Just introducing myself...

Hi Everyone,

I recently came across Dr. Sarno's books and other help with my TMS. I have had back pain for some thirty years, and have been on disability for a year now. But with the help of the books and from all of you here on this website, I have had about an 80% reduction of my pain! What a blessing, and I thank God for helping me to find this solution. I go back to work next week.

My question is though, how do I get rid of this 20% residual pain. I realize that I have some repressed emotions, but I am working really hard to dig it all up and out. I had indifferent, self-centered parents, a difficult first marriage and now a difficult second marriage which is just coming out of alcoholism. So, I realize all of this, and I know I have anger and resentment, so why isnt this all going away?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

T.

 

This is the phase that I felt caught in., but did overcome. You need to have even more patience now, and more letting go, and even more relaxation. It seems that this final stage is driven more by of the conditioning than the emotions you mention here.

We heal quickly into the 80% range and then get frustrated by that last 20%. Then the frustration stops our healing because it adds anger. You have to forget about the 20% before it will leave. Your attention to it prevents its escape. Patience. Shift your awareness from body to daily goals.

 

I feel the same . I was almost pain free. Now it seems since 4 weeks it's back a little more. Piriformis and hamstrings. I played hockey a while back and the pain came back some. Still working on it. Thanks for the advice Steve.

 

SteveO gave you some great advice and it's great to have a true TMS philosopher as a contributor here, thank you SteveO!

In my opinion your TMS has improved 800%, you've had pain for thirty years and it's gotten exponentially better by reading a book--keep reading! You were on disability and now your're going back to work from reading a book--miracle!--keep reading! It took your mindbody perhaps all your life to create the false perceptions of the outside world to give you your TMS pain. It will take a while to overcome that conditioning and for your new life to penetrate through all that gray matter. Your sub-conscious still wants protect your "inner-child" gremlin. Don't work "hard" on your psycho-archeology, unless you can sell it on the antiquities market. In my opinion ruminating on the past keeps the TMS pain coming back. Think "psychological" to face current issues head-on so they don't get repressed and suppressed, filling the TMS reservoir of pain. Move on and find positive distractions that create your body's endorphins for a natural high.

 

Needed to see this too! Thank you.

 

Thank you so much for this. Yes I see that I need to overcome years of conditioning.

 

You are right of course. I have overcome so many years of so much pain, it is indeed a miracle. I'm so grateful for it all, and I will not try so hard to get rid of the bit that is left, but work on the conditioning and just relax and let it happen. Thank you very much for your reply.

 

Hi t. Have you worked through the Structred Education Program on this wiki? I highly recommend it.
I recovered from excruciating back pain many years ago, just by reading Sarno's book. Twenty plus years later I worked the SEP and recovered from horrible foot pain that at one point had me in a wheelchair.
Like Steve O says, patience and persistence will get you there!

 

Thank you very much, Gigi. I have been thinking about doing this, I just was hoping to be one of the "easy" cases that could just read and realize, then be done with it. But it looks like I am not one of them.

Tara

 

Gigi, that's a recovery method I haven't heard of before, do you have any good recipes? Any of the Good Doctor's book's tastier then another?

 

Funny, Tom! My tablet loves to "autocorrect" things! I try to edit carefully before I post, but that one I missed
Supposed to say "reading" obviously!

 

Activity itself as a deep education to the remaining pain patterns. Every day you are active, you are sending a deep message, non-verbal to the subconscious that whatever strategies it is using do not matter to you. I don't mean proving yourself with extreme exercise. Just doing what you did not do for 30 years.

Also, it is helpful to simply accept that you have TMS symptoms, because that is the way you happen to be wired in this moment. Accept, and live, and don't contract around the symptoms. Contraction/pressure can take the form of efforting for a perfect cure, or self-rejection for experiencing symptoms.

 

Hi, everyone. I love this exchange of posts. You are a great group of "guys."

I occasionally get a return of back pain, but know it's from emotional stresses. You can't to almost without some of them.
I meditate, breathe deeply, live in the present moment, and visualize myself on a sunny beach on a northwoods wilderness canoe trip, hearing the loons call to each other over a lake. Pain goes away.

Hi, Steve. You look like you've been working out.