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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
 Posted - 12/07/2012 : 12:45:49
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I am so happy to have found a TMS Support Forum! I am a 63 year old
woman who has suffered from back pain and other pain and anxiety related disorders a good part of my life. I had early childhood trauma in the form of physical abuse by a babysitter. My parents were unsupportive and didn't believe me when I was older and told them about the abuse. I developed a very fear prone personality. Somehow I made it through life fairly successfully and am now retired. I worry about money a lot because my parents used to fight about all the time. My issues now are mainly centered around sleep problems and back and leg pain.
I happend upon Dr. Sarno's work 3 years ago while having a particularly bad episode of back and leg pain (like sciatica). I ordered his 2 books, Healing Back Pain and The MindBody Prescription. Within the following 3 months, I experienced a remarkable recovery, not completely pain free, but mostly able to enjoy aerobics classes and live normally. I am ususlly pretty active, even when I am in pain. I followed Dr. Sarno's precsriptions by refusing to allow pain to interfere with anything I wanted to do, ignoring pain when I had it and always telling myself that the source was psychological.
But in the last year, my situation became more complicated. I was diagnosed with a parathyroid tumor, which I had removed surgically last September. The surgery was nothing. However, because I had hyperparathyroidism for quite a few years, I had developed osteoporosis. I have had no fractures and my Endocronologist assures me that this condition is not causing pain and he expects my bone density to improve. I am also taking strontium citrate and the appropriate supplements. However, with all of this commotion, my right sided back pain and sciatica has returned. This time, I am having a more difficult time getting rid of the pain. I think that I may have some FEAR of the pain and DOUBT about the real cause of the pain. It is almost like my mind now has the perfect excuse to bring back the pain and try to make me live like a cripple. I just ordered Dr. Sarno's latest book along with the book called The Great Pain Deception, which I can't wait to read. I want to thank ACE1 for the list of ways to heal. This has been of great help. I have also learned a lot from many of the other posts here.
If anyone has any suggestions for me, it would be greatly appreciated. I am curious about journaling, but don't know where to begin.
Thanks in advance for reading my post.
Best Wishes to all of you.
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SteveO
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2012 : 15:39:14
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If you've been checked out medically you'll be fine. TMS often comes back to people as life piles up again because of learned behavior, ie, we need a place to hide in when life overwhelms us, and that place is the body.
Quite a few women have thyroid problems when they have TMS. Not sure why, other than strong emotions.
I can't stress enough that you need to relax. That may sound like an oxymoron, but it's so essential not to let your mind wander down negative highway.
As far as journaling,that all depends on how you like to express yourself. Some people, like me, would rather talk to someone because I don't hold things in, I say what I want to and I open up to everyone. But if people are frozen with inhibitions and don't feel comfortable talking to others, writing is a good outlet for expression. The pain is the virtual language of the unconscious. It is speaking to you in the only language it knows. If you express yourself, you steal its thunder and the tension lowers as a byproduct.
So journaling may work and it may not, depending on the person. Try it.
Gather all the TMS information you need, but stop after you get it--when you fully understand the process. People sometimes feel that gathering information is a healing tool, but it isn't; acting on the information is.
Good luck chickenbone, I believe that's the first time I've ever said that to anyone.
Steve |
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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2012 : 12:36:30
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Thank-you, Steve, for the good advice. I hear you.
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catmac
United Kingdom
57 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2012 : 14:05:17
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I think that I may have some FEAR of the pain and DOUBT about the real cause of the pain. It is almost like my mind now has the perfect excuse to bring back the pain and try to make me live like a cripple.
Hi chickenbone
I had a HUGE fear problem when trying to solve my tms. I was so scared my pain would get worse that I was restricting my life completely. One of the things that really helped me was EFT (Emotional freedom technique). It wasn't like counselling as it didnt go on for ages........just two sessions but it really helped me.
I just thought I would share this with you as it worked for me. I only ever had two tms books dr sarno's and Steve O's. Everything you need is in both of those books. Steve goes a bit deeper on things you can try that will help you recover. One cap doesnt fit all with tms. You will get there.
Catmac
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pspa123
672 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2012 : 15:36:41
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| Could you share more of your experience with EFT if you are able, I posted a thread asking about it after seeing it in the table of contents of James Alexander's book but didn't get any responses. I had read about it online and dismissed it as yet another wacky energy medicine placebo modality but if there is more to it I would certainly be open to it. Thanks. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2012 : 23:24:06
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| If you do a "search" above for EFT you will find many citations. |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 06:45:57
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| Hi I'm glad my list has helped. I think you were never really cured before. I think when you effectively ignored the symptoms, all it did was shift the mind into slowly growing your tumor, then after it was removed, it shifted back to pain. In my experience the ignoring of the pain alone is not effective by its self, but the person needs mind reprogramming which unfortunately does take relatively long time but does work. As Steve mentions I think this new fear ( which is part of the syndrome) is definitely intensifying your symptoms too. Try using the mind power as i have listed, remembering that bad habits picked up from what have been trough as a child has to be changed. ( ie being in a rush, intensity with things you do, etc). I didnt like journaling but if you use it to decondition your self to things that typically hype you up, then that way of doing it should be fine. |
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pspa123
672 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 08:21:44
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quote:
Originally posted by tennis tom
If you do a "search" above for EFT you will find many citations.
Thanks, I must have done the search wrong before as I came up with hundreds of irrelevant posts. Generally it seems that most people who commented thought it was a gimmick (or worse) but some found it helpful. |
Edited by - pspa123 on 12/09/2012 08:22:11 |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 09:04:02
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by pspa123
Thanks, I must have done the search wrong before as I came up with hundreds of irrelevant posts. Generally it seems that most people who commented thought it was a gimmick (or worse) but some found it helpful.
Glad to be of help, I've noticed it's a trick the gremlin plays on us hiding or blinding us from the material truths that would help us the most, trying to maintain the TMS distraction as a PROTECTOR. For instance we never feel there is enough written about our particular symptom or equivalent, but everyone else has chapters about there's.
Now that the Catmac is out of the bag as it were, I will provide my first and only experience with EFT "tapping". It was in a yoga class many years ago and the teacher out of the blue had us tapping all over our body. It did nothing for me and I was left wondering what was that all about? It must have been the early days of "tapping".
I just heard on a "health" show, a Harvard psychologist say, "Multi-tasking is a myth, that the mind can only successfully concentrate on one thought at a time." I agree with him. Tapping may work for folks because it distracts from whatever else the mind was thinking about and directs it to focus on something else. My personal view is that it is voo-doo--but whatever works. Tap dancing would be more beneficial for TMS'ers because it would burn more calories and help them regain confidence in their bodies abilities to move again.
Just my 2 cents. |
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pspa123
672 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 11:08:17
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| Tom thanks for that insight. I may well be wrong, I don't pretend to have any superior knowledge, but after trying a lot of so-called energetic modalities (not EFT) my eyes now just roll whenever I see anything based on so called acupuncture meridians. In the information age it is just incredibly difficult to separate evidence from hype, efficacy from placebo effect, and so forth. There seems to be an almost endless variety of these things that have cult-like followings and absolute disagreement between proponents and detractors. If I had a dollar for every modality out there claiming to be a panacea I could retire. |
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catmac
United Kingdom
57 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 15:09:38
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quote:
Originally posted by pspa123
Could you share more of your experience with EFT if you are able, I posted a thread asking about it after seeing it in the table of contents of James Alexander's book but didn't get any responses. I had read about it online and dismissed it as yet another wacky energy medicine placebo modality but if there is more to it I would certainly be open to it. Thanks.
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catmac
United Kingdom
57 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 15:23:26
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quote:
Originally posted by pspa123
Could you share more of your experience with EFT if you are able, I posted a thread asking about it after seeing it in the table of contents of James Alexander's book but didn't get any responses. I had read about it online and dismissed it as yet another wacky energy medicine placebo modality but if there is more to it I would certainly be open to it. Thanks.
Hi there
I first used EFT several years ago before I had TMS, for a fear of flying. The therapist asked me about my life and then she did a series of tapping on the face and body, whilst repeating phrases ('I am loved', I am accepted', 'I have nothing to fear' etc). I had to copy the tapping and repeat the phrases. At the time I thought 'what a lot of bull', this is never going to work, but it did. I came back after my second session and was able to book a flight and wasnt even phased when the flight went technical!!
When I got TMS a year ago EFT hadnt even crossed my mind. It wasnt until I was reading Steve O's book and he had a section on alternative therapies, that gave me the idea . I knew I had a really STRONG fear of the pain getting worse. I got in touch with the same therapist and she agreed to help. Again, after two sessions the fear of the pain increasing was gone. I have no idea how it works but it does!! I could give more detail if you e mail me or if you google you tube eft there are quite a lot of examples on there.
I would say EFT was a part of my recovery...............I hope this helps.
keep well
catmac |
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pspa123
672 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 15:35:37
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| Very interesting. I wonder if it is the affirmations not the actual tapping that yield the benefit? That part makes sense to me. I will do some further reading, thank you. |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 15:49:19
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| Yes I think the affirmations are why this works |
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pspa123
672 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 16:56:05
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That would make sense, with the tapping as a sort of ritual reinforcer, hard for me to believe tapping on some specific "meridian" point actually does anything, but then again I don't know.
It almost seems a cult from what i have been reading the past hour or so, with its own vocabulary and charismatic leader and disciples and so forth. then again i suppose others might say the same of tms or many other things.
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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 17:04:49
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Ace1, I agree with you that I was never really cured. I always feared the pain coming back and I think that shows I was not completely cured. Hopefully this time I can be successful with all the great suggestions here and the books I have yet to read. I have some confidence because I have always done well with self help all my life. Please keep posting your keys to healing. Just to mention one that helped me tremendously was to never rush or want to always be doing something else or be somewhere else. This is a big one for me. I realized that I did this all the time. I remind myself now whenever I fall into that mode that this particular mindset will bring pain, and it always does. Affirmations help also.
Catmac - I am really curious about the EFT. I am going to do some research. About 5 years ago, I went to an energy healer for about a year. It did help, but only temporarily and I always felt that I was not participating in my own healing. I guess I would have to put that in the placebo category. Is this something that I need a practitioner for? I retired to the Republic of Panama. I probably could not find one here.
Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 18:05:31
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quote:
Originally posted by pspa123
...after trying a lot of so-called energetic modalities (not EFT) my eyes now just roll whenever I see anything based on so called acupuncture meridians. In the information age it is just incredibly difficult to separate evidence from hype, efficacy from placebo effect, and so forth. There seems to be an almost endless variety of these things that have cult-like followings and absolute disagreement between proponents and detractors. If I had a dollar for every modality out there claiming to be a panacea I could retire.
With the help of TMS knowledge, you start getting a seat of the pants intuition for what is real and what is hype. Most of it is hype--follow the money. The body is the best healer, doctors can help on occasion, but mostly it's you. As long as people are in pain, unscrupulous snake oyl salesmen will without conscious con them of their money knowing full well that they are vulnerable. Con men keep conning the same victims on the theory if they were dumb enough to fall for it once they'll fall for it again--wise up and investigate. A little time on google doing research on both sides of the argument will usually help one decide if it's real or memorex. I've never seen any evidence of Dr. Sarno or other TMs practitioners hyping their wares. They are usually difficult to find since they don't advertise or market themselves. I don't believe Dr. Sarno has ever done a book tour and has only done a few media appearances and addressed a Congressional committee once. A good site for researching medical scams is quackwatch.com. |
Edited by - tennis tom on 12/09/2012 18:16:01 |
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andy64tms
USA
589 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 18:30:19
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Good answer to pspa123 Tom.
As TMS individuals, we not only have to discern the products and treatments offered, but also to be wary of posters that tout only one way for recovery, usually their own.
Andy
Past TMS Experience in 2000, with success.
Back on Wiki Edu Program day 15
Charlie Horse on neck for 20 years. (to be evicted later.)
Books:
Healing Back Pain
Unlearn your Pain
The Great Pain Deception |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2012 : 18:34:32
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Thanks Andy  . |
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Hi, Happy to have found this forum
