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scottjmurray
266 Posts |
 Posted - 03/18/2008 : 13:55:30
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I actually picked up this concept from the field of interpersonal social dynamics, but I think that some of you might find it helpful. You should be doing this in combination with insight-oriented therapy. This would be the behavioral modification side of TMS recovery.
Whenever you're interacting with another person, one "frame" is dominant. If I say "your shirt totally sucks, where did you get that anyway, the side of the road?" then I am attempting to set up a frame for you to jump into. You can play into this frame in two ways, 1) by getting defensive (demonstrating emotional reactivity and 2) by attaching yourself to my comment in any way. If you respond with "shut up, my shirt is awesome I got it at Eddie Bauer" you are playing into my little frame game by becoming emotionally reactive to what I said. Some part of my comment hit home with you, poured lemon juice on some internal wound of yours, and so you snapped back at me. If you said "yeah, you're right usually I'm dressed better" you also played into my frame because you accepted what I said.
These sort of frame games happen internally as well. My theory is that most of our emotional problems (the ones not stemming from hardcore abuse anyway) are caused by us internalizing these negative frames. If you're suffering from TMS, that means that your subconscious is winning a frame battle against you. In order to get the process to stop, you need to make YOUR frame dominant. You have to beat the following frame games:
1. Physical / other causes of TMS. This plays into the framework that there is something actually wrong with you.
2. Worrying and obsessing about TMS in any way.
3. Worrying incessantly about solving emotional issues in order to "beat" TMS.
4. Basically anything that takes you out of your reality and gets you sucked into thinking about your TMS.
I know that I sure as hell wasn't familiar with the concept of controlling my own brain when I got into this TMS recovery thing. I was used to letting my emotions, my fears, my anxieties and every single illogical thought in my head reign over my life. What I've learned now is that my frame is constantly being attacked by these ridiculous influences, TMS constructs being just one of them.
So every time you catch yourself worrying about TMS, thinking physical, or trying to force out some emotional issue, stop yourself. You're giving up your frame. Hold onto your reality.
Author of tms-recovery.com
A collection of articles on emotions, lifestyle changes, and TMS theory. |
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scottjmurray
266 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 14:00:49
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I had another thought.
It seems like a lot of us want someone to swoop in and save us from TMS and our mental problems. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen because getting over TMS and all this stuff means learning how to seize control of your brain. It's going to be YOU thats going to make TMS stop. No one is going to do it for you.
Frame control... it's all you.
Author of tms-recovery.com
A collection of articles on emotions, lifestyle changes, and TMS theory. |
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johnaccardi
USA
182 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 15:25:29
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| Wow, this is cool. I like this mindset and I believe it to be true. One thought about this: Could the Frame control mindset become an intruding frame over time? I mean, at first this helps us to realize that we are being taken psychologically by something that simply doesn't hold any water and it snaps us back into reality. But, eventually I would think we must just live without putting so much effort into effort, if you know what I mean. |
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johnaccardi
USA
182 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 15:28:06
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| Wow, this is cool. I like this mindset and I believe it to be true. One thought about this: Could the Frame control mindset become an intruding frame over time? I mean, at first this helps us to realize that we are being taken psychologically by something that simply doesn't hold any water and it snaps us back into reality. But, eventually I would think we must just live without putting so much effort into effort, if you know what I mean. |
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stanfr
USA
268 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 18:55:41
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| fine and dandy, Scott, but your missing the punchline: how was one to respond to your hypothetical remark? Ignoring it is just another form of response. |
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scottjmurray
266 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 20:01:24
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stan - Uh
John - I don't know. I know that you can take it wayyy to far (which I've done in the past) and try to control absolutely EVERYTHING that pops into your head because you get on this power trip kinda... the thing is you need to find that anchoring frame that you have inside you, and stay in that one. This is really nebulous so I'm having trouble figuring out a way to describe it.
I'd always find my brain drifting off into stuff like "omg what if I get TMSed right now doing this homework, I know homework is stressful, stress=anger, omg that scares me, should I start thinking about anger now? should I be angry? ah f#($ it hurts now" and so on. All that stuff was just the frame my subconscious needed in order to continue the process. That's not MY frame. My frame is me, chilling out, being with whatever emotions I'm naturally having, pursuing things that interest me, just being myself. So I ignore the TMS frame, and focus on being in MY frame. I'd then tell my brain something like "you're not taking my frame." Then I'd go back to my normal reality.
I do this with those annoying personality traits that TMS people have too. It I feel the neurotic urge to supplicate to the interests of someone else to try to please them because I'm feeling down about myself, that's a frame-jack too. I do my level best not to play into that frame, mostly by standing flesh up against it (in my head) and telling it something like "you are an old frame based on beliefs I no longer have. You aren't taking my frame."
This is good stuff. This is how people change.
Author of tms-recovery.com
A collection of articles on emotions, lifestyle changes, and TMS theory. |
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johnaccardi
USA
182 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2008 : 11:11:34
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| I see what you mean. Very good. I'll give it a try. |
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Avenger
9 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2008 : 20:49:53
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Guys, just passing by after spending a long period being a silent ghost here in the forum for a long time. I've well reached the 90% TMS is done and over phase. People might have skipped this one, but I think scottjmurray is really onto something. I'm starting to think this is the missing link in TMS. You people better not ignore this frame concept.
Lately, there is a debate here in the forum whether TMS is just another word for sheer anxiety, which I myself started to lean towards that explanation, but then again I thought, wait, what about the symptom imperative?! isn't it like total proof that this anxiety thing is bogus?? Well, no. This anxiety feeling is taking over our bodies, but a person needs to differentiate between mere emotions and when the distraction thing takes its course. I see someone else here noticed the same thing as I did, so the symptom imperative do exists. My end conclusion is that the TMS distraction thing was right after all, but it has an anxiety element to it, since we possess the T type personality traits which includes worry and fear of all sorts, so, both theories are correct.
How would one begin treating the disorder? Following the classic Sarno path of understanding it's just a diversion of the unconscious while digging up emotions and treating yourself to overpower anxiety.
Great concept scott. |
Edited by - Avenger on 03/28/2008 20:56:07 |
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Using the concept of frame to battle TMS
