Help

Guys I need reassurance my problems are mind body related. I'm sure you all know me. I was doing OK but the last few days I'm really depressed and having pain again. uurrgghhh so fed up of it now

 

Alfaman147,

It may help to gather more evidence that your pain is psychodynamic-based. One piece I can reflect, looking at your postings is how afraid you are, and how obsessed you are with the pain. I think this is natural, yet, in terms of gathering evidence, your inner response to the pain, according to theory and experience, fuels the pain. So, observing from afar I see some supporting evidence that it is psychosomatic. Nothing to be done about it, so much as recognize the connection. Try recognizing your fear is fueling symptoms. Just that: not "fixing your fear," but recognizing how your situation is confirmed by Dr. Sarno's work. Then you are seeing the distraction for what it is, a distraction. You can see the true "function of the fear." This clarity undercuts fear's distraction and symptom-producing effects.

Then, as a separate piece, you may want to try some techniques you may not have investigated yet?

Here is an article I always show folks regarding fear. Notice how he does not have a perfect answer. It is more about practicing, over some time...

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/understanding-and-overcoming-fear.8574/ (Dr. Schubiner's Blog - Understanding and overcoming fear)

Also from a thread which discussed an approach to anxiety:
http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/question-about-recurrence-of-symptoms.3694/ (Question about recurrence of symptoms)

Just want to touch back to all my old posts because it's always nice to hear how things worked out. I am doing MUCH better. My urinary stuff was and is completely TMS/mind-body stuff. I am convinced of that. Not even physical therapy helped. What I've found helped the most is not fearing the symptom, and not changing anything physically because of the symptom (I would walk differently, clench, cut out foods/drink, etc...but now I try not to). Take away the power of the symptom by not being afraid of it! Tell yourself - oh well, even if I have this symptom forever, it's going to be okay, it won't ruin my life, etc. Even the typical TMS/Freudian anger work didn't really help, although it can be a good exercise to do. For me it's all about dismissing it (the TMS symptom), not giving it power, not giving it attention.

Andy B

 

Listen to your heart - as we've chatted, i hear that deep down you KNOW it's not physical and your symptoms are rather driven by anxiety and worry. You know in your heart, and I do i believe as well, that you got through this before and are more than able to recover again. Believe in yourself. Good things will happen.

 

Surely pain that comes and goes can't be anything other than stress related. why does it go when im asleep or relaxed. I just can't get to the relaxed bit at the moment. was doing great for a while but it's back. I have been off work because of major depression and this pain. as I was off I was recovering but as my work return date was coming I was really ill. I spoke to them today and said to them I can't cope at the moment. I just feel guilty having time off but I wish they could know what it's like. but I guess it's a slow process

 

Like a few days ago I had a bad sore throat and a cold. My pain was virtually gone lol. I was distracted by the sore throat. I went for a really long walk with my parents last Monday and I was feeling good. with hardly any pain at all. I went for a meal on Saturday and had a few beers and surprise surprise had no pain at the end of the night.

 

I have had this on and off for 6 years or so. Any stressful event would set it off. I have loads of evidence that it is psychological. I had an mri scan in 2011 and saw a colorectal surgeon not 2013. They found nothing. There are loads of things that help prove this. A few years ago I went on holiday with my girlfriend and her parents invited themselves. I was really worked up as we hadn't been together all that long and it was out first holiday together. I was in alot of discomfort. I felt like I had a water melon inside my anus and pelvis. After a few days her parents went back home and left us to it. And my pain went away almost completely. There have been loads of other situations like this. Last year I was sent on a training course for my work which I didn't want to go on. I always worry about something new haha. My pain was bad for a week building up to the training course. when I had finished it and went back to my normal routine the pain had gone. And I have been off from work because of the depression it has caused because I had got rid of this pain all of last year and up to this August. So I was devistated it was back. but anyhow, for the first few weeks or so I was doing alot better. Last Monday the pain was almost completely gone. But as my return to work date came closer I started feeling bad again. It was constantly on my mind. I knew I wasn't ready but I wanted to get back to normal. I would wake up every morning feeling guilty about not working worrying what they were saying behind my back. i still do. I nearly emailed the man who owns the company who I have never met before to tell him how sorry I am. But my parents sat me down yesterday and said for God sake Adam stop beating yourself up over this. It's just a job. you are more important than any job. get yourself right and concentrate n being happy again. my mum had depression hen I was a kid so she knows what it is like. so basically does all of this sound like good evidence that my pain is psychological ?????????? oh and I forgot the hundreds of hours I spend googling symptoms and depression. and running to the doctors thinking I have a prolapse or cancer or infection. the doctors do a rectal exam. they look inside my rectum and they always say there is nothing wrong with you. they all say it is stress related. they said you would be dead after 6 years of having it. I even went to see a pelvic floor physical therapist who said my muscles were very tight. and the therapist venue found a muscle that was in spasm and before I even told her that was the pain I have they said wow this muscle is very very tight. they massaged the muscle and it replicated all of my symptoms. oh and when all of this first started I thought I had a prostate problem so even saw a urologist ho said all was clear. and I had an ultra sound scan for my testicles as the pain went into there. and I was tested for chlamydia hahaha. all came back negative.

 

It's pretty obvious from this side of the computer that you hate your job, otherwise you'd be rearing to get back to work--find a new job.

 

The thing is tom I don't hate it. I just think I'm going to be in pain when I'm working. Any little bit of stress destroys me. Tom I'm sure you have read alot about my self. Even on the other tms forum haha. And I'm still alive so surely it's not an illness.

 

Yes I remember you from the other forum and steered you over here because you weren't getting much if any responses there. I don't remember the particulars of your situation. If it's not resolving see a TMS physician and a TMS therapist, I'm sure I've recommended that to you by now--have you done that?

 

I saw a tms therapist. Liz Dyde. I don't know of any tms physician's. I'm in the UK in the west midlands

 

Tom do you know any therapist on this forum who deals with pelvic floor pain????

 

Hi Alfaman, you may wish to try the following link, for TMS practitioners based in the UK:

http://www.sirpauk.com/ (SIRPA UK)

Warm regards,

 

With Respect, Alfaman, I think when we suffer in pain/symptoms there is doubt that we are getting the right support. I recall looking so deeply through all of Dr. Sarno's work to find specific-to-me symptoms discussed and cured by Dr. Sarno or his work --because I was not sure his work really applied to me. I think this was reassuring for me, and at the same time, not necessary for you. If you believe you have mind-body symptoms, they are treated exactly like any other mind-body symptoms arising from TMS. This is very apparent to me now after being on this Forum for awhile. I understand "it is all the same 'problem.'"

I encourage you to notice your fear and doubt, and striving for the re-assurance, and not completely believe these activities in your mind. They are natural, but they are distractions from your direct understanding of TMS, and they are distractions from engaging the "think psychological" techniques which must be embraced for the method to work.

All this said, I concur w/Tom that if you can get a TMS physician diagnosis, this will be helpful!

Andy B

 

Do I need to see one though??? I am seeing a tms therapist and I have seen a pelvic floor physical therapist who has confirmed the muscle tension. What would a tms physician do ????

 

I think deep down I know the problem . I think keep going to see this doctor and that doctor is stopping me from letting go. I have all the medical proof I need really don't I. It goes when I'm relaxed and care free. it's there when I'm depressed and anxious. It goes when I'm asleep or drunk.

 

And a colorectal surgeon said all as clear and that it is a mind body issue. He called it Proctalgia. And some cbt therapists agree. It's an obsession that I am keeping going by constantly seeking answers And like I say. I have times where it's not even there. Sometimes months sometimes years

 

Is it a therapist from the TMS Practitioner's list here?

Is he/she helping? Do you feel you've made progress seeing this therapist? Is the threrapist empathetic?

Are you aware of Georgie Oldfield, the most well known TMS therapist in the UK?

"If it ends with "itis" or "algia" or "syndrome" and doctors can't figure out what causes it, then it might be TMS."

Dave the Mod @ TMSHelp

 

Liz dyde. She's very nice. I have only met her twice but she emails me and things. She agrees with me that it is psychological. She can connect my pain usually with a bit of stress. The trouble is I don't help myself. I keep stewing over everything. She says it's common for stress related pains. Mine is like a pressure or ache very similar to needing a bowel movement. The trouble is I keep looking on here. I'm also talking to a woman on an online therapy thing. So I kind of have no escape from it. Guys come on its psychological isn't it lol

 

Physicians are the most powerful shamans we have in our era. We believe what they say about our health and our bodies. They have the power to lay powerful PLACEBOS or NOCEBOS on us. Receiving "the word " from an M.D. can instill a huge amount of confidence in the TMS DX--if that's what hopefully you are given--to instill the confidence, belief, faith--whatever semantics works for you--for your sub-c to accept that it's TMS/psychsomatic.


I didn't think there was a TMS physician in the UK but low & behold there is one:

Nicholas Straiton, MBBS (Physician)

Dr. Straiton is an English doctor based in Brighton. He writes: “I am a medical practitioner and registered osteopath who works in the NHS but also has a private practice where I treat patients suffering from musculo-skeletal disorders. For the last ten years I have been working in the NHS for the Back Pain Service at the local hospital. I have always been interested in psychosomatic medicine and a few years ago a psychotherapist colleague introduced me to Dr Sarno's books. His description of the frustration of working in a hospital environment where high tech investigations and treatment strategies fail to alleviate many people suffering from back pain mirrored exactly my own experience . I became fascinated by his approach and eventually went out to New York to sit in at his clinics at the Rusk institute in order to learn first hand the process that he uses to diagnose and treat patients with TMS. This experience was truly valuable and enriching to the degree that I would say that my practice has changed significantly since that time. I believe that many, but not all, of patients suffering with chronic back pain are manifesting emotional distress through a physical symptom and for any long lasting relief to be achieved the factors relevant to this distress need to be recognised and addressed.” (Source)

Dr. Straiton also works at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. This is an NHS hospital, which means that patients can be referred him for TMS treatment at the hospital without having to pay.

Available via Phone
1, Glover's Yard, 121, Havelock Road
Brighton, East Sussex BN1 6GN
01273 540303
Survey Response / Website
Insurance Accepted: Most major providers

 

Abigail Steidley : https://abigailsteidley.com/ (Home - Abigail Steidley)

Abigail's Story

Abigail Steidley
I was diagnosed with vulvar vestibulitis, vulvar dysesthesia, interstitial cystitis, and pelvic floor dysfunction several years ago. I was unable to work, wear underwear, sit, or walk. After seeking medical treatment but not finding much pain relief, I began applying a mind-body approach. I worked with a woman who taught me how to effectively reduce stress via deep breathing, and became more and more interested in mind-body methods. I was seeing immediate results just from the breathing exercises, and began studying everything I could find. When I came across Dr. John Sarno's The Mindbody Prescription, I was already completely sure that my illnesses were a result of how I was dealing with stress, how I was living my life, and how I was dealing with emotions. So when I opened the book, it really hit home. I was clearly a perfect match for the Sarno personality profile, and though he never specifically discusses vulvodynia in the book, I knew it simply had to be a manifestation of TMS or mind-body syndrome.

I had already had considerable pain reduction, but reading the book brought everything into even more clarity. I did not seek the particular analytic therapy recommended by Sarno, but simply found methods of dealing with my own mind and emotions that were highly effective. Before I knew it, I was completely pain free. I was so focused on the inner work prescribed by both Sarno and the breathing expert I actually did not even notice when the pain disappeared. Now I maintain a lifestyle that includes this kind of inner personal awareness and focus, which has actually brought incredible and fantastic changes in every area of my life. I feel connected to my soul, joyful, energized, and just plain happy.

If you liked this page, you may also like....

• Vulvodynia Symptom and Diagnosis Page
• The Mindbody Prescription
• Interstitial Cystitis Symptom and Diagnosis Page
• Abigail Steidley Profile Page

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