Am I getting worse?

I’ve been doing this work for a little over 6 months. At my 2 month mark my pain had lowered considerably to the point where I considered myself pain free. I did develop tinnitus though and that bothered me for a while. At the 4 month mark some of my pain came back and it has slowly been spreading to my entire body since then. And while I still have tinnitus it does not bother me at all. I did start somatic experiencing just before the pain came back. But I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. I’m just so frustrated that I got to such a good point but now I am progressively getting worse despite knowing about TMS and doing all the same work that got me out of it in the first place. I am at the same place i started if not worse. Am I doomed to continue to get worse or does it get better again at some point?

 

Don’t give up! TMS brains can really kick back. Your brain is purposefully making symptoms worse, it's called extinction burst or relapse or a lot of other things and it is normal for many people! I’m on about my 20th round of it. I’ve found it helps me learn to keep out of the fear loop and has shown me that the frustration is really a form of self negativity, and a chance to learn more self compassion and better self-relationship skills. Often we don’t realize some tiny (or large) part of us slides back into old patterns that we didn’t realize were just part of what we need to soften. Pain will return at some point in our lives, these trying times are how we learn to deal with it so it doesn’t remain chronic.
Patience and kindness towards yourself just like you would offer a dear friend going through such struggles.