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art
1903 Posts |
 Posted - 03/05/2006 : 06:27:24
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I've come so far with respect to the way I think about my own body, as well as my own thought processes (another aspect of the disease for me), that I'm almost a different person.
Alas, this TMS stuff can be one formidable foe. Seemingly out of the blue I can get some weird symptom, and despite all my experience with this, I get sucked right back in. Last night it was some weird vision symptom, a symptom I couldn't even describe very well, just some vague, weird, TMS'ish presentiment that something was wrong with the way I was seeing..
This is so transparently TMS it's not even funny, and yet I still couldn't help wasting valuable time out of my life to worry needlessly. Sometimes, despite all the determination in the world, this thing just wrestles me to a standstill..
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Scottydog
United Kingdom
330 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 07:32:20
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Art, you sound like a different person now - so calm and worldly wise. You used to be so spiky.
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AriG00
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 11:53:24
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Hi Art, I'm new to this forum. I wanted to touch on your comment
on you being in a standstill. I am in the process (2nd week) of the method and every day I get better. I have combined the "relaxation response" that herbert benson came to discover with the sarno methods, the act of breathing deeply and relaxing your body helps to reduce pain substaincially, it doesn't cure it but Sarno's does cure it, now both together have been a great help for me in keeping on towards getting better and better and never looking back.
I would suggest that, or grab some books on worrying and there are books patients have reccomended on the forums too that could helpful, because the standstill itself is completely related to the way you think and that can always be changed. Anyway I think meditation is a great way to double the effects of Dr. Sarno's therapy.
quote:
Originally posted by art
I've come so far with respect to the way I think about my own body, as well as my own thought processes (another aspect of the disease for me), that I'm almost a different person.
Alas, this TMS stuff can be one formidable foe. Seemingly out of the blue I can get some weird symptom, and despite all my experience with this, I get sucked right back in. Last night it was some weird vision symptom, a symptom I couldn't even describe very well, just some vague, weird, TMS'ish presentiment that something was wrong with the way I was seeing..
This is so transparently TMS it's not even funny, and yet I still couldn't help wasting valuable time out of my life to worry needlessly. Sometimes, despite all the determination in the world, this thing just wrestles me to a standstill..
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Tunza
New Zealand
198 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 12:07:10
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Hi Art,
I used to work at an Optometrist (not sure if that's what they're called in the U.S. - but anyway, an eye doctor) and I know from what I saw there that ANY weird new eye symptom should be checked out IMMEDIATELY because if you get a "detached retina" you can be blinded in that eye for life. It doesn't just happen from a knock to the head, it can happen spontaneously.
It may well be that what you have is TMS but I'm writing this so that others who have never heard of detached retinas can just be aware. If you get symptoms of a detached retina (Google it because I don't want to go on and on sounding like a scaremonger) you should go straight to a doctor, don't wait even a few hours.
Phew, can get off my wee soapbox now.
Tunza (almost signed off by mistake as Tuna - that wouldn't made my whole post sound a bit fishy wouldn't it?) |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 15:55:59
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Hi Scotty,
I had to laugh. Don't let the pose fool you. I still have my "spiky" moments.
Still, there's no doubt that my understanding of this stuff has deepened in the last few months. I think I've mentioned it before here, but I suppose I can be forgiven for repeating myself. I think it was Andrew Weil who wrote that one cannot hope to overcome chronic illness without changing as a person. We simply cannot separate illness from the way we interact with the world. God knows I'm only taking the first few baby steps, but at least it's a start.
Tunza, thanks for the concern. I've actually had a detached retina a few years ago. The symptoms included flashes of light and many floaters. This is quite different. Still, if it persists, I will get it checked out. The key for me is not to *worry* about it. If by some weird chance it is something real, I'll attend to it. But at all costs I'm determined to not indulge the needless, senseless anxiety of the past. Fear and worry were for me a kind of black hole, gobbling up everything of value in my life, until I finally got sick.
For me, the first step toward recovery is to overcome the fear. I hope that when my time to die arrives, I'll be able to meet that moment with courage and acceptance.
Arigoo, I'm a fan of Herbert Benson too. It turns out I'm a terrible meditator, but I do go to the breathing thing to cut short all those needless, obssessive thoughts and fears... |
Edited by - art on 03/05/2006 16:00:32 |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2006 : 23:01:03
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| Art--You're so right about how fear can be so damaging and so very hard to ignore. But it seems you have made great strides in that direction. I have been trying to do the same lately with some success. It seems it is possible to successfully engage fear in two very different ways: actively fight it by getting angry at it, refusing to think about it (thought stopping) or viewing it as a challenge. Or, one can simply surrender to the fear; accept it, make peace with it. I've been trying both methods. Still, there is no denying that this is an ongoing process; battle after daily battle with no end of war in sight. |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2006 : 05:03:04
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I like the more aggressive approach wrld, I find myself getting all bollixed up when I try accepting the fear..I do much better fighting it, and especially like the "viewing it as a challenge" strategy...
But then again, sometimes the only thing that works for me is the breathing thing...When I find myself all boxed in by my own thoughts, simply disengaging by focusing on my breath is a great technique
I think it's probably best to have a whole arsenal of weapons because I've definitely found that what works one day may not work as well the next.. |
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marytabby
USA
545 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2006 : 11:11:57
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Art,
I had weird eye stuff at one time. It was chronic dry eye. From that I got lightheadedness which the doc prescribed some motion sickness meds. It's crazy how we go in circles like a dog chasing its tail.
Chances are you are right, it's TMS and nothing else would behave like this. It's TMS on the run as we say. Keep ahead of it. Try to take it for what it is. I still have things crop up that are strange and I know for a fact it's TMS especially when it comes and goes. |
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Plantweed
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2006 : 13:06:48
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Open question: when you accepted TMS and started working on yourself did you get shaken up or easily upset? I've been feeling very loopy from thinking about the techniques all day, feeling very vulnerable, just not feeling like my usual confident, calm self. Is it the subconcious working itself out? I have noticed my pain ebbs and flows from my lower back to new areas like my midback and the top of my foot since I started Friday. Maybe I'm thinking too much?? Help!  |
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TMS is a clever rascal
