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Kyle M.
24 Posts |
 Posted - 07/18/2011 : 01:55:50
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Hi, everyone. I'm hoping some people here can help me, either to believe that I do have TMS or that perhaps I'm just unlucky and to just accept my lot in life already. Hoping for the former.
To start, I'm a 29-year-old man who's been having a bit of bad luck for the past year. Some quick history that I feel may be relevant: I've had moderate obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) for about ten years, as well as having a history of suffering from urinary tract infections (UTI) on occasion (around one to two a year) for most of my adult life, which is extremely rare for a male, especially one as sexually inactive as I am. The week before any of this started I was to go on a trip with my mother that I really didn't want to go on, but felt I owed it to her, having recently having to move back in with my parents. My father also retired around this same time, further complicating my situation.
Now, for the more pertinent information in regards to this post: Some time around late July or early August, I somehow injured my knee (the week I was to leave on the trip with my mother). I'm a frequent exerciser and was an occasional jogger back then, who had experienced some aches and pains before, but nothing as ever debilitating as this. After a thirty-minute run, my right knee became swollen and stiff, and somewhat warm to the touch. Not much pain, though. I saw a couple of general physicians, but none of them thought it was anything serious. I became pretty worried about it, however, because it was noticeably larger than my left knee, and I also would occasionally experience tingling in my right foot, for which I feared was due to a lack of circulation.
In the midst of this, I developed at UTI. I wasn't too worried at first, as a week of Ciprofloxocin would usually clear it up. Did the normal course, and felt okay. Then it came back a couple of days later. Went through another course of antibiotics, still felt the symptoms were with me and getting worse, and ended up in the hospital. I was told that all tests came back negative, but that I should see a urologist, not only because of my current symptoms, but also because UTIs were extremely rare in men, especially one my age (my primary care physician had never thought to share this relatively common knowledge with me).
At this point, my knee became of secondary importance to me, as the burning sensation and frequent urge to urinate began to consume my life. Still no improvement in the knee's symptoms, however.
Long story short, I saw a urologist, was diagnosed with prostatitis, put on long doses on some of the most potent antibiotics known to man (1000mg of Cipro for two months; 500mg of Doxycycline for two months; etc.) with no clear results, along with a plethora of smooth muscle relaxants and weak bladder medications, all with no effect on my symptoms. I was given a CT scan with nothing abnormal showing, along with two cystoscopies (they put a scope where no scope should be put), one awake (fun!) and one under anesthesia, both coming back showing absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. I was also given more prostate checks than a seventy-year-old man at high risk for cancer. Nothing.
At this point, I decided to redirect my attention to my knee, thinking that maybe the prostititis was related to weakening stomach muscle, having read several books by this point suggesting as much. I'd been as active as I could during this time, but my nightly walks and three-times-a-week runs had, of course, been cut out of my exercise routine due to the knee injury. So I switched from seeing urologists on a weekly basis to orthopedic surgeons.
Pretty much more of the same here. I think I saw about four orthopedics (as compared to five urologists), all of whom, after countless x-rays and MRIs, told me they could find nothing wrong. All I was really given were some exercise and stretching instructional sheets for rehabilitation at home and an acknowledgment that if I didn't improve they could offer me a script for physical therapy.
The last orthopedic surgeon I saw, however, said that although the MRI didn't show any tears, it could nevertheless be a hidden tear of my meniscus. Wanting to try something less invasive than surgery first, however, he gave me a cortisone injection (despite my lack of pain; only swelling and stiffness were present) and a script for PT.
I endured about two months of PT, all the while still dealing with my prostatitis symptoms, to no avail. The orthopedic surgeon, to his credit, really didn't want to perform surgery, but I was sick of suffering from two things at once, and I insisted.
On December 12, 2010, I underwent arthroscopic surgery of my right knee, and a minor tear was indeed found. I was at first overjoyed, thinking that finally I could be on the mend, and that, if nothing else, I could at least start running again in a few months. I went through PT again, diligently doing all the exercises I was instructed to do, both at the center and at home, and within a few weeks, I was cut loose, told I would soon be as good as new.
I didn't really seem to be healing, however, and I quickly became that much more depressed. On January 12, 2011, I decided to listen to some music on my Bose sound system. This, as it turns out, would be the biggest mistake I've perhaps ever made in my short life.
Letting my emotions get the better of me, I clearly had the volume turned up too loudly. For 49:10 (I know because I haven't touched the track list since) I listened to tracks ranging from classical to hard rock (I finally stopped it after listening to Smashing Pumpkins' "Disarm"). Now, I don't recall the music ever hurting my ears, but after turning it off I do remember thinking to myself, Yeah, that was too loud. I'm never going to do that again. For the rest of the night, however, I was very paranoid about whether I may have damaged my hearing or not, especially that of my left ear, it being the closer to my speakers the way I have them set up.
The next morning, still paranoid and practically searching for something amiss, I noticed the slight tone or hiss in my ear, and it's been there ever since. Once again, the battery of tests began anew, exchanging urolgists and orthopedists this time for ear, nose, and throat doctors and otologists. A few days after the incident, I passed a hearing test up to 12KHz, told my hearing was better than most, and to ignore the ringing, and it should go away soon. In addition to the ringing, though, I've also had to endure this horrible fullness sensation, one that I can sometimes get to "pop" by flexing muscles I didn't even know I had, but this "popping" only leaves me with temporary relief (a few seconds to a few minutes at best).
As I said before, these symptoms have really ruined my life. I long to go back to the days of knee stiffness and prostititis now, like they were some sort of nostalgic, halcyon days from my youth. Practially overnight, I turned from being chronically annoyed by old symptoms into a manically depressed, weeping mess for about a month straight, unable to eat or sleep, and becoming increasingly paranoid of sound. And while I've improved a bit over the past six months in terms of demeanor, I'm still an overall hopeless wreck. However, it is interesting to note that about two weeks after the onset of my new ear symptoms, my prostititis symptoms all but completely vanished, and I consider myself cured of them today, and my OCD tendencies have dropped considerably.
Regardless, desperate for a solution to the tinnitus and other ear symptoms, I began looking into all manner of things. I discovered tinnitus retraining therapy (for which I absolutely do not have the money, unfortunately) and the the website www.tinnitus.org, maintained by otologist Dr. Johnathan Hazell. Reading his site, I became intrigued and Googled the terms "Tinnitus" and "Psychosomatic." And that's how I discovered Dr. Sarno and the book The Divided Mind.
I've now read TDM twice, back-to-back, and I sincerely do want to believe what he has to say in there applies to my tinnitus and other ear symptoms. I pray to God that it does. But it's hard.
For one thing, there's a lot misinformation out there about tinnitus. I've essentially reached the conclusion that no one really knows what the heck causes it. Unfortunately, though, a lot of doctors and other folks firmly believe that it's always due to damage of a sort. Indeed, I can safely say now that one of my biggest mistakes early on was joining a supposed tinnitus "support" message board, to which I would later find Dr. Hazell refers to as "moaning clubs." I'm inclined to agree with him now, but I fear the damage of reading so much suffering in the name of supposed "support" has already done a long-term number on my psyche.
For another, though, I've becoming extremely aware of my hearing now, still paranoid about loud, or perhaps merely perceived as loud sounds, such as closing doors and clanging dishes. So much so, in fact, that I haven't ventured outside of my parents' home for the six months I've been suffering from my tinnitus outside of doctor opponents. It's a nightmare; I've literally become a prisoner in my own room.
Anyway, during all of this, my knee did seem to be improving, so I decided to test out Dr. Sarno's theory directly and began running again a couple of weeks ago. And in regards to my tinnitus, I hoped the exposure to the outdoors would help me to get over my fear of sounds a bit. No dice, as unfortunately my knee has again swelled up and become stiff, and I can now safely say with absolute certainty that the surgery I had was of no benefit whatsoever; my knee is no better than it was before the surgery.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I'm really desperate and depressed these days, guys. One of my favorite pastimes used to be running while listening to music, and I fear that I'll never be able to do either again comfortably, even independently of one another (and I cry as I type those words). I used to be this athletic, invincible guy, and now I limp to my room at 3AM and cry myself to sleep with this stupid hiss in my ear/head and feeling of pressure in my ear.
I guess I'm looking for encouragement more than anything else, but I have a few questions to ask, too, before I go:1. I've searched the boards and realize that tinnitus is a pretty common symptom among the group, but how many of you have had it pop up out of virtually nowhere as opposed to after a round of loud noise? The thing that's throwing me off is that, being so obsessed with my hearing now, I realize that my left ear isn't as good as my right ear. At first I thought this had to be due to the loud music, but then I discovered that my mother has the same dip (we both can't hear a certain frequency of crickets) in her left ear. And since I didn't notice the difference until after two months into my "bout" with my tinnitus, I'm thinking there is a very good chance that this difference has always been here. But it's hard to believe this is a benign phenomenon that I may have always had, given my exposure to the loud music predating my noticing of it.
2. Anyone with tinnitus have it in there head, too, or just in there ear? Mine seems to jump back and forth, and is usually worse in the head after exercising. Also, the fact that it's only in my one ear seems to maybe confirm that something is damaged, or could that just be because it's the ear I'm more worried about being damaged? My right ear does sometimes ring, too, but not nearly as chronically.
3. Has anyone successfully managed to overcome their tinnitus through TMS practice? Did you have a hearing loss? I've read the member "Fox's" experiences, and they're inspiring, but I'm hoping for more.
4. What about ear fullness/tightness/clogged sensation and mild pain? Has anyone ever overcome this through the belief of TMS? My current otologist says I might have what he calls "hydrops" and has given me two diuretics now to treat it. The first one, after three weeks, did nothing. I just started this newest one last night, though, after giving Dr. Sarno's method a couple of moths first (and Dr. Hazell, too, suggested in an e-mail to me that it could be something called "tensor tympani syndrome," which will usually go away on its own once one relaxes. Sound familiar?).
5. As for my knee, I also happen to know there are a fair number of runners on the board, so perhaps someone has an alternate idea of what could be wrong with it. Like I said, I have virtually no pain, except when I run on it, but it's swollen (it's almost like a muscle is bulging on the outside, next to the knee cap) and extremely stiff. I looked into iliotibial band syndrome, and it sounds plausible, but then I found that Dr. Sarno chalks this one up to TMS, too. That kind of got me down, because I honestly wasn't worried about my knee at all while running, but it swelled up and became stiff again anyway, so I thought the knee must not be TMS after all. Now I'm just more confused over the whole situation. I really want to believe the TMS diagnosis applies to all my ailments. In retrospect, clearly it applied to my prostatitis, but I know Dr. Sarno says in TDM that sometimes symptoms of real problems can serve as a distraction as well, and believe me, nothing has ruined my life more over the past year than this tinnitus has. I really do feel absolutely hopeless, and at times, suicidal over it. It's not just the loss of silence, but the loss of so many things I used to enjoy without worry, like eating out at a noisy restaurant, listening to music, and going to the movies. I can't even talk on the phone anymore without being paranoid. I've never had much luck in love, but now I think, How could anyone want someone like this?
Anyway, if anyone bothered to read all of this, I appreciate it, as well as any response you can give me. Again, I desperately want to believe the TMS diagnosis, but it's difficult. I've got my mother reading the book now, but she's an absolute skeptic over the whole, instead dead-set on wanting me to try a bunch of supplements to treat the tinnitus (ie, snake-oil). Meanwhile, my father, who I've merely told about the book, believes it wholeheartedly, having been of the belief for some time now that I'm too temperamental and always in my head over-thinking things. I don't know who to listen to, I guess.
If it is TMS, though, it's just stupid. I was depressed before, given my having to move back in with my parents due to unemployment, but now how am I supposed to dig myself out of this hole, brain? I mean, now I'm downright suicidal and a shut-in. And that's a protective measure, supposedly? Ugh. |
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golden_girl
United Kingdom
128 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2011 : 09:21:26
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Wow Kyle that's a long ole list of symptoms! The major thing I would point out is, nowhere in the 3000 words did you talk about your emotions!
At the beginning you mentioned the UTIs began when going on a trip with your mother, moving back in with your parents, and your father retiring. And right at the end, you mention unemployment, and moving back into with your parents. Nowhere, however, do you mention how you FELT about this, what THOUGHTS you had, WHY this might be causing you stress!
(Incidentally, I'm a 29 year old woman - it's the big 3-0 for us next! I also have UTI-TMS, AND it began when I moved back in with my parents and my father retired!)
So, I would simply start with forgetting the ins and outs of your symptoms and tests and endless doctor visits, and look at how you felt when these symptoms were all kicking off. How did you feel when you had to move in with your parents? How do you feel about your parents? How was your life going before all this started? (I know you mention about how you feel about your symptoms, but how do you feel about yourself and your life?)
Tennis Tom likes to point out the Holmes and Rahe stress scale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale which gives you an idea of how external events may have added to your stress. From what you've said, quite a few of the events in your life are up there!
So, that would be my advice! Look now at your feelings and thoughts on what was going on in your life, and try not to get too bogged down in the: I had this, they said that, does this mean this - ie, think psychological!
Hope that helps Kyle! Best of luck! 
"F.E.A.R.
Forgive Everyone And Remember
For Everything A Reason"
Ian Brown |
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Back2-It
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2011 : 09:38:08
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quote:
Hi, everyone. I'm hoping some people here can help me, either to believe that I do have TMS or that perhaps I'm just unlucky and to just accept my lot in life already. Hoping for the former.
Your story has TMS/anxiety/depression written all over it. I should know LOL.
The only way to dig your way out of this is to change your thinking. And it won't be easy, in that you've taken 29 years to get it to where it's at. But it can be done. Read the success stories on here. You will see that people with horrible problems are now pain free. Have you read Healing Back Pain or The Mind-Body Prescription? I think they are more personal than The Divided Mind, which seems to be more for the academics than normal, anxiety prone, worried, depressed, pain-suffering folks. 
I have only shown progress in my situation since I began my TMS Journey. That was last fall. I'm not pain free yet, but I'm in a much better place than previous to starting some knowledge therapy. I'm no book cure, in that I didn't read the book and throw away the crutches, so to speak, though I did start to feel incrementally better.
When I went back awhile ago to search for a structural cause my symptoms got worse. Why? Because I was focused on the symptoms instead of the emotional problems and stressors that I clearly have.
You've suffered some setback financially and otherwise. Hey, this is Great Depression II, and you're not alone. You're going to have to marinate the TMS mix all over your body and into your mind, and for some -- like me-- it takes awhile to be fully saturated.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
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jjh2go
35 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2011 : 11:22:59
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Tinnitus seems to be hard to describe for people. I have a mild "ringing" in my ears. I've had it since I was a kid, as long as I can remember. I just assume this is "normal". 99% of the time I don't notice it. I only notice it when it is really quiet.
I do think I have a "TMS" tinnitus symptom that comes and goes. Every now and then I get a much louder high pitched ringing in my ear. It lasts a few seconds, usually less than 1 minute, then it goes away. It will go away as fast as it comes, so I've always assumed that it must not be a structural problem. It's kind of like the heart palpitations I get from time to time. Those go away as fast as they come too. |
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Baseball65
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2011 : 05:54:32
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Hmmmm... all that typing and all I hear is my own thoughts.
My OCD went away when I became a full fledged drug addict at age 13.. Oh wait...drug addiction is just like self inflicted OCD (the repetitive thought is now 'where do I score, where do I score, when do I score, when do I score, how do I score etc)
so did it really go away?
When my drug use subsided it became focused on religion, and later my TMS symptoms.
You can check the archives... My knee 'blew up' exactly how your describing yours, but I am CERTAIN it was TMS, though at the time it was scray because of the visible nature of the swelling. In fact, maybe it's still swollen? Maybe I have Ugly knees? I applied the principles and I stopped caring and it went away.
I do know it was associated with a painful situation regarding a partner, sex and being used.... and ANGRY as all Hell.
Funny (or not) I started having periodic prostate/epididymitis about 3-4 years ago following a vasectomy. In spite of the very 'physical' nature of the infection, somewhere in my heart of hearts I knew it probably had to do with anger at the person who insisted I have that procedure and promptly told me to hit the road...
Your post has assured me it was. If I was 29 and not that active sexually and still hanging out with my Mom I'd be mad as all hell...
That symptom merry-go-round has you good and distracted from your realm of emotions
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2011 : 06:07:20
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Holy smokes (as my dear departed father used to say). That was one long manifesto.
Young man. Welcome. You have the disease. You're 29 years old and have more complaints than most 60 year olds. I know, because I am one.
Read the books, hang around the forum ,listen to guys like Baseball. Instead of worrying about your body 24/7, go out and find a life for yourself.
You absolutely talked yourself into that ear problem. No doubt the rest as well. If you can talk your way in, you can talk your way out. |
Edited by - art on 07/20/2011 06:28:16 |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2011 : 13:09:15
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quote:
Originally posted by art
You absolutely talked yourself into that ear problem. No doubt the rest as well. If you can talk your way in, you can talk your way out.
Words of the wise. That is so true Mr. Art |
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Kyle M.
24 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2011 : 20:34:23
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Thanks for the replies, everybody.
Golden Girl, you asked about my emotions? Well, being honest, I've been depressed for a long time now. I'd say probably for about five years, starting when I was going to go back to school, which I was initially excited for, but had to cancel my plans at the last minute due to housing and travel. After that I sort of just accepted my lot in life, though always thinking in the back of my mind that maybe I'd go back to school and get that degree I always wanted someday.
My parents are great, but of course they get on my nerves. I think that's just inevitable. It's not exactly an ideal situation, however, living with your parents at my age, and there's a certain amount of societal embarrassment accompanying the situation, of course. I think it's a bit more stigmatizing for a man, too, but I might be off-base in that assumption. Case in point: I had a pretty bad love life before, but now I've pretty much given up on that area entirely for the time being. And that was my mindset before all of these physical ailments started; now I'm sort of hopeless about ever having a girlfriend again.
Back2-It, I'll look into the other two books. I haven't read them because I assumed they centered primarily around back pain, which, knock on wood, I don't have. Anything that might help me feel better, though, I'll try.
Jjh2go, the hiss I have in my left ear fluctuates from a sound similar to air draining out of a tire to an extremely high-pitched squeal. I've compared the sound to anything ranging from cicadas to someone running a knife across a piece of metal. It's pretty random on what it'll be, and sometimes it take up residence inside my head, even. And I can hear it over things at its worst, too, which makes it that much more distressing.
Baseball65, yeah, I am mad as Hell. At my situation, at my symptoms, and at the idea of trying to get out of this mess. I have a hard time fathoming doing it at this point.
Art, it would be easier for me to get over the physical nature of the tinnitus if I hadn't noticed the hearing discrepancies in my ears. Dr. Hazell, who runs the tinnitus website, says that tinnitus isn't caused by damage, and I know I became overly aware of my hearing that night after listening to the loud music, which he in fact says can lead to the emergence and persistence of tinnitus. But darn it if I don't notice the stupid hiss even when I'm not thinking about it, which then in turn gets me on the road of thinking, Why would this sound be there unless there was damage? It is pretty amazing, though, how similar the concepts of tinnitus retraining therapy and treating TMS symptoms are, beginning with an acceptance by the patient that there is nothing structurally wrong with you.
It's funny, because in retrospect, I was pretty upset over the prostatitis and convinced that it was a real disease that I would never recover from. The pain and other symptoms just seemed to never go away. But they have. With the tinnitus now, however, I find myself thinking the exact same thing, and like the prostatitis, there's so much disparate information out there on what causes it, that I'm having an extremely hard time not thinking there isn't something wrong in there. The fact that my ear feels blocked and is popping so often throughout the day doesn't exactly make me feel any better, either.
Anyway, I'll try my best to take your advice to heart, everyone. It's really difficult to carry on even a semblance of a normal life right now, though, because my entire existence is still ruled by sound. At least with the prostatitis I could still go out to the movies and eat out with friends occasionally. But with the tinnitus and phonophobia, I don't even like to leave my bedroom. It really sucks. |
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Back2-It
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2011 : 06:24:21
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Kyle M....
quote:
I am mad as Hell. At my situation, at my symptoms, and at the idea of trying to get out of this mess. I have a hard time fathoming doing it at this point.
This is why Healing Back Pain and The MindBody Prescription are about much more than back pain. They are written as if you are sitting with Dr. Sarno.
I was and am mad about my situation, and if the actuary table are right, I have less time to correct them than you. After reading --really reading-- those books, plus TDM, I began to actively work to change my stressors. I also started to just "accept" my pain and do things. Take one small step at a time -- and congratulate yourself at each achievement. It helps to change your thinking.
quote:
At least with the prostatitis I could still go out to the movies and eat out with friends occasionally. But with the tinnitus and phonophobia, I don't even like to leave my bedroom. It really sucks.
I had prostatitis too, way back in the 90's, before I heard of a Dr. Sarno. It was totally stress and anxiety related, but the pain was real. When I made some life changes it gradually faded. Regarding the tinnitus, I worked with a guy who had it too (plus migraines) and other TMS/anxiety symptoms. But he pushed on. He had too. He had to eat and so did his young family. But... your ailment is your ailment and your reaction is yours. I do understand that. I had to force my self out again, because I had to "cure" a back problem I didn't have, and then deal with the achy, twisted feeling in my side. I had to FORCE myself out to work and to visit with friend. FORCE. The more I have the better --slowly-- that I feel. Sometimes, believe me, the pain was so bad that when I was out with friends, I just wanted to run into a room away from everybody and cry. In fact, I did go to the loo and do just that one or two times.
You will get better, but not being alone with your worries and fears. One great poster on here said that he had a plan, and that plan was to get on with his life and do the things he had to do -- for himself and for his family. He is pain free today.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2011 : 07:05:02
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This is one of the great values of the forum. Kyle is too new, and too immersed in his own fear and pain to get anything approaching objectivity. But for those who've been around a while, who've probably made some progress but continue to struggle, a new poster like Kyle is tremendously helpful. It's easy to see in others what we often can't see in ourselves..
Kyle, we were all where you are today to one degree or another. You're still young. Commit yourself to recovery. You have to fight. NOthing of value is free in this world. |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2011 : 21:17:16
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Kyle! I'm telling you; you sound exactly like I did a few years ago. You've got to get a handle on this. You're obviously a hypochondriac and I should know. Not that ALL your symptoms are necessarily psychogenic; even hypochondriacs occasionally get sick. But, the long litany of symptoms at 29 years should tell you that something doesn't make sense.
You've got to gradually wean yourself off doctors, tests, checking your symptoms on the internet, message boards...because they are guaranteed to keep you on the wrong path. It's not easy to give up the false sense of security these things provide, but it's the only way. I know.
As for the "tinnitus" well I can tell you all about that one. Thirteen years ago I suffered for 1 1/2 years, convinced I heard the ringing. I had the hearing tests (excellent) and the brain mri (normal) and gradually it faded away. But every couple of years it will flare up again when stressed as it did for a few months earlier in the year. Yes, tinnitus--unless you have had severely long-term damaged hearing or meniures disease, is PSYCHOSOMATIC! The rx here is the same with the other problems: ignore it and it will eventually go away. It has every time for me no matter how convinced I was each time that I was stuck with it forever. |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2011 : 05:17:55
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I came from a third world country. Where I came from, I never heard of anyone suffer from back pain, legs pain, tinnitus, ulcer,... none of those TMS illness. We live with war, with extreme poverty, extreme hunger, oppression,... no medical care. No one even suffer from PTSD even though million have die from war & conflict. I think one of the biggest contribution to Mind & body syndrums is loneliness and isolation. Third world countries people have a lot more stress, constant stres, extreme stress but yet they rarely suffer any of those stress caused disease we do in the West. Why? They live in small houses, tight space share with lots of people. You always have someone to talk to, to share your thoughts and concerns, share your problems. There are always someone to cry with, to suffer with. You rarely feel alone even in the darkest moment of your life. Your mind never were allowed to focus long on your stress symptoms. You're more acceptance with what is going wrong in your life than fight it.
My conclusion. Do everything we can to forget about ourself. Get involve, go out, do things, talk to people, volunteer.... any thing that force us to re-focus on someone else, something else instead of us. Surround ourselves with positive people. We TMS patients are sometime so selfish, all we do is think about ourselves. We live a life of lonelines and isolation which is too conducive for stress related illnesses. |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2011 : 06:15:48
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| Superb post Balto. Extremely interesting and wise. |
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Back2-It
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2011 : 07:43:49
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balto...
I think you are exactly right. We can communicate across the world and even into space, but we have nobody to talk to, really, when we drop into bed at night. That goes for those with a partner and not.
Success in the West means something completely different, too, where success in the land you describe is staying alive for another couple of hours or a day.
As families here in the West have become more fractured and distant the rise of anxiety and pain and other unexplained maladies have become epidemic. Nobody was in "chronic pain" when I was young. Short term acute pain once in a while, yes, but old Aunt Sally never went on for years with disabling lumbago.
Chronic pain and anxiety can be considered a disease of the modern Leisure Class. We are gazing too much at our navels and not at the world.
Excellent observation. Reading it, a person knows in his heart that, with rare exception, this is the truth.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
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Javizy
United Kingdom
76 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2011 : 10:23:48
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I'm a fan of balto's posts too.
The differences between cultures are reflected in our physical form, as well. A book I'm reading about posture includes lots of pictures of people from less developed countries like Burkina Faso, Brazil and India, and the people, despite their tough lifestyle and gruelling workload, have absolutely amazing bodily alignment. The pictures of Americans with their sway backs and rounded shoulders seem comical in comparison, although that certainly wasn't the case at the turn of the 20th century.
We have just about everything we need and people to turn to when things go wrong, yet we look like absolute crap compared to people who struggle to make it from one day to the next. A formal study into the reasons behind these differences would make for fascinating reading. |
Edited by - Javizy on 07/23/2011 10:25:21 |
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Back2-It
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2011 : 10:39:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Javizy
I'm a fan of balto's posts too.
The differences between cultures are reflected in our physical form, as well. A book I'm reading about posture includes lots of pictures of people from less developed countries like Burkina Faso, Brazil and India, and the people, despite their tough lifestyle and gruelling workload, have absolutely amazing bodily alignment. The pictures of Americans with their sway backs and rounded shoulders seem comical in comparison, although that certainly wasn't the case at the turn of the 20th century.
So true! Just look at the old b/w movies of the 1930s and 1940s. The men were generally shorter but more well defined and stood straight; the women too. And not just stars, but all the "extras" of the time, too.
quote:
We have just about everything we need and people to turn to when things go wrong, yet we look like absolute crap compared to people who struggle to make it from one day to the next. A formal study into the reasons behind these differences would make for fascinating reading.
I disagree about having people to turn to when things go wrong. I feel I can only ask my family for so much, and that isn't much. In fact, my older sister told me early on that "there are people much worse than you", and that was that. I wasn't asking her for anything but someone to talk to when the pain was at its worst -- a distraction. She couldn't even give me that. And the prevailing thought today is that you must not bother people with your problems. You must suck it up and deal with it. I guess there is a truth to that, but it can be a lonely journey. Some don't make it.
That said, when you face a struggle each day you have to remain sharp -- especially when your life depends on it, so, yes, the way we look physically probably does reflect a soft and degraded society.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2011 : 13:26:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Javizy
The differences between cultures are reflected in our physical form, as well. A book I'm reading about posture includes lots of pictures of people from less developed countries like Burkina Faso, Brazil and India, and the people, despite their tough lifestyle and gruelling workload, have absolutely amazing bodily alignment. The pictures of Americans with their sway backs and rounded shoulders seem comical in comparison, although that certainly wasn't the case at the turn of the 20th century.
We have just about everything we need and people to turn to when things go wrong, yet we look like absolute crap compared to people who struggle to make it from one day to the next. A formal study into the reasons behind these differences would make for fascinating reading.
We don't need a study to show why people in developing countries have better postures than us. They don't sit in front of computers all day, twitter and facebook on the way home and sit on a couch once they get there. At the turn of the century the majority of Americans lived on farms, today it's a tiny percentage. Fursina Bako?, never heard of it but it sounds like a nice place to visit.
People in third world countries may have "better postures" because their survival demands it. They are not going to get TMS because they don't have the time for it, nor do they have governmental and societal networks providing stuff like insurance and the dole to enable it.
DR. SARNO'S 12 DAILY REMINDERS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
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"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti
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Edited by - tennis tom on 07/23/2011 13:31:01 |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2011 : 13:45:56
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I just saw on the news about million of refugees from Somalia coming to the largest refugee camp in the world in Kenya. Severe Drought, famine, ans war drove them there. They are all hungry, tired, waiting in line for UN foods. Those poor people look tired and sad and malnourished but I don't see any of them bent over or massage their back while waiting in line. Obviously they have plenty to worry and things to stress out about than we do, but I could see no sign of TMS.
“Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain”. Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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Kyle M.
24 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 00:56:19
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Hey, guys. Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all of your thoughtful replies. I also wanted to add that I went to one of my old haunts on Saturday and had a decent time with some friends, although my ear bothered me throughout the day. Trying to ignore it and stay positive, though.
Wrldtrv, thanks a lot for your story. The thing that throws me off, though, is, like I said, since the onset of the tinnitus, I've noticed a very slight hearing discrepancy between my right ear and my left ear. It's nothing major, otherwise I'm sure the hearing test would have picked it up, and for all I know, it's always been there, and I simply never noticed it before. But because of it, it's hard for me to not think that there's something mechanical that's causing the tinnitus.
Balto, I appreciate your own experience, and I know you have a point. I remember not long ago seeing some guys on television in one of the war-torn Middle Eastern countries shooting some guns off into the air in celebration for one reason or another. I commented to my dad, "Now why don't they have tinnitus?" He replied, "Probably because they have other things on their mind besides their hearing."
Thanks again for the encouragement, everyone. |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2011 : 19:46:36
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| Kyle, everyone has some difference in hearing between left and right. The same with vision. I notice the same thing. It would be unusual if that were not the case. |
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oneorbit
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2011 : 05:05:56
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Just a few questions to add:
1.Had you any recurring physical problems as a child? Were you pretty much tip-top until this all started?
2.Why did you give up on girls after the failed relationship? With the internet it seems even easier to meet people these days.
3. You've read the book twice but have you actually gave yourself a solid month of just believing in the diagnosis of TMS?
I think I have been unhappy (quietly) for about 8 years, I've been at the same job and long outgrown my responsibilities. The owners of the company seem to only promote and give the big titles to sons and son-and-laws that marry into the family. Meawhile I'm directly responsible for the company earning 100 of 1000's dollars yet they don't recognize me for my talents and ideas they simply take the ideas and leave me out and then act like they are entitled. I just want recognition.
Do you feel like your unappreciated. I bet you do. But I bet your not. I bet you have friends and family that truly care about you but because of this pain you might be avoiding true feelings. Exactly the intent of your brain putting you in this pain.
This might be why a psychotherapist could help. But start by believing and then keep opening up.
I am offended by the Dr. that called this a 'moaning group'. Just becasue the are not taught about nutrition or psychoanalysis they immediately right people of as batty and complainers. Good news is your 29! How awesome is that. I'm 39 in two months and I htought I was going to have to give up my job and I just wrote this letter to a stranger and felt know carpal tunnel syndromes I had felt for 10 months up until a few days ago.
Just Relax |
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Swollen Knee->Prostatitis->Tinnitus: TMS?
