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 Is This Forum Conditioning Me?
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Goodney

USA
76 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  05:44:36  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I know this sounds a bit crazy, but lately it seems that my TMS is actually being conditioned by what I am reading on this forum about symptoms being suffered by others.

For instance, while I have had my share of low back problems for most of my life, I have never really experienced much sciatica. Recently, I have been reading about a member's painful sciatica. On Saturday I was bending forward and now I am experiencing the most painful sciatica into my left buttock and leg that I have ever felt by far. Great.

Now I am conflicted. I love this forum and have received so much education and comfort from it. On the other hand, do I really want to be conditioned to further painful symptoms by what I am reading here?

I would be interested in finding out whether anyone else has experienced anything similar. I welcome any suggestions. I am not sure this subject has been addressed previously on this forum. Thanks.

racingspoon

United Kingdom
35 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  06:48:07  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Oops, hope it isn't my current sciatica issues that have planted the seed.

It has to be said that forums, regrdless of intent and validity of information provided, are not really compatable with the healing process. I understand that Sarno states that knowledge of the process is the cure and that forums such as here provide plenty of knowledge but the problem is that forums all too readily provide a new badge of identity and also see us getting hung up on the process and investigating too deeply instead of just 'doing it'.

To relate further to what you are saying I'm pretty sure TMS'ers all too easily fall to the suggestion of symptoms and disease/ailment fixation. I know from my experience once this begins it starts to become a real frustrating affair of trying to get a handle on what you feel is an 'internal' somatisation as opposed to something passed on externally to you.
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Goodney

USA
76 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  08:49:51  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Racingspoon, it's not you. It's me. I'm like Jerry Lewis in the movie "The Disorderly Orderly", where he works in a hospital and suffers all the symptoms he hears the patients describing.

I am at a difficult point in my life and under tremendous stress. I feel stuck where I am at, and that may be the reason I am not seeing results with my TMS work. I hear what you are saying about reading and thinking and being on the forum and not getting on with the effort. I would welcome suggestions from any of the members.
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Sarnotic-nerve

USA
48 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  09:51:47  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
In my opinion, it's certainly possible.

If you read some sciatic threads and thought to yourself, "Oh ****, that sounds painful...hope it doesn't happen to me." Guess what? You just tipped your hand!

But the same goes for books, videos and other TMS programs. They all recount stories of people with specific symptoms. So it's unavoidable, in that sense.

Personally, I think forums like this one are quite helpful for many people. For the most part, people here are positive, helpful and extremely empathetic.

People like to know that what they are experiencing is nothing uncommon and that it can be overcome/healed.

It's also good for a kick in the ass when that fear starts to take hold.

But everyone is different. You just have to keep at it and figure out what's going to work FOR YOU!








______________

The pain is real! The cause...well, that's complicated. ;)
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Hillbilly

USA
385 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  10:15:34  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
In my opinion, it is best for people in recovery to not read forums of any type after they have reached a point of acceptance that they suffer from a benign process of their nervous system that should be ignored as a barrier to living their daily lives as fully as possible. The reason(s) why are numerous, but you certainly are experiencing the most important, which is that you are highly susceptible to negative influences in your thinking at present, and any strongly worded complaint or description of someone else's can and often does become a reality in your own life.

This you can experience for a lifetime if not put out of your mind and the activities of life taken back up. All crutches, including reassurance, must be removed and the person relearn to trust him/herself and become your own source of strength going forward, not just while you recover, but for the rest of your life. I wish you the best, Goodney, and really hope you can find the strength to do it.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Aided and abetted by corrupt analysts, patients who have nothing better to do with their lives often use the psychoanalytic situation to transform insignificant childhood hurts into private shrines at which they worship unceasingly the enormity of the offenses committed against them. This solution is immensely flattering to the patients—as are all forms of unmerited self-aggrandizement; it is immensely profitable for the analysts—as are all forms pandering to people's vanity; and it is often immensely unpleasant for nearly everyone else in the patient's life.

Dr. Thomas Szasz
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andy64tms

USA
589 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  14:05:04  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Goodney,

I have similar concerns to you. Last time I dealt with TMS was in 2000, and I had very good results without a forum. I wrote a posting “How TMS worked for me”, that relates my past success, and lists exactly what I did and did not do. I was hoping for suggestions and input to see if I was an exception, since it was a much easier recovery for me then.

Like you, I have found that I have been very influenced by what I read on this forum, and my wife points out that it is not helping me, and seems to be making me worse. I have actually become more aware of my pains and anxiety than when I started in February. I’ve also had a few “new” pains appear in new places. Despite this I am very drawn to read the threads here, and agree with what the other posters answers say, especially racingspoon pointing out that we get too involved with the process and details. If you read my post you will see that I did quite the opposite, and still had success.

Possibly the best thing we can both do for ourselves is recognize and accept that we are conditioned by what we read here, just like we are conditioned by everything around us in life. Once we accept this truth, it might make it easier for us.

The other thing I will be doing this summer is change my environment completely, go windsurfing and work without the forum for a while. I have accumulated a lot of knowledge and advice here, and now it is time perhaps give it a chance to sink in. One piece of advice I am taking is to find happiness and joy.

If you are under tremendous stress and are stuck like you say you are, maybe you should take a break forget TMS and the forum for a while, and just focus on an activity that gives you pleasure.
Good luck


Andy
Past TMS Experience in 2000, with success.
Now on Day 12 Wiki Edu.
Charlie horse on neck for 20 years. (to be evicted soon.)
Books: Healing Back Pain
& Unlearn your Pain
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Benjamin Thomas

USA
14 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  16:04:39  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hey,
so this actually happens/happened to me. Ever since I know that lower back pain is a TMS symptom, I started having back problems again. Did not have any problems in more than 12 years. Burning pain in my stomach and fatigue was new to me too. It shifts from one to another, BUT, I have made major improvements in the past 4 months (about 80 %).
For me, it is important to ensure myself at all times, nothing is wrong with my back (stomach, et cetera). E.g., the other day I could barely sit, after only one night, the pain was completely gone. No structural abnormality (the pain was trying to tell me otherwise), but stress-induced onset of TMS symptoms.
People did not people believe me how fast I recovered from this back pain. Why? They saw me and the way I moved (barely). All I said to them it is stress, there is nothing wrong with my back, and it was gone!
Hope this helps!
Benjamin



quote:
Originally posted by Goodney

I know this sounds a bit crazy, but lately it seems that my TMS is actually being conditioned by what I am reading on this forum about symptoms being suffered by others.

For instance, while I have had my share of low back problems for most of my life, I have never really experienced much sciatica. Recently, I have been reading about a member's painful sciatica. On Saturday I was bending forward and now I am experiencing the most painful sciatica into my left buttock and leg that I have ever felt by far. Great.

Now I am conflicted. I love this forum and have received so much education and comfort from it. On the other hand, do I really want to be conditioned to further painful symptoms by what I am reading here?

I would be interested in finding out whether anyone else has experienced anything similar. I welcome any suggestions. I am not sure this subject has been addressed previously on this forum. Thanks.

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shari

USA
85 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  16:26:31  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
So I've had this new gas heater at my place for over a year now, and the other day my daughter asked me if its hissing noise bothers me. I never noticed it hissed before, but now the hissing drives me crazy. If this isn't conditioning.... I can deal with pain, but a hissing heater...?
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SteveO

USA
272 Posts

Posted - 04/23/2012 :  22:29:56  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

Forums are definately conditioning. I was at my worst pain when every night I sat around reading about "problems." I come here when I can to see if there is anything new or rare being asked. But I parse my attention particles carefully.

I watched Andrew Weil, MD, say on PBS, and read an artcle where he also said, and then read in his book where he said, "Don't get into groups that discuss health problems."

I read Thomas Hamblin's book called Victims of Suggestion and I also lived through some suggestions. In the mid-2000s I was contacted by a woman who told me she was awakened every night with PLMD. Even though I had healed by that time I had never heard of that disorder. I went and read about it, and that same night I was awoken by my arms flinching. I looked at them, shook my head and laughed. How powerfully the subconscius integrates things.

Have you read Murphy's Power of Your Subconscious Mind?

Every time you read, or imagine, or suggest, this notion gets lodged into your unconscious and there it stays. The most powerful guided imagery is fear.

So, the point of this forum is to gather acorns of information, then go ACT on that information. But people tend to keep rereading the same info because they doubt, or have resistance to healing. TMSers are also procrastinaters extraordinaire.

Find balance. Read, think, and then go heal. Also, sometimes we just need a dose of confidence, so it helps to read what others say.

But be careful,
SteveO
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mala

Hong Kong
774 Posts

Posted - 04/24/2012 :  04:45:31  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
It may be that a lot of people who are prone to having TMS are more impressionable perhaps even more sensitive than others. Its part of the TMS personality. As a result they are perhaps also conditioned and & influenced more easily. TMSers seem to hold on to negative thoughts & information that most non-Tmsers ignore. What doesn’t affect them somehow affects us. It’s a personality trait, which stems primarily from fear. We are just wired differently.

The conclusion here is that there is nothing seriously wrong with us physically therefore there is nothing to fear. Real injuries don’t happen from just by thinking or reading about them. If we know this to be true then we know that our pain is definitely psychologically induced. Now if we accept that as being true then the rest should be easy. Perhaps we should all try to develop a thicker skin.

Good Luck & Good Health
Mala
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balto

839 Posts

Posted - 04/24/2012 :  08:28:47  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Dr Rick Hanson wrote in one of his books that it take approximately about 5 positive thoughts to cancel out the effect of one negative thought. I think we need to pick and choose what we should read at forum like this while trying to heal ourself. Try to click your "back" button as fast as you can when you see a post full of negative and hatred. Try to follow success stories and constructive posts. We human, due to evolution, are more focus on the negative and fight or flight instinct are extremely sensitive to anything negative. If we dwell on a negative topic long enough, we're may trigger it.

Many of us come here to look for a solution but end up "addicted" to the forum, I think because we just want to "belong". It is lonely to be a tms/anxiety sufferer out there.
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Wavy Soul

USA
779 Posts

Posted - 04/24/2012 :  19:13:02  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I feel like a new person every day. Every day in every way I am getting better and better, even when appearances try to trick me. Even when symptoms try to stick on me, I am like my non-stick pan with fried eggs. They just slither around and slide right out when I tip the pan.

I no longer take my symptoms seriously, and coming here mostly reminds me of this. Also, after reading this post, you will catch the memetic thought virus of not taking symptoms seriously. In fact, for me, when I notice myself getting a symptom I recently heard of, I find it hysterical - all the more proof of its unreality.

Love is the answer, whatever the question
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skizzik

USA
783 Posts

Posted - 04/27/2012 :  09:02:19  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I used to be in tremendous pain and was an addict to this board a few years ago.

Fast forward a few years and I'm rarely in pain and rarely on pain forums.

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?
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MatthewNJ

USA
691 Posts

Posted - 04/27/2012 :  15:51:15  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I have had good and not good experiences reading and writing in forums . I would suggest reading forums that have a positive outlook and are solution focused. I would avoid the posts that focus on the symptoms and complaining. I get that it hurts, been there done that, and I have done my share of complaining. but when I CHOOSE to be pain free, and I choose to feel good and I choose to be happy, those things started happening. Make choosing to be happy and pain free your goal! the more you get to a happy pain reduced/free place the more you STAY there.

Matthew
Ferretsx3@comcast.net
--------------------
Less activated, more regulated and more resilient.
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Scottydog

United Kingdom
330 Posts

Posted - 04/29/2012 :  07:27:25  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Andy posted 'One piece of advice I am taking is to find happiness and joy.'

This is important. When dwelling on all that might be wrong. your body forgets what fun, laughter and thrills feel like.

Also there is the Success thread if you are looking for positive info.
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Joy_I_Am

United Kingdom
138 Posts

Posted - 04/30/2012 :  04:36:58  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I think it's true that us TMSers are very sensitive generally, e.g. being alert to an 'atmosphere' in the room, or someone's hidden feelings. I know I'm suggestible.

The other day, I was watching a medical programme where a woman had damaged the muscles of her stomach due to her pregnancy. The next day, I had pain in the same area - and I've never even been pregnant! I even thought as I was watching 'I bet I pick up on that symptom'! I had a jolly good laugh at myself, and the pain faded...



So yes, I am careful about what I watch or read now, but I also try to trust that I will recognise this, and be able to 'talk myself down' from it. I don't want to make it a thing to be afraid of.
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racingspoon

United Kingdom
35 Posts

Posted - 04/30/2012 :  04:45:36  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Joy_I_Am

I think it's true that us TMSers are very sensitive generally, e.g. being alert to an 'atmosphere' in the room, or someone's hidden feelings. I know I'm suggestible.

The other day, I was watching a medical programme where a woman had damaged the muscles of her stomach due to her pregnancy. The next day, I had pain in the same area - and I've never even been pregnant! I even thought as I was watching 'I bet I pick up on that symptom'! I had a jolly good laugh at myself, and the pain faded...



So yes, I am careful about what I watch or read now, but I also try to trust that I will recognise this, and be able to 'talk myself down' from it. I don't want to make it a thing to be afraid of.



I'm burdened with that as well. I constantly think a weird atmosphere in a room is my doing or if I think somebody is in a bad mood then it just must be my fault. Pretty tiring really.
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MatthewNJ

USA
691 Posts

Posted - 05/05/2012 :  14:36:17  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I hope I am not getting too metaphysical on folks here... but ... we are (all) starting to realize we are not 5 sensory beings, but multi sensory beings. Empathy is one of those senses. If you are empathic (and most folks are to some degree, I am A LOT, so I 'get it") you WILL be affected by others around you. I practice Reiki and one thing I was taught is to shield myself. I use that shielding even when I am not doing Reiki.

Matthew
Ferretsx3@comcast.net
--------------------
Less activated, more regulated and more resilient.
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Tunza

New Zealand
198 Posts

Posted - 05/06/2012 :  15:44:51  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
This all resonates with me. I have found Elaine Aron's book helpful (The Highly Sensitive Person). Other people can't understand why I get so overwhelmed by loud noises and other over-stimulating stuff. And I am highly suggestible. I've definately got symptoms in the past from just reading about them.

Here's a good article about sensitivity:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/201105/top-10-survival-tips-the-highly-sensitive-person-hsp
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