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yogurtbacteria

USA
10 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2007 :  19:27:07  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hello all!

I'm a several-year sufferer of TMS. I started having back problems in mid-2004. I've had them ever since, in varying degrees, and had a fair amount of mostly ineffectual physical therapy. I self-diagnosed myself with TMS in 2006, and cured a bad case of carpal tunnel within weeks, but my back remained stubborn and I forgot about TMS after a while.

Recently, I've had a relapse, a couple of nights where my back pain was enough that I had trouble sleeping, and I took The Mindbody Prescription off of the bookshelf. It seems to be helping, but I'm still in a fair bit of pain. I've been thinking about the causes as much as possible to try to figure them out, and had some success. Aside from being EXTREMELY perfectionist and goodist, I started to have symptoms in 2004 around the same time a relationship with a long term girlfriend began to fall apart. More recently, my college workload has spiked significantly, and I've gone through another break-up. So I've been very stressed.

My back presently hates me.

So that's my story. I've never before gone on a forum or message board of any type for TMS. Or had any significant contact with others who've had it. So this is a first for me. I have a few questions for everyone:

First: do you journal about anything other than the things that have been stressing you out? If there are things besides possible causes that you journal about, what are they?

Second: How do you know if you're making progress? Most of the stories I've heard have seemed to be about people suddenly being "epiphany'd", and feeling all or most of the way better. Is it always that way or is it sometimes more gradual?

Third: How do you find the balance between pushing yourself to do the physical things you used to do so you get better and not going too fast for yourself?

Any other pointers anyone has are welcome. My only sources of reading material on TMS at the moment are The Mindbody Prescription and Mind Over Back Pain.

sensei adam rostocki

USA
167 Posts

Posted - 04/07/2007 :  21:12:43  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi Yogurtbacteria, You ask a series of questions which have all been the topic of recent discussion here in the past few weeks.

* First off, the people who have sudden “miracle” cures from reading books are in the minority, not the general rule. Of course you hear about them often because of the dramatic end to their pain. It is all of our hopes and dreams to be like them…


* Feeling stressed can be a contributor to symptoms, but don’t forget the main cause is repressed unconscious emotions and issues. These things do not come and go from your life as much as conscious stressors. Their effects simply are more prevalent sometimes than others…


* Journaling can be about anything on your mind. Train of thought writing can help, but only if it gets you to the point of digging into your less explored subconscious. This is where the issues generating your pain reside and this is where you must go if you are going to beat the pain. It is a process of discovery, acceptance and resolution…

* To quote some of my best instructors, Balance is important in ALL things. How do you know you are doing too much or too little? You make some mistakes and do some things right. The process teaches you about the process. You will stumble when it is new to you, but like all things will get easier with time. Experiment with your limits, but push a little farther each day. This is key…

I hope this gets you off to a good start. My best to you. Sincerely, Sensei


CURE-BACK-PAIN(dot)ORG
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mizlorinj

USA
490 Posts

Posted - 04/09/2007 :  10:01:59  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi. I had a relatively quick recovery from debilitating back/butt pain after a visit with Dr. . Get recurrence once in awhile when things come up in life, but it's always short-lived and the pain disappears rather quickly.
I journaled not only on current things, but past hurts or events that bothered me. Childhood things that I had not forgotten that occasionally creep up when something happens that reminds me of that event. I would say that is current events that bring up "emotional trash" from the past. Did A LOT of writing--started with the incident at the top of the paper and then blasted out all my feelings about it. I found it helpful to put reasonable expectations after that--like I expect that this event hurt me, but it was the past, I cannot change that it happened, and I am ready to heal it and move on. Sometimes I got to the point where I wrote that I forgive this person, but not completly forgetting is a protection for me.
I recommend getting The Divided Mind, Dr. Sarno's latest book. His treatment plan is outlined in that book. It also mentions other things than "current events" that could be causing your reservoir to be overflowing thus causing pain. And a lot of doctors who have experienced treating TMS patients.
I slowly started physical activity again and can now pretty much do anything. But it was slow going at first.
Best wishes,
Lori
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Wavy Soul

USA
779 Posts

Posted - 04/09/2007 :  23:42:37  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hey YB,

I can't top what was said above - quite brilliant.

But I had to say hi, because your name is a killer! How on earth did your parents think of calling you that?

xx

Love is the answer, whatever the question
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