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Colleen
USA
138 Posts |
 Posted - 04/26/2005 : 09:15:49
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Fred,
Thanks for your advice....I do have a feeling this is going to take SOME time.
PaulT......How do I get that 20/20 tape from you?
Thanks,
Colleen |
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MikeC
USA
43 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2005 : 09:52:13
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Colleen,
While it does take some time, don't feel that it take 2 years for everyone. Also, I'm sure that the pain tapers down after awhile so it is more survivable as time goes on. Now that I am working with a psychologist who has given me some tools to work with, I can get through the day in an okay fashion. As many people have said on the board, it is up to us to do the readings, journaling, activity. By no means, it is easy, but it is certainly worth it.
Good luck,
Mike C |
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Fredarm57
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2005 : 13:16:32
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Mike and Colleen:
Dr. Siegel's approach is described in his book "Back Sense" and in the lecture available at http://www.nicabm.com/olt/mindfulness_psychotherapy/demo/audio_lectures.htm.
I saw him primarily from 1991 to 1993, when he was just beginning to develop his approach to chronic pain. He is very reassuring and empathetic; having been through back pain himself, he familiar with the fears that it generates. We spent a lot of time talking about emotional and life issues, not so much time talking about the pain as such. He is a very good listener! I saw him a few more times in 2000 when I had a relapse and again once in early March this year (at $145 a visit, that's all I could afford-my insurance does not cover him).
He recommends using mindfulness techniques to deal with the pain, and starting to do those things that you stopped doing because of your pain. His approach takes a somewhat different tack than Dr. Sarno's because he recommends accepting that the pain is something you can't control, like the weather. Once you accept it and stop fighting it, you become less tense and the pain caused by muscle tension lessens. He call it the "benign barometer of anxiety". He doesn't really get into the Freudian repressed anger theory, but rather attributes the pain to muscle tension caused by the fight-or-flight response. In some ways it's an easier approach for me to accept, and more like Dr. Sarno's original theory as set forth in his first book, Mind Over Back Pain.
The mindfulness component encourages you to focus on the present, rather than worrying about the future. So much of our anxiety about pain revolves around when it will strike next, causing us to become tense and helping create the pain itself. We think "I have to do X next week, what if I get back pain" and so on. If you focus on what's going on now, and don't worry about whether you will have pain next week, you will be a lot less tense. In the book he describes mindfulness techniques you can use, including various forms of meditation, breathing, and noticing your thoughts (particularly helpful for dealing with worry). He doesn't specifically recommend journaling, although for people who are having trouble resuming activity he does recommend keeping a pain log for a while so that you can see that the pain doesn't really correspond with the level of activity. His point is that if you wait for the pain to go away before resuming activity, you will probably wait forever.
My recent contact with him has been mostly for reassurance: "yes, it sounds like TMS again, don't worry about it, you'll be OK, keep doing your activities, etc.". I have a tendency to get anxious when I get an episode of severe back pain, even though I know what is going on. I went to see him after my most recent episode of back pain in late February. One of my concerns was that I was supposed to go on a ski trip in a couple of weeks. He said "go", and I did. I had some pain, but it didn't get worse and the skiing was fun. I began to relax about the whole episode, and within a couple of weeks, the pain was gone. For me, he's that calm voice in my head, telling me that it's OK, the pain will go away.
Fred |
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Allan
USA
226 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2005 : 17:38:01
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To the Massachusetts connection:
Please send me your email address if you would like to attend a cookout in Weymouth this summerfor TMS survivors or strugglers.
Allan.
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Colleen
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 09:07:42
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Dear Fred,
Thanks for your reply. I feel like I really need an appt. with Dr. Siegal....if only for one appt.
Colleen |
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Fredarm57
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 09:22:23
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| Colleen: Don't panic if you can't get to see Dr. Siegel. Because of insurance issues, I am seeing a different therapist, not Dr. Siegel (other than the once last month, which he fit me in on a cancellation because I am a former patient). In my opinion, as long as the therapist is receptive to the concept of emotionally induced pain, you don't have to see a "TMS" therapist as such. Fred |
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Colleen
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2005 : 12:09:13
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Fred,
If you are comfortable doing so, could you send me an email telling me the name of your therapist or is there a "list" of TMS therapist. The one I have been seeing for awhile....even before my Mom got sick.....I am teaching her about TMS.
Colleen |
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pault
USA
169 Posts |
Posted - 04/29/2005 : 03:58:46
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| Coleen , I found my old e-mail address was on record and have corrected it. Have you gotten any mail from me as of late? Can you check you own information for accuracy? How are you doing as of late? Thanks Paul. |
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TMS in MA
