| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lia |
Posted - 08/17/2013 : 14:48:06
I posted here before about my knee pain and how I was still a bit skeptical about it being TMS because of my MRI results but my knee pain is gone now and that is all due to me finally not caring and taking the first step to finally exercise. I only did some walking at first but I walked for a very long time and I started kneeling without caring about the pain at all and one day, the pain just disappeared.
I've had all sorts of pain and also very very bad acne. I knew the cause for that was emotional though because I've NEVER broken out so badly in my life, not even during puberty. My mom kept telling me it's teenage hormones and genetics (I'm 16) but I never believed it. I've also had back pain (in four different areas), knee pain, elbow pain, lump in the throat, acid reflux, shoulder pain, ankle pain, even finger and toe pain. After my knee pain went away, I wanted to start dancing again and on my first step, I "hurt" my toe. That went away in a week or so (maybe that was real) but it came back after I stood on my tip toes.. it never went away but I started using it yesterday and surprisingly, it's gone today. Now the heels of my feet hurt and I'm thinking it's also TMS. I just don't understand why I'm dealing with pain after pain. Something heals, but then something comes up again. I know it's TMS, but how do I cure the pain for good?
Honestly though, this pain has really thought me the importance of health, both mentally and physically. Before I started getting the pains, I was going through a rough time because my eczema was everywhere and I was depressed. My mom kept telling me if I keep on being depressed, it will affect my health. I never believed her but now I understand the importance of being well emotionally.
Basically, right now I still have heel pain and some acne. New symptoms keep coming all the time though, so how do I cure TMS? I know it has to do with repressed anger but I still don't understand what I might be angry about.. I'm thinking the eczema might have to do with TMS too but I've had eczema since I was in first grade.
Please share your thoughts :) |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 08/19/2013 : 10:24:40
quote:
Originally posted by lia
...I was bullied in kindergarten and my mother told me I started getting eczema in first grade. I'm thinking there's a connection between these two but I don't know what to do from there. I have a lot of food allergies and I'm on a really strict diet where I can't eat many foods because it causes my eczema to flare up. Now that the pain is slowly going away, if my eczema is TMS too, I also want to fix that. I really want it to go away..
p. 27 "THE DIVIDED MIND" John E. Sarno, M.D.:
* A large number of skin problems (e.g., eczema, hives, angiodema, acne, psoriasis)
p.345 "THE GREAT PAIN DECEPTION" Steven Ray Ozanich :
Appendix A : TMS Equivalents--Serving the Same Purpose as Pain
ECZEMA (or dermatitis)--This includes skin rashes of various sorts. They, too, leave or get much better with TMS healing. |
| Dave |
Posted - 08/19/2013 : 09:22:23
quote:
Originally posted by lia
... if my eczema is TMS too, I also want to fix that. I really want it to go away..
It is possible, but it won't go away if you focus on it.
As a welcome bonus to treating my back pain as TMS, I also rid myself of prostatitis, psoriasis, and hayfever. I actually did not realize this until a year or two after I started with Dr. Sarno. |
| lia |
Posted - 08/18/2013 : 11:01:15
Thank you everyone. I have read Sarno's books and I'm also in the process of reading SteveO's book. His book really helped me realize that I'm suffering from TMS.
I did focus on being happy and just getting back into exercising because I love working out and I felt so much better after doing that. Something I didn't mention is that I was bullied in kindergarten and my mother told me I started getting eczema in first grade. I'm thinking there's a connection between these two but I don't know what to do from there. I have a lot of food allergies and I'm on a really strict diet where I can't eat many foods because it causes my eczema to flare up. Now that the pain is slowly going away, if my eczema is TMS too, I also want to fix that. I really want it to go away..
I've seen a psychologist once but he wasn't much help. All he told me was to be less pessimistic and then I will be much happier. That I know, but of course it's easier said than done. |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 08/18/2013 : 10:28:11
Thanks Plum and Back2-It,
The R-H list I linked to is from the 1970's. It is relative to the culture of that period. Lia sounds like a very intelligent 16 year old (or 18 as she states in her Profile). I'm sure she gets the point that life events contribute to our TMS personalities, filling our reservoirs to overflowing, and resulting in TMS symptoms as defense mechanisms.
Forest, over at the TMS Wiki, I believe is in touch with Dr. Rahe and there's some discussion on updating the list to include more contemporary life situations, (hopefully like losing carefully crafted posts at message boards and internet pissing matches that go on for page after page). Life goes on and some things never change like being born, relationships, death and the in-laws coming over for Christmas.
Ric/NA?, it's disingenuous of you, as a medical professional/writer(?) as you have stated, to pretend not to have knowledge of the R-H Stress Test, especially since you have been critical of it here in your past posts. BUT, this is the internet and who knows what's what or who's who?? Hopefully some folks in pain will derive some relief from helpful and sincere posts such as Plum and Back2-It contribute.
Cheers,
tt/lsmft
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| plum |
Posted - 08/18/2013 : 08:14:04
quote:
Originally posted by NextAdventure
Interesting that this list totally missed moving. This is huge stress for a child when it involves school change and loss of friends.
It also missed bullying and family financial stress which rate higher than many items listed.
And it missed sexual violations and gender identity issues....huge stress for a child.
Who made this list?
Rik, given your credentials why don't you revise this classic and still incredibly relevant and helpful signpost? Be sure to include goat hustling. |
| Back2-It |
Posted - 08/18/2013 : 07:27:34
quote:
Originally posted by NextAdventure
Interesting that this list totally missed moving. This is huge stress for a child when it involves school change and loss of friends.
It also missed bullying and family financial stress which rate higher than many items listed.
And it missed sexual violations and gender identity issues....huge stress for a child.
Who made this list?
As I'm sure you know, NA, from your background, this list was made decades ago. It is the point TT is trying to make, so it is not that "interesting" that those issues you mention are not listed. Common sense can assign a stress number to those issues as well.
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The way to get though this, lia, is to understand that TMS/anxiety is a result of learned behavior, unconscious learned behavior, but behavior none-the-less. That is the good news, because it can be learned and unlearned.
How to go about that?
Counseling by a good counselor who understands TMS/anxiety. If that is not possible, or the counselor does not believe in an emotional cause to physical symptoms, then it sounds like your mother has a good understanding of your situation and why you are suffering physically. Talk to her.
Examine how you react to things, how you have always reacted to things. Have you always been a worrier, have you felt inferior to others, especially because of the eczema, never "fit" into the popular groups or groups you wanted to be in? Have you suffered a loss of a parent, death or divorce? Has a close relative or friend gotten ill or died? Has a best friend or boyfriend broken up with you, or have you started a new relationship? Are you concerned about school and doing well; do you under or over achieve? We can be angry and frustrated about many things from an early age, and it is not really "repressed" in the sense that you don't know. If you or a counselor or your mother examine what you did during certain instances, you should be able to get a better understanding of the behavior that is leading to all the physical symptoms, and when you do you can learn how to behave and act differently
My father used to tell me at your age that I shouldn't be so "negative". I didn't know what he meant at the time, and used to say I was just being "real" and go off and sulk. What he was trying to tell was that my thoughts were influencing my actions and life. From a very early age I had strange physical symptoms like you, but never knew why. You do. That's great!
Your symptoms are classic symptoms of TMS/anxiety. I'm no doctor, but I've observed many of these symptoms on this board and have many myself.
A very good book to read that puts what is happening to you in plain English is "Hope and Help for Your Nerves," by Claire Weekes MD. She was a doctor who had anxiety or, as they called it then, "nervous" illness". I would also suggest you get her CD "Passing through Panic" at the same time. It is good because Weekes tells you again what you have to do to help yourself, but she does it in plain English, and you can tell that she has been there herself.
Maybe you can read and listen with your mother and talk about it.
Another book is by Dr. Sarno, called "The MindBody Prescription".
The way out is to understand what you have -- a TMS/anxiety problem-- and that it is very common, and that you will need to believe this in your heart, face the discomfort while it lasts, and to not be afraid or fear the symptoms. Yes, it is scary, but because you are young, and you already understand this, you are better than 3/4 way to freeing yourself from what this does to you. If you do the work now you will always have to the tools to deal with what your thoughts wrongly tell you.
You'll get there. No question about it. You're on the way just by being here.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
| NextAdventure |
Posted - 08/18/2013 : 06:05:07
Interesting that this list totally missed moving. This is huge stress for a child when it involves school change and loss of friends.
It also missed bullying and family financial stress which rate higher than many items listed.
And it missed sexual violations and gender identity issues....huge stress for a child.
Who made this list? |
| plum |
Posted - 08/18/2013 : 03:14:28
Lia, you are delightfully and beautifully young. To discover the relationship between mind and body at your tender age is a gift.
I would suggest that you don't need to dig around for causes. Think instead on ways to feel good and find pleasure in your life. All will balance out and you will discover skills that will benefit you for a lifetime. I'm sure I speak for most people here when I say I wish I had known about tms when I was young. Take good care and don't worry so much. Hugs x |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 08/17/2013 : 18:07:25
Lia,
Here's the Rahe-Holmes stress test for non-adults, see if you've had life events that are listed. They could be the cause of your TMS symptoms.
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Non-adults[edit source | editbeta]
A modified scale has also been developed for non-adults. Similar to the adult scale, stress points for life events in the past year are added and compared to the rough estimate of how stress affects health.
[citation needed]
Life Event Life Change Units
Death of parent 100
Unplanned pregnancy/abortion 100
Getting married 95
Divorce of parents 90
Acquiring a visible deformity 80
Fathering a child 70
Jail sentence of parent for over one year 70
Marital separation of parents 69
Death of a brother or sister 68
Change in acceptance by peers 67
Unplanned pregnancy of sister 64
Discovery of being an adopted child 63
Marriage of parent to stepparent 63
Death of a close friend 63
Having a visible congenital deformity 62
Serious illness requiring hospitalization 58
Failure of a grade in school 56
Not making an extracurricular activity 55
Hospitalization of a parent 55
Jail sentence of parent for over 30 days 53
Breaking up with boyfriend or girlfriend 53
Beginning to date 51
Suspension from school 50
Becoming involved with drugs or alcohol 50
Birth of a brother or sister 50
Increase in arguments between parents 47
Loss of job by parent 46
Outstanding personal achievement 46
Change in parent's financial status 45
Accepted at college of choice 43
Being a senior in high school 42
Hospitalization of a sibling 41
Increased absence of parent from home 38
Brother or sister leaving home 37
Addition of third adult to family 34
Becoming a full fledged member of a church 31
Decrease in arguments between parents 27
Decrease in arguments with parents 26
Mother or father beginning work 26
Score of 300+: At risk of illness.
Score of 150-299: Risk of illness is moderate. (reduced by 30% from the above risk)
Score <150: Slight risk of illness.
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