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Originally posted by SteveO


Don't journal if you're having an acute flare up. This only adds more demands to the already beleaguered self. Unless of course you really enjoy writing your problems down. Journal when you have time alone and the desire. There is a time for reflection and a time to relax.

In an acute attack your SNS is in full flight mode. You need to soothe yourself with pleasure--those things that you feel you don't deserve, or that you don't deserve yet.

Listen to music, watch comedies, eat ice cream. Sit in the dark alone and breathe deeply with conscious intent. Do everything you can to under-stimulate your ANS.

In a Phase 1 TMS attack it's necessary to re-engage your parasympathetic system. Do this by allowing yourself those things that you normally wouldn't allow yourself to enjoy. It is in the pleasure denied that tension rises to painful levels. It's time to be selfish now because you've pushed your own true wants and desires onto the back burner until they've now boiled over.

Soothe your entire system with pleasure.

Steve

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Originally posted by SteveO


That's a good question and the answer can get complex. Since I'm a lifter/trainer I know that huge guilt-factor that accompanies every missed workout, I understand the desire to keep training. I trained through pain for 3 decades. I now train pain-free and with great peace of mind.

Never train for pain reduction.

With pain, the fight flight is actively engaged within the SNS. However, when you train it further activates this same system that you're trying to soothe, or to calm down. But training also reduces tension by burning excess energy and pouring endorphins into the system, and also reducing cortisol levels. So it ends up a quandary. That's the main reason the cover of my book has the yin yang. It falls back to balance no matter which method you choose, whether it's in healing, dieting, training, or even the process of becoming ill. Balance is king.

But if you're having an acute attack (I had thousands of them over 30 years)the first instinct is to flood the system with pleasure. From the Pleasure Principle we seek to avoid pain and to gain pleasure. But then you run the risk of conditioning. That means, if every time you have an acute attack you fall back and begin adding soothers and give up pushing through your pain, you can condition your brain to flare up its response in rejection to any physical activity. Like Pavlov's puppy you can train your brain to create pain every time you try to workout by teaching it that it will get rewarded for
"quitting."

So there are few x = 1 answers in healing. I've never seen any 2 people heal the same way. Healing is a personal journey. You got yourself into this mess, only you can find a path back out. But you can be guided by people whose experiences you can draw upon.

I only said to soothe your system because most people over stress themselves with guilt and tyrannical shoulds. So the most common method of bringing down an acute attack is through engaging the parasympathetic system and magnifying the soothe factor.

So a key to healing is to find balance between not enough and too much, but TMSers never know how much is enough.

The most direct physiologic path to pulling down intensity is the conscious breathing. I've seen it work quickly in acute attacks. When my kids were little and they got sick or were hurt I had them do the deep breathing and it always works swiftly.

One thing that is most likely enraging you is the fact that you have to go to the doctor's. It is infuriating to go if you don't like them--adding more anger to the already overflowing bucket.

I see your pain has cycled. There is something that seems to be triggering it. The first place to look is your closest relationships, followed by your financial status, and age.

Whatever is necessitating your symptoms is trying to surface, and is near the point of awareness, thus the increase in severity. It stands at the limina awaiting your response, but due to repression you aren't aware of what it may be, and so you have to guess/surmise.

Train for good health, not pain reduction. Never allow your brain to stop you from physical movement. Know when to pull back and enjoy.

"The art of life is the art of avoiding pain." Thomas Jefferson

Steve

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Originally posted by drh7900

I'd say get physical and do what you CAN do. I have a hard time remembering which book I read it in at this point, but in one of the books I've read, it is pointed out that doing certain physical things can hold back your progress by causing you to fear the action more. You have to do it when you're ready...and if you're not ready, then, as Steve suggested, find other ways to soothe. Do other stuff you love to do...stop focusing on what you can't do and start doing what you can. When you think about all the things you can't do because of the pain, guess what...TMS wins. If you try to do something and it hurts too bad to do it...don't think "I can't do that"...maybe think "not ready for that yet" and move on to something else. But DON'T let it be a distraction. Don't let it hold your focus...that's the whole point of TMS and if you let it draw your attention to the pain or the fear of the pain or the activities you "can't" do...it wins.

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Dustin

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Originally posted by catmac

And I've been meaning to get your book as well. I personally think you should read it as an audio book! No joke, I bought HBP as read by Sarno off iTunes. Been listening on a loop as I sleep sometimes. It helped me through my last flare up. I think it seeps into my subconcious easier.

Hi Stevep........can't recommend Steve o's book enough, lucky I am in the uk or I could become his stalker, lol. My pain is now minimal thanks to his book.

This might help you if Dr Sarno on audio works for you. Steve O mentions some meditation cd's by Emmett Miller in his book. I purchased 'Letting go of stress' and 'Easing into sleep', which help me a lot.

This week I had an 'episode' of pain when I said no to a member of my family (cue, lots of guilty feelings and then the pain started all over my body). I let myself feel bad and just accepted the pain for a while, then I looked up Dr Sarnos/steve's book for info on guilt......read it........ then decided I'd felt the pain/guilt for long enough and needed to relax and let it go, so I put on Emmett Millers tape which helped me relax and sleep (soothing my nervous system hopefully)and the pain had eased off considerably by the next morning.

I've mentioned this as I notice that you said your pain started while visiting your folks, so something has pushed a button while you were there and maybe you need to identify what it was and let yourself feel whatever you feel about it, then let go, then hopefully the pain will subside.........

You'll get there Steve, just takes time

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