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lobstershack
Australia
250 Posts |
 Posted - 08/29/2005 : 16:00:56
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Those who healed their TMS without the knowledge of Sarno, exactly what was your approach. This has always intrigued me...
Seth |
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Calvin
USA
46 Posts |
Posted - 08/29/2005 : 20:16:44
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I didn't hear about Sarno until last year.
I can definitely remember one thing when I was growing up. My older brother (by two years) was always sick - but not really sick, if you know what I mean. There always seemed to be something wrong with him, either his back, his stomach, whatever. He got tons of attention from my parents. I was a quiet kid and really hated the attention he would get from his "illnesses", and repeatedly told myself that I'd never have these aches and pains he was having. Not that I thought he was a weakling or anything, quite the contrary. He was a big guy and I was the skinny nerd. But I think I conditioned myself early on, because I can say that in my 41 years I've never, EVER had a back problem. Oh sure, I've twisted awkwardly and such and have had normal aches, but they always went away.
It wasn't until last year when I really made a connection - I had gone on a trip with my inlaws, it was the most stressful thing I have ever gone through. Soon after I returned home, I developed a rash of problems - went to the doc and he said I had diverticulitis, needed a colonoscopy - all this was done and found nothing. Then I developed horrible skin infections - which were surgically treated. When I look back on that, I know for certain that was TMS.
I always believed there was a mind/body connection - then I heard about Sarno and got all his books and absorbed and learned more. Right now I'm going through some rough pain from a vasectomy I had about 5 weeks ago, but I'm pretty sure this is TMS related due to the fact that I'm hypersensitive to any negative stories I'll read about anything I think I may have.
One weird thing is that I do NOT repress my emotions. I show my anxiety, depression, anger. When I think about it, that could be the reason why I rarely have any physical pain, I don't hide how I feel. I'm quite the emotional male. But the trip, I did hide how I felt, I was so angry about how badly the trip went, but I kept it inside. Now it all made sense. |
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n/a
374 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2005 : 02:52:46
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Seth, can you elaborate a bit? Do you mean people who post here who have got better before they read Dr Sarno's work?
I strongly suspected what was going on with my back pain and was actively looking for confirmation. That is how I found out about TMS - during an internet search - 'Back pain psychological causes', is what I think I googled - that is where I found out about TMS.
Possibly, I would have recovered without knowledge of Sarno, I'll never know now; certainly, it would have been much more difficult. He gave what I experienced a name, reading his book was like reading about myself. I drove my car for the first time in seven months the evening after I read 'The Mindbody Prescription', - although I have had setbacks along the way, but I was never as ill again. |
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lobstershack
Australia
250 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2005 : 17:31:01
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Exactly Anne. How those who recovered without the help or knowledge of Sarno. I thought this information might provide some additional perspective on the TMS treatment. Many thanks for your replies.
Seth |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2005 : 07:47:49
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quote:
I strongly suspected what was going on with my back pain and was actively looking for confirmation. That is how I found out about TMS - during an internet search - 'Back pain psychological causes', is what I think I googled - that is where I found out about TMS.
That was quite perceptive of you Anne, at least a couple steps ahead of me...But...as soon as I was given a Sarno book a light went on. I'm a very skeptical, "show me" kind of person, but somehow I had the strong sense that this guy was onto something. |
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Bonnie
Canada
33 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2005 : 12:57:18
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Hi, Bonnie here,
I knew for a long time before I read Sarno that something was not adding up but I couldn't find anyone to help me. I knew that there were times when I should logically have had pain and I didn't, and other times when for no darned reason at all that I could figure out there they were. And I began to have allergies to things that had never bothered me before and the the longer it went on the worse it got and everything I did seemed to set off a reaction and I was terrified.
It was the fact that things that had once worked for me no longer did that frightened me the most and I was at my wit's end. I found mention of Dr. Sarno on Dr. Weil's website and as soon as I read his book I stopped going to the chiropractor, the acupuncurist and the massage therapist for the Fibro, I'd already tapered off the meds, antidepressants etc. because I knew they didn't work and never had but I coulnd't find any doctors who would believe in me.
I've been reading a good book called Awakening Intuition, by Dr. Mona Lisa Schultz, and I think my intuition had been trying to get me to wake up to reality for years. It finally took severe pain and fear to make me believe in myself and stop relying on other people and mainstream medicine for everything. The medical establishment has its place for some things but I found no help there for someone who knew deep down that things were not working for her/him.
I didn't heal my pain by myself but I knew that there were things that I could do to make it better. I had to keep up the walking and exercise no matter how bad it felt because if I didn't it felt worse and I had to stay away from certain people and I really needed to stand up for myself and express my emotions rather than stuff them away, these things I knew before I read Sarno's book. And I finally found a good therapist who helped me dig deep enough and gave me the freedom to remember and express the abuse that caused my PTSD in the first place.
That freed up a lot of space for other things and allowed me to let it go and focus on the things that were bothering me in the here and now.
I still have a problem with being influenced by other people's negativity and disbelief but I'm getting a lot stronger and there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for finding that book and for this website.
I think a lot of people know intuitively that there is a better way and they've been looking for years, it's not our fault that there is very little support or even understanding of what the mind can do.
B. |
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lobstershack
Australia
250 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2005 : 20:24:27
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Merci beaucoup pour vos réponses!
Part of the reason I ask is because--and I'm trying to change this--I found myself becoming a Sarno zealot of sorts. Now I recognize that there is nothing wrong with this, the wonderful man has helped countless individuals, and without his codification of the now TMS theories most of us probably would not be here. But I must admit, I sometimes find myself uncomfortable with putting my trust in one individual.
Thinking about what I just wrote I understand that many have written about the mind body connection--the emotional causation of physical pain to be more exact--just not in such a clear cut fashion as Sarno. But can you understand what I'm saying.
I am beginning to understand now that the approach I was taking to treating my TMS was not the correct one, it had become an obsession. I was constantly repeating in my head, tms, tms, sarno says this, sarno says that, tms, tms. And discussing it with my therapist I'm always quoting Sarno. Is there any other way I can talk about it--internally, during self-talk, or externally, to my therapist or parents for instance--that doesn't bring up Sarno? It's hard to articulate why I would want this. It's not because I don't believe in Sarno, I do. Sometimes though I can't help but feel like I'm part of the cult of Sarno.
I mean, okay, fine, I bought some pimple cream the other day. I know that the mild acne I have is probably emotionally related, but I did want something--a "spot treatment" to be exact--to help clear up with I already had. And the fact that I started a new antidepressant. Do I really need to adhere to such a strict set of practices in order to let TMS theory work for me?
Do I even have to call it TMS? I suppose I can call it anything I please, although for all intents and purposes, TMS, when posting on this board, is the most practical of names.
Do these realizations I'm coming to signify that maybe I'm beginning to realize that life need not be lived so rigidly? That things do not always need to be followed to a T?
Seth |
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n/a
374 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2005 : 01:58:28
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I know exactly what you mean about obsessing, Seth. TMS and Sarno was just about all I thought about for a while. It lessened and became a healthy part of my life as time went on.
A book that you might like to look at some time is, 'From Paralysis To Fatigue' by Edward Shorter. It gives a history of psychosomatic illnesses through the ages. It really lets you know just how widespread this problem is and has been throughout the ages. It's not a self-help book, but it might help you get the obsessions under control. If I can quote one of the extracts from a review of this book -
"When people complain about their bodies it often reflects the state of their minds. This book is easily the best account of the behavior of both patients and physicians with respect to psychosomatic complaints." -
Harold Meskey, DM., Aothor of Analysis of Hysteria
It's quite a scholarly book, but well worth the effort, I found.
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celestica
Canada
38 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2005 : 17:28:44
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HI Seth,
I got better w/o knowing about Sarno directly. I read something by Dr. Weil who was writing about a NY doctor who said back pain is emotional. I didn't find out who he was or read his work. I was totally skeptical but not happy about spending my hard earned money (as a student) at the Chiropractor's. So out of curiosity I asked the secretary how often my back "went out". She looked at the records and said it was twice a year during December and May. Well a lightbulb went off in my head as that is EXAM TIME and when all the major papers are due. D-oh! So I just started saying "what's wrong that I'm not talking about?" when my back hurt and it did not come back for 3 years.
Amelia |
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A long, long time ago...
