Hello everyone

Hi everybody

I am just reading The Way Out by Alan Gordon and its a really good book. I have learned a lot and have noticed that when I try somatic tracking the pain moves around a lot and I can feel one area of pain suddenly stopping and starting up somewhere else. It really is very strange. I agree with a lot that is discussed in the book and I am always on high alert and always have been and have had a lot of pain issues throughout my life and had lots of physio and pain has gone only to start up again somewhere else. For the past few months I have had a lot of pain in my right rib area and its been worrying me. This started after a close family bereaevement and its been getting me down. All of a sudden it went away, actually when reading the book and now I have severe neck and shoulder pain which I am in the process of accepting is TMS. I am trying to nurture a sense of safety but that is hard to do when grieving. Has anyone got any advice about how to feel safe and more importantly how to make my brain feel safe

Thanks

 

Use the technique Dr. Sarno called "talking to your brain". This is using your higher, rational, reasonable brain to calm down your primitive brain, which is sending signals that you are not safe. Use phrases like "You are safe. You have everything you need to be safe--a roof over your head, enough to eat, and no person or animal is threatening you. You can calm down now because you are safe." Of course, I'm assuming these things are hopefully true for you at this time. It helps to say these things out loud and emphatically. It's like an adult trying to calm down a child.

 

Hi Ellen

Thank you so much, that really makes a lot of sense. I have been saying it inside my head but I think saying it out loud will have more of an affect and I will start that today

 

Thank you, this sounds a very good idea. I have always liked to keep a diary so this wont be hard to do. Really appreciate your comment

 

Artgirl: . . . now I have severe neck and shoulder pain which I am in the process of accepting is TMS. I am trying to nurture a sense of safety but that is hard to do when grieving. Has anyone got any advice about how to feel safe and more importantly how to make my brain feel safe

As you know from reading The Way Out, the first goal of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is “to teach your brain that the pain in not dangerous” so that you can “respond to your pain without fear.” Page 46. The second goal is to “foster an overall sense of safety” by processing “more general types of fear and stress.” Page 47. Alan Gordon elaborated on the more general types of fear and stress in The Way Out but nicely summarized it in a short article (https://www.healthcentral.com/pain-management/how-the-brain-causes-chronic-pain) by saying it involves the processing of “threatening emotions, a history of trauma, difficult relationships, and more.” He added that “any relevant therapeutic approach can be used for this component of PRT, such as Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), expressive writing and more.”

You said you are “in the process of accepting” that your new neck and shoulder pain is TMS. That language implies to me that you have not yet ceased to fear your new neck and shoulder pain. Alan Gordon said in the short article linked above: "In PRT, we typically focus on the pain sensations first, using somatic tracking. We then address non-pain threats as needed, returning to the pain sensations when appropriate. This order of treatment may be most efficient.” In the interest of efficiency, if not efficacy, I’d urge you not to ignore the first goal of PRT and be sure you fully accept that your new pain is TMS. I’m not a fan of affirmations like “I’m safe” or “My pain is TMS.” It is better to look for credible reasons to conclude the pain is TMS rather than something structural. Perhaps it would be helpful if you visit or revisit (as the case may be) the appendix on pages 163 to 169 of The Way Out on How to Determine You Have Neuroplastic Pain.

 

I agree. To clarify when I suggested the technique of "talking to your brain" it's important that when we use this technique we believe what we say. This is firming up our belief and trying to impart that belief to our primitive, unconscious brain. It's not using a positive affirmation or positive thinking or anything like that. It's not what we wish is true, but what our rational higher brain knows to be true.

 

Hi @Artgirl, I'm sorry that you have to go through this family bereavement and wish you well. I hope you can honor the person and life situation well and be able to move through it and get to a better new place without continued struggles.
If you'll indulge me, I bolded the parts of your post where you talked about the pain jumping around. I can relate! For me, I found that paying close attention to that restless jumping pain was super helpful in fully accepting that TMS was behind my symptoms. It just made no sense for the jump from here to there and back again.

And, I had that experience when the pain would leave as I was reading a TMS-related book! Then show up somewhere else--for you, it's severe neck and shoulder pain. For me it was something else.
One thing about the pain jumping is that our brains may be realizing that the gig is up and the pain distraction is no longer needed. One last gasp of throwing some unexpected symptoms to see if we fall for it.

 

Hi JanA. I agree that such self talk is factual for you (and me), but I doubt that it is for everyone. As you know, Sarno wrote in The Divided Mind that to recover from TMS, a person must understand and accept that his or her pain is TMS rather than being due to something structurally wrong. If a person truly accepts that his or her pain is TMS, then it is a fact that the pain isn’t necessary. However, if a person has not fully accepted that and instead fears there might be something structurally wrong, then I think that person’s brain will not regard it as a fact that the pain isn’t necessary.

When Artgirl wrote she was "in the process of accepting” that her new pain is TMS, I interpreted this to mean she did not yet truly accept that it is TMS. That is why I urged her to read the appendix in The Way Out (which she said she was reading and thinks is a good book). The appendix contains twelve unnumbered factual guidelines indicating that one’s pain is TMS rather than due to something structurally wrong. One guideline is that the pain moves around; that seems to be her case. I have a hunch that several of the other factual guidelines might apply as well.