Has anyone healed without "finding the reason for your pain"?

A lot of peer support and some of the TMS authors say you must find the reason for your pain, or why your body needs it, or what changes you need to make, etc.

Did anyone heal without doing this?

I wonder because after nearly half a year I can't figure out anything major that needs changing.

The only things ive found is that I think negatively often, have high expectations and control issues, and that my body is often tense with shallow breathing.

Is this the sort of stuff they mean? Because I get the feeling the mean something like... I need to quit my job or I realized I was bullied in high school do I need to stand up to my coworker or something.

I come up empty with that sort of stuff

 

Hi James, I've been at the same place for 5 years now, and I just roll along sniffing out possible answers. Same as you (and I guess the other strugglers) , I've done and read, I've tried and not tried, etc. Anyway, I accidentally listened to Prof Selena Bartlett the other day and I've listened to it half a dozen times since, doing the breathing and concentrating tenaciously on gratitude and believe it or not I've had 4 goodish days in a row. I have also been doing some Michael Moskowitz work of shrinking the brain map and nurturing my senses as strongly as I can to avoid the 24x7 negativity related to my TMS pain.
She makes a quick comment on not concentrating on old issues among other interesting insights. It's only an hour with the headphones, so maybe give it a go. cheers, marls.

 

Oh boy I need a lesson. How do I post a YouTube address without the whole thing coming up instead of just the address?

 

Hi James,

Many people overcome TMS symptoms without figuring out the exact reason for the pain. The most important part is belief and overcoming fear of symptoms. There are two amazing success stories on this forum that you might find helpful. One is by "balto" and the other one by "dorado". You can find them in the Success Stories subforum. Both had pain as well as a ton of TMS equivalents and both healed by choosing to believe, not fearing symptoms, and going back to living their lives.

 

There is an alarm going off in your system

That could be because of lots of tiny fires that started over time

It could be because there was a huge explosion

It doesn't matter why, it matters whether you are now throwing more fuel on the fire, or activating the sprinkler system

You see?

 

@blackbirds thank you for offering balto’s story to read. I just read it for the first time and it brought me to tears. What a wonderful and inspiring story. Thank you.

 

If you can come to understand WHY you have control issues and constant negative thinking you will reap the benefits. Curing TMS would just be a piece of it. You are on the right track. There is no pressure or timeline. Relax and keep with it.

 

I'm not sure when I first got rid of my sensations a good few years ago that I actually did find the exact reason for the pain sensations. However I did heal. As Miller says above, it could be a combination.
But as long as you are viewing your sensations as a psychological problem & don't do anything to encourage the notion that its a structural problem (like special back cushions, sitting in a certain way etc), then you are still on the right track imo.

 

James, I was never able to find that specific event that caused my pain. I came to a conclusion that my pain and muscle tension developed incrementally, due to my habitual suppression of my emotions and inability to handle my anxiety. Once I started focusing on that, I started healing. I fully recovered and am much better off than before my last bout of TMS.

 

That's good to hear. Was there anything in particular that you read or did that helped you heal you think?

 

To answer this question, one post would not be enough. For anxiety, Claire Weekes audio was my godsend. For the rest of it, it was a long journey of introspection, self-realization and learning. You can trace my story through my posts on this forum. But in the most concise and clear form, it is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0834Q46SM . It is hard for me to retell it in one paragraph, but it worked very well for me.