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art
1903 Posts |
 Posted - 07/18/2013 : 12:46:23
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1: Be aware of context. Always draw connections whenever possible. So to be specific, ask yourself when the pain started. Were you under unusual stress of any kind? For me, TMS pain tends to be episodic, twinges that come and go for example. Pay attention to the twinges. Do they tend to occur when you're driving for example, under stressful conditions, or when you're angry or upset? Do they appear in the morning after having been absent at night? What about the reverse?
Again, always strive to draw connections between your pain and certain situational and emotional patterns.
2: Be aware that very often, the thought precedes the pain rather than the reverse, which is what one would expect. It's only the barest fraction of a second, but it's still long enough for us to make the distinction. So to give a simple example, I might think of my back a millisecond before the pain starts. This of course is a dead giveaway. It takes some practice to be aware of this, but it can be done with practice.
3: If you've had a certain kind of pain before and it went away under TMS self-treatment, you can be very close to positive it's TMS again. This might seem self-evident, but for those of us with OCd like thinking patterns, or health anxiety, or hypochondria, it's often anything but.
4: Another subtle one, but my TMS pain, that is the subjective quality of the pain (sharp, dull, ongoing ,intermittent etc.) tends to match up with certain preconceived ideas of how a particular "injury" *should* feel. If you see this in connection with a certain symptom, chances are overwhelmingly high it's TMS.
5: Does the pain tend to go away when you're busy, or preoccupied with something? In other words, when you stop focusing on the pain, does it disappear? If so, again, you can be virtually certain it's TMS.
That's 5. I'll post another bunch in a few days.
Hope someone's helped. Also, be great if some others added some tips of your own. It's the number one question around here, and understandably so. "Is it real, or is it TMS?"
A.
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Edited by - art on 07/18/2013 12:49:12 |
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chickenbone
Panama
398 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2013 : 13:16:21
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Good post, Art. I have used a lot of these points to try to figure out if my pain in the moment is TMS. My TMS pain also tends to be sporadic and I often notice that when I am not focusing on the pain, it tends to go away.
Also, I would be interested in how you used spirituality to overcome fear/negative ideas about existential issues like end of life issues. I have also embraced spirituality, but it has only been partially effective.
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icelikeaninja
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2013 : 14:44:34
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| Nice |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2013 : 16:04:44
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quote:
Originally posted by chickenbone
Good post, Art. I have used a lot of these points to try to figure out if my pain in the moment is TMS. My TMS pain also tends to be sporadic and I often notice that when I am not focusing on the pain, it tends to go away.
Also, I would be interested in how you used spirituality to overcome fear/negative ideas about existential issues like end of life issues. I have also embraced spirituality, but it has only been partially effective.
Hi CB,
Those are dead giveaways. Intermittent pain that goes away when focused elsewhere. Easy peasy (but then of course, we tend to complicate anyway.
On the spirituality thing, certainly nothing fancy. Just stuff like understanding the inevitability of death, and coming to terms with the fact that life is by its nature difficult in so many ways. To the extent we can embrace these things, we're set free in profound, personality altering ways.
We tms'ers like all high anxiety people, can be extraordinarily self-involved individuals. God knows I am. If we can truly begin to accept our own fragile humanity, and the fact that we are only one of billions on this earth, we start to cultivate a feeling of humility and gratitude. That's when we begin to heal from the inside first, which is where it really counts.
Being the blabber mouth that I am, I could go on and on, but that's the general idea. I have to say I have not even come close to perfecting these things. I've merely identified to myself what I need to work on. But even that has helped immensely |
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plum
United Kingdom
641 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2013 : 13:19:03
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| I freakin love this post. It's an exposé, a collection of tms mugshots. I'd like to add the tms hoodoo, the silly superstitious thinking. It may be a bruiser but it has no evil eye. Maybe someone who has recovered can elaborate on the nature of suggestibility and how to kick it into touch. Art, I'm looking at you. |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2013 : 13:55:37
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Love the mug shot metaphor, plum. And yes, wow, talk about suggestibility. I think we're the only people in the world who hypnotize ourselves without the least effort. I can't count the number of fake injuries I've had after reading about them.
I'm afraid we're stuck with this tendency, we just have to recognize familiar patterns. And then after all, suggestibility can work constructively as well. IN fact I sometimes think it actually can speed our recovery. :-)
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Edited by - art on 07/21/2013 13:57:00 |
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marytabby
USA
545 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2013 : 13:57:16
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| Thanks for this. I am trying to put some of this into context for myself right now. |
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A few tips to help in identifying TMS
