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Monte
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 08:48:41
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For many the New Year represents an ideal time for resolution and change.
Reversing TMS and learning to live with TMS but without the chronic pain and symptom cycle interrupting your life requires Change.
Genuine change usually requires inspiration, constant reminders and quality reinforcement. Whether the goal is to lose weight, learn a new skill, quit smoking or reverse a chronic pain syndrome. These are all journeys that require change and constant reinforcement or you will most likely fail. Sad but true.
It is essential to understand that there is not a cure for TMS and there never will be! This is vital to understand if you want to reverse TMS successfully. TMS is not some unconscious mind disorder caused by our brain and we are the helpless victim that someone has to come fix. Equally important to accept this point if you want to reverse TMS.
TMS is a mindbody syndrome and as long as we have a mind and a body we have the potential to experience mindbody effects! When you digest and accept this truth you are ready to initiate real change with genuine Acceptance.
TMS is a mindbody syndrome caused by our thought/behavior patterns that are doing two things: 1. Generating Inner Tension that automatically gets transmitted to our autonomic nervous system, which we then get the effects. 2. Repressing Emotional Energy (our patterns allow us to avoid or deny our emotions) this is the big, huge repression in TMS that generates more inner tension that gets communicated to our nervous system and we then get the effects or symptoms. 3. What makes TMS unique in the chronic pain disorder world is the Intelligent, Creative and Powerful Distraction Strategy that’s purpose is to Distract you but also Signal you that something is not balanced in your life. 4. As long as you have a mind and a body you will experience all types of mindbody effects and have the potential to experience chronic mindbody (TMS) symptoms at any time in your life.
This is a perfect time for TMS veterans and newbies to review the important Do’s and Don’ts of TMS.
“Not-to-do” lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance and creating positive change, so we will start here:
1. Do not get distracted by pain or other TMS symptoms. Dr. Sarno taught us rule #1 – Pain/Symptom in TMS is a Signal to Think Psychological. If you are distracted and focusing on the symptom, what is wrong and who will fix me you are “feeding” the strategy and keeping the pain/symptom cycle going.
2. Do not get stuck thinking/analyzing/investigating that TMS is caused by deeply repressed emotions or some unknown unconscious event. Finish the unfinished business and heal the known wounds and put the majority of your energy in being present in your day-to-day living. Most of the repression in TMS is the day-to-day stuff!
3. Do not keep searching outside yourself for the answers to TMS. This includes help/support groups, internet searching or believing that you must be diagnosed by a TMS doctor before you can accept TMS. This type of searching (distraction) will usually “feed” the strategy or is your “crutch” for not beginning your own genuine “inner work/change”.
4. Do not expect TMS and the Intelligent Pain/Symptom strategy to behave rationally. Your work, if you accept TMS is to “think psychological”, don’t be distracted and pay more genuine attention to how you are being and make some (open, allowing, flexible, balanced) changes in how your thoughts, attitudes & behaviors are playing out in your daily life. Don’t try to analyze and rationalize intellectually with the TMS strategy. This makes you feel like you are taking positive action but usually ends of “feeding” the strategy. We are not going to know and understand everything about the TMS strategy and how/why/when it works as it does. This is perfectly fine, we don’t need to!
5. Do not casually accept TMS and give it a shot to see if “think psychologically” will work for you. It takes 100% acceptance and genuine inner work to reverse TMS. The casual, skeptical acceptance approach is fear based. The TMS strategy knows this and will keep you stuck in the pain/symptom cycle. Belief with confidence and conviction is the communication that reverses the strategy.
6. Do not become consumed with reversing TMS. In most cases this will backfire by “feeding” the strategy and prolonging your chronic symptoms. Yes, you are excited that now you know the real cause and you want to fix it ASAP. Put more of your energy/attention into genuine inner work. Getting consumed with all the different aspects of TMS is distraction, meaning the strategy has you! There is a balance between struggling and fighting the strategy and in accepting it and understanding the change message for you to begin making in your life!
7. Important: Do not take the attitude or think about your TMS treatment (Thinking psychologically, Thinking clean, Being with Emotions, Journaling, Being Present, Root Lock, Resuming Activity, Stopping Physical Treatment, Etc.) as a treatment that you have to do to fix TMS. Yes, it is, but when you genuinely “get it”, that this is mindbody and your work is the mind and the purpose behind all of this is to Signal you to bring some change into your life, then you understand it is not a treatment to fix TMS, it is a message for you to be more open, allowing, balanced, present moment, and flexible in your life! And when you do that without thinking about TMS, you more effectively and efficiently reverse the pain/symptom cycle!
To provide you with helpful reminders and positive reinforcement I am going to do my best to provide at least 12 updates in 2013 along with some new video discussions and more frequent, relevant twitter messages. Stay tuned.
Since 2003 Monte has been providing updates that provide a unique insight and experiential knowledge into the healing requirements necessary to fully understand the dynamic TMS Mind Body Syndrome, how to reverse it and how to live with it successfully.
Recent Updates: http://www.runningpain.com/important_tms_updates
Stay the course
Monte Hueftle monte@runningpain.com |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 10:14:41
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Just a question, what's the difference between Monte posting helpful TMS information here with a link to his website, where he offers his books, coaching and other services at cost, rightfully so, and what Nicole Sachs and Steven Ozanich did recently, announcing their books and offering TMS healing help here gratis? Monte has posted here for years with a link to his site--and--that's how I found out about his book--and bought it.
Monte, not trying to bring you into the fray, but you just missed a doozy of a TMS board dust-up regarding TMS authors having links to their sites announcing and selling their TMS books. Thanks for your continued contributions here and I have no problem with your linking to your site.
Monte, this quote regarding being "cured" of TMS especially resonates as the Good Doctor says, "TMS is part of the HUMAN CONDITION":
"It is essential to understand that there is not a cure for TMS and there never will be! This is vital to understand if you want to reverse TMS successfully."
Cheers, tt
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Edited by - tennis tom on 01/27/2013 10:22:03 |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 10:42:51
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This post is very good |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 11:02:04
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Yes occasional symptoms like you were when you were a child is the point that most people on this forum consider a cure. It is also a spectrum where you can improve more and more than your current state. |
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alix
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 11:02:15
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Outstanding contribution.
quote: 1. Do not get distracted by pain or other TMS symptoms.
Is on top of your list and I could not agree more. Your brain wants foremost to distract you so that is key to master.
quote: 3. Do not keep searching outside yourself for the answers to TMS. This includes help/support groups, internet searching or believing that you must be diagnosed by a TMS doctor before you can accept TMS. This type of searching (distraction) will usually “feed” the strategy or is your “crutch” for not beginning your own genuine “inner work/change”.
That is me a few years ago. As tennis tom and I experienced, visiting a TMS doctor can be counterproductive. |
Edited by - alix on 01/27/2013 12:11:57 |
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plum
United Kingdom
641 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 13:22:37
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Alix, I'm a little confused and I hoped you could clarify something for me please. This is a genuine question, I'm not being provocative when I ask, given this;
quote: Originally posted by alix
Shawn, When you learn hypnosis or self-hypnosis, this is something that you learn first. Never use negations when talking to the unconscious mind. In fact you can observe at fairs when a hypnotherapist talks to volunteers from the crowd. The hypnotherapist will always use some straight affirmation: When I say X, you stand up and say Y. Nothing complicated and fancy. Same thing when they use hypnosis to treat addictions like tobacco.
how do you heartily endorse something that begins 'Do not...'. What is the difference? |
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alix
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 14:45:17
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Plum, You can't. You cannot say "don't smoke". Your 2 year old child/unconscious mind buried inside you will get it as "smoke". You can say "smoke is bad for you" and a bunch of other affirmations etc... That was from my hypnotherapist when she taught me self-hypnosis. |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 14:57:33
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I don't want to sound too negative so please don't take me wrong, but I think hypnosis is total bunk. I have never believed in it and doubt I ever will. |
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plum
United Kingdom
641 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 15:04:52
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But the above list contains statements that all begin with 'do not'. Does the same principle apply here too? |
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alix
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 15:14:42
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Monte's list is not a "talk to your subconscious" sort of thing. His list is a set of sophisticated instructions that you as a conscious person should do to get better. What I mean (and that was in another thread) was in the talk to your subconscious category. You should put yourself in a meditative state (meditation/relaxation) and tell yourself those simple affirmations or listen to affirmations on your iPod. If you see a hypnotherapist, that practitioner will first put you in a meditative state then say those affirmations while you are in that state (between consciousness and sleep). That special meditative state allows your subconscious to be alert and absorb simple affirmations. |
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alix
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 15:18:29
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I disagree Shawn. Hypnosis is not some crazy thing. It is simply to put your subconscious in a very alert state so you can communicate (one way) with it. Affirmations do work and your unconscious mind records them when you are in the right state. Hypnotherapy to help quit smoking (for example) is absolutely legit. But again, there are limitations, it lasts a few weeks, and you can override your unconscious mind. You probably have seen hypnotherapists at a state fair. They say "Chicken" and some guy in the crowd starts to do the chicken dance. It is pointless, goofy, but legit. The key in such case is in picking the right people. They will always pick the people in the crowd that are the most extrovert and eager to volunteer, therefore willing to be hypnotized. |
Edited by - alix on 01/27/2013 15:40:39 |
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bryan3000
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 15:23:12
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"most TMS repression is the day to day stuff..."
Wow, is that a message that's been distorted by the many TMS "experts" out there.
Totally agree, by the way... which is why TMS is just anxiety with a different name. Claire Weekes told us about not fearing day to day symptoms decades ago. |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 15:40:40
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Sorry, I am a total skeptic. There is nothing you can say that could convince me regarding hypnosis. Next topic please....... |
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alix
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2013 : 15:43:36
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Shawn why? Do you believe we have an unconscious mind? All hypnotherapy does, is to communicate with your unconscious mind. Listening on your ipod to affirmations is hypnotherapy. |
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plum
United Kingdom
641 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2013 : 03:17:10
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Monte,
My apologies for unintentionally hijacking your thread, I really didn't mean to.
This is a great list and I feel the sense that I'm beginning to get it dawning. Thanks for nudging me a bit further in the right direction. |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2013 : 06:03:57
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quote: Originally posted by Monte
2. Do not get stuck thinking/analyzing/investigating that TMS is caused by deeply repressed emotions or some unknown unconscious event.
This, in my opinion, the single biggest cause that people fail to heal.
quote: Originally posted by Monte
Finish the unfinished business and heal the known wounds and put the majority of your energy in being present in your day-to-day living. Most of the repression in TMS is the day-to-day stuff!
Agreed! It is in my opinion not something that happened 30, 20 years ago. It is so hard for me to accept that some bully bunched on the face 30 years ago can cause backpain now. I only able to start seeing positive result in my fight against tms/anxiety when I start to deal with my "current" stressors. I wasted a big part of my life looking for some childhood causes.
------------------------ No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
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plum
United Kingdom
641 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2013 : 14:41:49
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Bumping Monte's list |
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pan
United Kingdom
173 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2013 : 15:30:54
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quote: Originally posted by plum
Bumping Monte's list
Cheers Plum...yep, no3 very salient at the moment.
Wake me up with your amphetamine blast Take me by the collar and throw me out into the world Rock me gently & send me dreaming of something tender I was brought here to pay homage to the beat surrender
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2013 : 16:25:05
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quote: Originally posted by Monte
Do not keep searching outside yourself for the answers to TMS. This includes help/support groups,.....
Of course the irony is that this was posted on an online help/support group. |
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gailnyc
USA
80 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2013 : 18:55:04
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quote: That is me a few years ago. As tennis tom and I experienced, visiting a TMS doctor can be counterproductive.
Alix,
I'm curious to know in what way your visit was counterproductive. I have a visit with a TMS doctor scheduled for the end of March, although I know I have it and have been doing "the work" and getting better for the last two months.
Gail
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alix
USA
434 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2013 : 19:31:27
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gailnyc, my symptoms were pelvic pain. I visited Dr.Schechter and I felt that I knew more about pelvic pain/prostatitis/pudendal than him. I don't blame him. He cannot know everything. At the end he said your problem is TMS while his body language was more like "I have no clue". Then at last I felt pressured into buying his videos and worksheets which I really did not want to buy, so I was kicking myself (that famous people pleasing thing again). Also toward the end of my visit, he asked me if my pain was higher or lower than when I came in. I said higher and was told that it was a "good sign". ugh! What about if I had said "lower"? A bad sign then. So overall that was a really poor visit that set me back big time.
If you are healing already and you are convinced of a TMS diagnostic, I am not sure what benefit visiting a TMS doctor would bring. At best he/she will say it is TMS and it will make no difference. But you may get bad vibes and that is enough to set you back. At worst like for TT, you may get a "Not TMS, it is physical". What do you do then?
If you leave the doctor's practice completely pain free, you know that it is just a short term placebo. The most important part is the psychological work you are currently doing and there is no short-cut. Monte spoke on his videos about the (in)famous book cures/doctor visits that eventually relapse because no in-depth psychological work was done. |
Edited by - alix on 02/22/2013 23:08:23 |
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