56
Maybe if you are carrying around anger that you are afraid to let out, EVERYTHING starts to make you angry.
Especially things you can't control that arn't really important.
It is easier to be angry at someone who is using too much perfume(instead of just shrugging it off and walking away) than to be angry at our lives. |
| verdammt |
Posted - 04/04/2005 : 20:20:53
Laura,
A lot depends on perspective here. Maybe in terms of our senses, we're normal and the majority of people are slugs; dullards who are barely aware of anything going on around them. (There's a lot of evidence to support this!)
I can't imagine any normal person being able to endure 8 smoke detectors going off. Think about it. A smoke detector is no clock-radio. It's an ALARM. It's designed to wake people up so they don't die from smoke inhalation. It can't be customized, so it has to account for extreme scenarios: people who are dead-drunk or stoned, who snore, who are almost deaf.
It's torture being near them. You're supposed to run out of the house when they go off.
There's nothing wrong with you. Sleep well tonight.
|
| Laura |
Posted - 04/04/2005 : 19:22:48
Verdammt,
In the past 10 years or so, I've noticed an increasing hypersensitivity to noise too. Things that make me plug my ears with my fingers don't even phase most people. Sure, if you ask them "Does that seem really loud to you?" they'll say "yes," but it doesn't seem to affect them or bother them quite the way it does me. Noise seems to penetrate me to the core. I cannot handle it. Last Saturday we had a malfunction in our smoke detectors. There are 8 of them in our house and one of them was malfunctioning, which in turn was setting off all the others. It was a flippin nightmare! All night long those things kept going off and my ears were buzzing. Even my dog didn't seem to be as bothered by it as me. I don't know. I hate being so hypersensitive to stuff.
Laura
|
| verdammt |
Posted - 04/04/2005 : 18:14:28
Does anyone remember Alvin Toffler's 1970 book, Future Shock? He theorized that we were all in a state of physical and mental upheaval, trying to cope with the rapid rate of change in western society and increasing overstimulation (ahhhh, remember calm, peaceful 1970?). We haven't had time to adjust as a species. Maybe that's at the heart of our problems. A world that's out of control.
I seem to remember Toffler speculating that people would cope with sensory overstimulation by shutting it out whenever they could: by wearing dark glasses, earplugs/headphones, etc. I don't know what he said about smells.
There's no acceptable way to shut out smells – you can't wear a charcoal-filtered respirator on your face all day. We're defenseless, so maybe we respond by going on the offense, trying to eliminate smells at the source.
Any odors that manage to reach us are blown way out of proportion because they're relatively rare. We perceive them as intrusive, overpowering and often inescapable.
I have to admit, my day is almost smell-free. I'm olfactorily blind, and it's by choice. Maybe it's a mistake. There's something unnatural about it. I wonder whether I'm a fully functional human being as a result.
Could this be throwing my other senses out of balance?
|
|
|
