Broader view of TMS

I've had an interesting experience. In the last six weeks I've reduced my pain greatly, and expanded my activities accordingly. A few new symptoms have popped up, but now I know what to do with them.

So, two days ago, I broke my toe (first broken bone ever). It's no surprise-- I'd gotten on overdrive, was doing three things at once, and had some minor but as yet unsoothed emotions happening. It's not that painful, but the TMS emotions have run riot: I'll lose all the gains I've made in walking; other people have to do things for me and this interferes with being a goodist and a perfectionist; what if it doesn't heal right (it was a weird break); without exercise my back and sciatic pains will come back ....

I know that there is a sharp distinction that professionals have made between psychophysiologic pain and "real" injuries and diseases like cancer or diabetes, but I'm beginning to wonder whether all illness and injuries are PPD in the long run. Just because a test can show abnormal cells, why is it not TMS? After all, lots of us have herniated discs that show up on tests. If they scanned people without cancer for abnormal cells, would lots of healthy people have them? Is that where the distinction comes, if all people with cancer have abnormal cells, and the rest of us have none?

And even if it is, surely people's unresolved emotions are affecting their health and making them susceptible to illness or injury? I'm really beginning to believe that pretty much everything is a reflection of our attitudes and emotions. I'd love to hear what others think on this, and why TMS seems to have a somewhat limited range of illnesses and injuries attributed to it.

 

Sorry you broke your toe.
Don't think it will set you back from walking very long.
Maybe try what a physical therapist told me a few years ago...
walk HEEL TO TOE. Put the weight on your heel.

Also, when walking heel to toe we are less likely to trip.

 

keep doing the mental work tarala and you wont be set back-i love lifting weights
and cardio but to prove to myself that it was as sarno said i laid off the weights as i healed-
i thought it might hinder me too but it actually helped since i wasnt putting a mental or physical
strian in my body-we have to remeber the rage sooth ratio-dont get too angered and not too relaxed-keep it in the middle -you will be fine
the limited amount of dis-eases attributed to tms is because of the autonomic nervous system-like our skin automatically heals and we dont have to make it heal
or any organ that the body automatically heals-like the eyes-etc....these r all attributed to
the sub-conscious doing its job without our help-now when we have repression -and the pain occurs-the brain thinks its doing us a favor
so in this instance we have to reverse the condition thru the methods you have been taught here to heal

 

Good advice, Eric. Glad you're okay lifting weights again.
I feel a little lower back pain this morning, but will just ignore it
and walk Annie and then do my grocery shopping.

 

thats a good thing to do walt-we heal by our mind-our bodys get the results
if we do what makes us happy we heal faster-
sounds like your on to it

 

I shopped at three stores and got my week's groceries.
Some back pain but I will deal with that.

 

Hi Tarala,

I had the same thing happen a few weeks ago! I've been pretty much recovered from TMS for a few months now. One morning I was walking really fast trying to get somewhere on time. This woman walking in front of me was shouting at someone on her cell phone. I kept thinking, I have to get away fro this negative woman. So I started walking faster, tripped on uneven sidewalk and stubbed my toe hard. I was worried I'd have to go back to the podiatrist and he'd make me do PT...and the PT would start asking me about all my other problems I had seen her for in the past, and I'd fall back into the structural damage mumbo-jumbo.

BREATHE! I was totally getting carried away. I ended up going to my PCP who said there's nothing you can do for a break like mine, it was either really small or just a lot of really bad bruising. I also called my TMS doctor and he said the same thing.

I think all illness has an emotional component but I don't think it's all TMS/TMS equivalent. Dr. Sarno talks about how even though TMS pain can be horrible, no real damage is done to the body. There are other kinds of conditions where the body actually is damaged (like a broken bone) but there is still a mindbody component. For me, I was getting stressed about the injury and making it hurt worse. I also think part of why it happened was my extreme reaction to that negative woman and my general susceptibility to people like that.

Anyway, I hope you are on the mend and feeling better soon.

Take care.