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mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
 Posted - 04/09/2013 : 22:52:59
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Hi Balto, hope u r well. I was reading another post on drinking alcohol & pain & you commented & this is what you said.
quote:
I tried to quit smoking for thousand of times, each time I failed because I can't endure those nasty "withdrawal" symptoms. But then learning about mindbody helped me quit successfully. I just stop "expecting" those withdrawal symptoms and I was able to convince myself to believe that those withdrawal symptoms exist due to my expectation. I quitted and it was very painfree things to do.
How do you ' stop expecting' symptoms? Can u please explain this to me in practical terms I mean not just in theory but by giving me concrete examples. Like specifically what steps I can take, what/ how should I think .
So in others words if I a feeling pain how can I stop expecting them?
Thanks for yr help Balto.
Mala
Mala Singh Barber. I'm on facebook. Look me up
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2013 : 09:02:45
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Hi Mala,
I'm not sure if you were asking about how I stop expecting withdrawal symptoms from quiting smoke and alcohol or from general tms/anxiety symptoms. Either way, in my opinion I think they are the same.
The steps I used to over come "expecting" is:
1 - knowledge
2 - retrain my way of thinking.
3 - Don't give a sh.. about the symptoms.
Eventually I was able to revert negative symptoms to positive ones.
1 - From observation of my own symptoms, from reading mindbody books, from listening to mindbod experts, I recognize that most of my symptoms come from my expectation. It is a form of "conditioning". These expectation come from my brain automaticly without any control from "me". Example are: when I go over high bridge or thru a tunnel my body automaticly produced symptoms. When I went without smoke for more than a day, when I drink or eat anything with dairy products in it, when I fly in an airplane, when I visit my family in california, when I have to make a sale presentation.... My body automaticly produce symptoms. I recognized there are 3 things that caused this, two of them are produced by our brain automaticly, the third is mainly our own thinking. First, Sometime in the past, I had a symptoms attack when I was driving over bridge and tunnels, or when I was flying in an airplane, or when I was visiting family... somehow my brain "memorize" those event and "wrongly" thought that those events are dangerous to me. So when those events happen again the body just automaticly produce symptoms. I am a Pavlo's dog in these cases. Second, We heard it on the radio, we saw it in the news, we read it in magazine, we constantly expose our mind to "wrong" information all the time. Slipped disc causes backpain, chinese food caused ulcer, dairy products caused stomach discomfort to lactose intolerance people, rear end car accident caused whiplash, quit smoking will produce withdrawal symptoms, ... again, our brain "memorize" these informations and it will produces those "expected" symptoms. And when these events happened during time of stress the symptoms will intensified, then fear of the symptoms getting worse will prolong the symptoms. Third, our thinking, our own expectation caused symptoms. If you think running will cause knee pain then it will. If you think bending down to pickup a 5 pounds bag will cause back pain then it will, if you think going to see your inlaw will produce panic attack then it will.... We expected it, we will get it. Those thoughts are instruction to our brain to produce the neccessary chemical and physical changes in our body to produce symptoms.
side note: Dr Sarno wrote in his book that tms symptoms are usually epidemic. Car accidents in the US caused lots of "whiplash" but not in countries that have no insurance or widely available medical care. In the 70's, stomach ulcers were wide spread, 80's were carpel tunel syndrome, now it is back pain and foot pain.
2 - This retraining my way of thinking period is long or short depended on how strongly I believe those above knowledge are true. I believe them and now I have to act on them. I reason with myself that these are symptoms that were produced by my brain, my thinking, my "expectation", my being "conditioned" to different things... I have to think like Pavlo's dogs. Hey, this guys keep ringing the bell but don't give me food, I'm not going to salivate anymore. Hey brain, this bridge and tunnel, this cup of milk, this visit to the inlaw is incapable of producing symptoms, it is my brain thinking they do and so my body just complying with false beliefs that produced symptoms. Don't FEAR them, don't worry about them, if they happen don't think about it, eventually they will not happen again. Be yourself's best friend, explain to yourself that these symptoms is not dangerous and are just temporary. Don't give them any weight. It will take sometime but our brain will recognize that those symptoms are just there due to false informations and will not happen again once our brain accept the new correct thinking.
again, this will not happen over night, it will take sometime. So you got to be patient.
3 - Don't give a sh.. if you have symptoms. So what if they happen, so what if my back hurt or my knee hurt or if I have a headache or ulcer... They will be gone once I got back control of my brain. Start to catch those automatic negative thoughts (ANT's) and try to elliminate them one by one by replacing them with real, true, and positive informations. ANT's is a habit, a bad habit and we need to replace it with a new positive, healthy habit. Catch it, dismiss it, and replace it with new habit. Don't allow your brain to feed you with: Oh why is this happenning to me. Oh man this is not good, I'm having this and that...
Be strong, be positive, be confidence that you can stop these condition, retrain your thinking, take back control of your brain. It can be done.
Hope this help Mala.
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No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2013 : 09:45:41
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Wow this is really great
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kalo
USA
142 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2013 : 10:28:28
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Wow, is RIGHT, ACE!!!
Balto, ACE1, and Eric, and many more!!! You all give me such courage to keep up the good fight!!!!
I will post what is going on with me!!! UGH, I seem to be getting what is know as Symptom Imperative!!!!!
Kalo |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2013 : 11:05:31
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| Symptom imperative is a very good sign. It usually happens like crazy as you let up the tension. |
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kalo
USA
142 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2013 : 16:27:00
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quote:
Symptom imperative is a very good sign. It usually happens like crazy as you let up the tension.
Hmm, sure doesn't feel like it, ACE1
Sympton Imperative is now in my neck, LOL!!! A year ago, I was in a car accident...FENDER BENDER....
I sought, help, using TMS stragey...I was told by a radiologist who does mobile xraying...That the C2 disc was slipping, LOL!!!
I can't remember what the type of xray he took, but, he had me move my head side to side and forward and backwards..
Then he replays it back on computer and I could see my only skeleton head neck moving..
He said, ya see, there it is...Your disc is slipping...
Since last year, and after leaving a chiropractor who had hired him...
I was FINE, until now...
Now my neck hurts bad....
Only a month ago, I had stomach problems, arm pain, and now this...
I am hoping I am coming close to beat the TMS...
Kalo |
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mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2013 : 22:09:09
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Wow Balto , you explained that so so well. I am going to copy that post if you don't mind & repost it for all to read. It is a MUST.
I have intellectually understood all your points. My biggest problem is the third one. Not giving a sh..
In my own mind I think I am doing a good job of ignoring the symptoms. But despite doing it for such a long time, the pain doesn't go away. Maybe deep down inside I am still very fearful. I have followed Aces advice and have been doing the affirmations. Maybe I don't really believe these positive thoughts that I think. And my subconscious seems to know this. How do I overcome this hurdle?
I am in beautiful Phuket for 2 weeks . I thought about you while I was having some Thai food.
Take care
Mala
Mala Singh Barber. I'm on facebook. Look me up
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2013 : 07:06:55
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Mala, there are 28 steps on Ace's list. Affirmation is only one of them, don't forget to do the other 27 too, they are all very very important.
You don't need to believe in what you're affirming. Just keep doing it regularly and "ACT" as if it is true, your body will confirm to your thought whether it is true or not.
If you watch a sad movie sometime you cry, it is just a movie, it is not true, but it can still create the emotion that is strong enough to make you cry. Affirming is the same, do it regular and act as if it is true, make yourself believe in it. Do like professional athletic do, imagining their performing, imagining they are winning and the cheer, the walk to the podium, the gold medal... Hey, Tiger Wood can win, so can we.
lear to laugh at yourself, learn to laugh at your negative thoughts, learn to laugh at your feaar... eventually it will become a habit, a habit that would save your life and bring so much happiness into your life.
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No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience. |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2013 : 08:29:42
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| Yes exactly what balto is saying is the truth. |
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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
Posted - 04/11/2013 : 10:05:16
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| Balto's post is excellent and gets right to the heart of the problem. I am employing the same tactics with regard to my sleeping problems. After my pain and discomfort went away, the TMS strategy decided to hit me where I was most vulnerable. What am I most afraid of? Not sleeping. I was unconsciously terrified that it would undermine my health or make me go crazy. I was not fully aware of these unconscious beliefs that I had to take pills in order to sleep, I did not have the ability to sleep naturally, I must have some kind of brain chemistry abnormality (big NOCEBO courtesy of my former Psychiatrists) and I was terrified of not being able to get to sleep. So when I stopped my meds gradually, I would expect withdrawal symptoms in the form of headaches, sleeplessness, anxiety, etc. And presto, that is exactly what I got. I began to see this clearly last week. You need to really believe and get out of "conditioning" mode. Now, when I have a hard time falling asleep, I keep affirming the opposite of what I have been conditioned to believe. Often, I get up and do journaling about my false beliefs and conditioned responses. The same thing applies to my "allergies" which I really never had. If I walked into a musty smelling hotel room, I would automatically get an allergy attack that night. This was not caused by the atmosphere in the room, but by my brain that was enacting the conditioned response. Unwinding this stuff is incredibly hard to do, but the more you see that the sky doesn't fall in when you defy these conditioned responses, the more courage and confidence you will have to change them. Now, when I am up at night, I don't panic, think about taking pills or even get upset at all. I work on affirmations, tweak them, if necessary. The longer I stick to doing this, the more my brain learns that, "ok, if you don't chose to sleep, we will just work on your misconceptions and false beliefs all night, if necessary. It is no skin off my nose, I can always take a nap during the day. I don't give a **** if you don't want to sleep, but, if you chose not to, this is what you will be doing all night. You are not going to enjoy the fun of panicking me or getting a pill for your efforts anymore. I am wise to you." My brain does not like this and it often chooses to go to sleep WITHOUT meds, which never worked anyway. This has been extremely difficult, but I am extremely determined. |
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stocktrader
30 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2013 : 14:09:22
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quote:
Originally posted by balto
Hi Mala,
I'm not sure if you were asking about how I stop expecting withdrawal symptoms from quiting smoke and alcohol or from general tms/anxiety symptoms. Either way, in my opinion I think they are the same.
The steps I used to over come "expecting" is:
1 - knowledge
2 - retrain my way of thinking.
3 - Don't give a sh.. about the symptoms.
Eventually I was able to revert negative symptoms to positive ones.
1 - From observation of my own symptoms, from reading mindbody books, from listening to mindbod experts, I recognize that most of my symptoms come from my expectation. It is a form of "conditioning". These expectation come from my brain automaticly without any control from "me". Example are: when I go over high bridge or thru a tunnel my body automaticly produced symptoms. When I went without smoke for more than a day, when I drink or eat anything with dairy products in it, when I fly in an airplane, when I visit my family in california, when I have to make a sale presentation.... My body automaticly produce symptoms. I recognized there are 3 things that caused this, two of them are produced by our brain automaticly, the third is mainly our own thinking. First, Sometime in the past, I had a symptoms attack when I was driving over bridge and tunnels, or when I was flying in an airplane, or when I was visiting family... somehow my brain "memorize" those event and "wrongly" thought that those events are dangerous to me. So when those events happen again the body just automaticly produce symptoms. I am a Pavlo's dog in these cases. Second, We heard it on the radio, we saw it in the news, we read it in magazine, we constantly expose our mind to "wrong" information all the time. Slipped disc causes backpain, chinese food caused ulcer, dairy products caused stomach discomfort to lactose intolerance people, rear end car accident caused whiplash, quit smoking will produce withdrawal symptoms, ... again, our brain "memorize" these informations and it will produces those "expected" symptoms. And when these events happened during time of stress the symptoms will intensified, then fear of the symptoms getting worse will prolong the symptoms. Third, our thinking, our own expectation caused symptoms. If you think running will cause knee pain then it will. If you think bending down to pickup a 5 pounds bag will cause back pain then it will, if you think going to see your inlaw will produce panic attack then it will.... We expected it, we will get it. Those thoughts are instruction to our brain to produce the neccessary chemical and physical changes in our body to produce symptoms.
side note: Dr Sarno wrote in his book that tms symptoms are usually epidemic. Car accidents in the US caused lots of "whiplash" but not in countries that have no insurance or widely available medical care. In the 70's, stomach ulcers were wide spread, 80's were carpel tunel syndrome, now it is back pain and foot pain.
2 - This retraining my way of thinking period is long or short depended on how strongly I believe those above knowledge are true. I believe them and now I have to act on them. I reason with myself that these are symptoms that were produced by my brain, my thinking, my "expectation", my being "conditioned" to different things... I have to think like Pavlo's dogs. Hey, this guys keep ringing the bell but don't give me food, I'm not going to salivate anymore. Hey brain, this bridge and tunnel, this cup of milk, this visit to the inlaw is incapable of producing symptoms, it is my brain thinking they do and so my body just complying with false beliefs that produced symptoms. Don't FEAR them, don't worry about them, if they happen don't think about it, eventually they will not happen again. Be yourself's best friend, explain to yourself that these symptoms is not dangerous and are just temporary. Don't give them any weight. It will take sometime but our brain will recognize that those symptoms are just there due to false informations and will not happen again once our brain accept the new correct thinking.
again, this will not happen over night, it will take sometime. So you got to be patient.
3 - Don't give a sh.. if you have symptoms. So what if they happen, so what if my back hurt or my knee hurt or if I have a headache or ulcer... They will be gone once I got back control of my brain. Start to catch those automatic negative thoughts (ANT's) and try to elliminate them one by one by replacing them with real, true, and positive informations. ANT's is a habit, a bad habit and we need to replace it with a new positive, healthy habit. Catch it, dismiss it, and replace it with new habit. Don't allow your brain to feed you with: Oh why is this happenning to me. Oh man this is not good, I'm having this and that...
Be strong, be positive, be confidence that you can stop these condition, retrain your thinking, take back control of your brain. It can be done.
Hope this help Mala.
------------------------
No, I don't know everything. I'm just here to share my experience.
Good Post. |
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Question for Balto from Mala
