Has anyone else experienced this?

Just curious.
So I started the structured program 2 days ago. I haven't done the day 3 today yet. But my pain has been semi tolerable before I found out about TMS. Anyways here is my question. They say to get back into your normal activities as soon as possible. Okay I think this is great so I took my kids to the indoor playground as I used to run around with them in the past in the play area.
As soon as I walked in the door I felt very anxious. I was running around, climbing and sliding on the playground with my son and my pain was do worse than before I started even with all that activity. But I couldn't stop thinking about my back and got really anxious even while playing. I continued to run around and play with my son regardless of my anxious feelings. I have now left the playground and am home and still feel anxious. Is this normal when going back to normal activities. I'm not sure how to calm myself down.

 

Yes, I think this is normal. You still have some fear about the pain and it is being expressed as general anxiety. You will gain more confidence as you continue to resume your normal routine, and find that it doesn't effect your pain levels. Hang in there. You are on the right path. Congratulations on getting back to playing with your kids. Just keep doing the SEP and staying with the program and you will continue to have success.

 

Hi Crystal,

Ellen is absolutely correct. This is very normal. I experienced variations of it during my recovery. All you need to do is have the mindset that no matter what the symptom, back pain or anxiety, you willl forge ahead with living a normal life.

When you feel anxious remind yourself that it is harmless, just like back pain, and that it will eventually subside. Avoid giving it importance in your thoughts or feelings.

 

Thank you. I will forge ahead and do the things I want to do. Thank you for your comments.

 

Sarno calls it extinction bursts. My recovery consisted of many of those, each followed by small improvements. You have to celebrate improvements and accept bursts of pain.

 

These feelings are VERY normal. Observe the feelings and don't think of them as good or bad, just observe them and recognize why they are there (the fear). I eventually got to the stage where if my body reacts that way when in a 'trigger' situation, I can now smile and think to myself, "ok sweetie, you're safe, do your little thing and release your fear.") Don't try to hold feelings in as that makes them worse, do some journalling when you get home. Also, learn a calming technique for when you feel anxiety. The easiest and most versatile is to breath deeply into your diaphragm, hold a few seconds, breath out slowly, hold empty a few seconds, concentrating on your breath. Don't worry about getting the breathing right as you get better at everything with practice.

 

This is normal for TMS, caused by the docs who are uneducated and treat the body-only. They ignore the MIND part of the chronic pain equation. They have conditioned us with a ton of NOCEBOS creating FEAR, that when we move, we are wearing away our bodies causing further damage. They convincingly urge that we can only be "fixed" by interventions from the medical/pharmaceutical/industrial complex.

The opposite is the truth, movement fixes the problem by re-conditioning us to be physically active again--getting our lubricating juices going. Give yourself a couple of weeks to allow the TMS reconditioning process to perform it's magic--it likely took many years for the sub-conscious to create the myth of the "weak body"--maybe from the womb if you believe in the Mozart effect.

G'luck!
tt

 

Thanks for all the comments. I have been telling myself the anxiety is okay like suggested and it doesn't seem to get out of control. I feel like since I started my pain feels like a wave its weird. I will keep doing the program and look forward to my results. Since I started journaling the anxiety seems to be less. I think I was feeling scared of starting the whole program.