Surely not everything is TMS

So I was talking in a different TMS group about a diagnosis I have that relates in part to a vitamin deficiency (in this case Vit D that can only be attained in a big enough quantity from UV exposure) and I was told it was TMS.
Surely this is not the case.

The way I see it, to use a metaphor, it doesn't matter how well we drive the car we still need to give it the right fuel, lubrication and maintenance for it to work.

Now, for a long time I have believed there will come a time when we can live without food and water, but we are not even close to that point yet. So, although my understanding of TMS is still in its beginnings surely not every single diagnosis can be put down to TMS. A lot of them, yes, and I intend to study further to work on those that are, but not every one.

If you disagree, can you help me understand how a vitamin deficiency can be caused by TMS?

Just as a side note; to prove that I am not a disbeliever in TMS, part of my reason for writing this is I have a headache and I believe it is TMS caused by me feeling cross about this.... so I am using that to gain better knowledge and clear the headache

 

No PussinBootz,

I don't believe everything, or specifically a vitamin deficiency is caused by TMS. However, I am guilty of being a "real believer" because of my own experience, and so my mind often goes to TMS when I hear people describe problems or symptoms of any kind. You may be running into such "zealotry" at the other forum, or perhaps there is real fact-based knowledge.

You have a right to be irritated by anything in your environment! I suggest you mindfully allow the anger, and irritation, and inquire into it. Is it because you felt you were not seen, or listened to? If so, how might your Inner Child feel?

Andy B

 

I think in the documentary 'what the bleep do we know' they talk about communication with each cell in our bodies and how you could eat the healthiest diet in the world but if your thoughts don't match up to it then your body won't accept the nutrients. I guess the same could be said for absorbing UV rays. I know not everyone will agree with this idea but something about it really resonated with me

 

In respect of my SAD, it's really not a case of blocking the effects of UV through my thoughts... it is the shape of the planet, the office I work in, and the clothes I need to wear to keep warm that is stopping the UV rays reaching my skin in the first place. This is why it is seasonal. In the summer I get enough UV to make Vit D and so I feel fine. And blood tests have shown me to be deficient.

 

Hi Andy

I think there is strength in being a real believer, particularly it seems in this instance. I understand that it takes real belief to beat TMS, but surely, if we believe everything is TMS then we will find instances when it fails to work.

Take yesterday... I had a headache. Now on it's own I could easily believe that it is TMS and simply will it away using the tools I am learning... but... I also noticed I had worked my way through the litre of water I had brought with me and was still thirsty... that says to me that my headache was not TMS related... I was dehydrated for some reason. No matter how much work you do on believing in TMS dehydration will give you a headache, it has to, your body needs to tell you it is not getting what it needs somehow. If we ignore every message from our body that doesn't feel critical, like a clearly broken leg, then we are at risk of missing things that aren't TMS and are actually real problems. If I had ignored my body's call for water I might have gone on to feel worse and worse but continued to believe they symptoms were TMS.

It strikes me there is not tuning into the body if we believe everything is caused by TMS. I want to learn to work with my body, not just tell it to shut up and stop hurting.

I can see what you are saying though about working to understand why I was angry at this, and that does need working on. Thank you for pointing it out and I will spend some time journaling and feeling the feelings connected to it.

 

The best way to find out what is TMS and what isn't is to go directly to the KNOWLEDGE PENICILLIN sources--the Good Doctor's books. he makes it clear what is and what isn't. The odds are generally 80% of what people are sitting in the doc's waiting room for is TMS related. Two of the chief causes for ER visits I've been told by an ER doc are panic attacks thought to be heart attacks and bleeds caused by overuse of NSAIDS--probably for treating chronic TMS pain.

Traumatic injuries like falling out of a 4th story window or being hit by a bus are not TMS--but you may ask yourself what lapse in consciousness put you in front of that bus--are there any true accidents? Dr. Sarno lauds the advancements of modern medicine like joint replacements. As far as the vits go, it seems to me and I'm just a tennis player and not a nutritionist or a scientist, that in the last few years there's been an increase in DX's for vit deficiencies. IMHO, this is the current fad explanation for chronic dis-ease, like ulcers used to be to explain the epidemic of chronic pain back then.

 

So you wouldn't say that this is progress in understanding the importance of a good diet and natural lifestyle tied up with diminishing vitamin levels in our food and reduced exposure to natural sources such as sunlight and quality water?

Somewhere there has to be a rebalancing of the effects our unnatural lifestyle caused.... if we live on processed foods, plants grown in depleted soil and over filtered water whilst hiding from the sun in our air conditioned offices filled with electronics then we are going to end up with deficiencies. Something has to be done about that, and while not all of us have springs in the garden and the ability to grow organic food, that will have to come from supplements.

 

With all the "un-natural" things going on on the planet, people have never lived longer, how is that explained?

"Since 1900 the global average life expectancy has more than doubled and is now approaching 70 years."

 

At one point in my life I was seeing a naturopath, following ayurvedic medicine, eating "the perfect diet", making sure to get enough UV exposure everyday, taking all the right supplements according to the naturopath, earthing everyday, cut out blue light at night, wore blue blocking lenses, drank only mineralized water, etc. The list went on. The main point is that regardless of all that my health was at an all time low. Now I'm not saying those things are bad necessarily, but without the proper mindset I don't think I would've improved at all. Nowadays I don't really follow any of those things I mentioned anymore and yet my health is much improved.

 

People saying that everything is TMS... vitamin D deficiency, cancer, schizophrenia.... really messes me up. It makes me question the serious of TMS generally. There are online communities where everyone will tell you that your dr has been lying to you and lemon juice is the cure for heart disease and everything else under the sun. Or that gluten is making everyone depressed. On and on. Hell, plenty of those quack forums have many more adherents that TMS. I wish Sarno hadn't been so willing to extend his theory to so many ailments without more research. One of my biggest struggles, in case you can't tell, is convincing myself that TMS isn't quackery.

 

On the flip side, I usually feel worse when I'm taking loads of vitamins and micro-managing my health/diet... and I do think that's because of fear and ocd and general TMS. If I bought a big round of vitamins, it's because I was freaking out about my symptoms and desperate for a fix... and we're all too familiar with that blunder. That doesn't sound like what's going on here though PussInBoots. You've got some medical feedback and some practical steps to remedy it. If it becomes TMSy, then re-think down the road.

 

Who says everything is TMS??? About 80% may be though. Those are pretty good odds, I'll take them. Infection and fracture are a couple that aren't. There is an epidemic of mis-diagnosis by the allopathic medics who think EVERYTHING IS STRUCTURAL--except for the "mentals" who keep camping out in their waiting rooms. The MINDBODY is it's own best doctor but this is not factored into assembly line moderne medicine.

 

No, not every disease is TMS and to be fair, the first thing you will hear on this forum is that you have to check with a doctor so you know that there's nothing else going on, even when you experience a new symptom.

I believe that stress, etc contribute to the onset of many diseases even when it's not the sole cause, so working on your overall mental well-being is important and should be a part of any healing protocol, IMO.

I've recovered from debilitating symptoms that were purely TMS, but other issues weren't. That's why there's a need for some of us to dig deeper, get further testing and work on a broader approach to healing.

This is your life, your health, your journey - don't forget that.

Other than that, use your common sense - if you're deadly allergic to something, don't eat it, if you have a vitamin deficiency, follow your doctors recommendations ...and remember to always look both ways before crossing the street.

 

Well said, Simplicity. I think that pretty much hits the nail on the head.

Sometimes it feels like TMS is just the return of common sense. Doctors came up with amazing things that they could do with medicines and surgery in the 20th century. They saved huge numbers of lives and now we are living longer than ever. But along the way they forgot the psychological insights of the traditional doctor-patient relationship. It took an old-time family like Dr. Sarno (before going into rehabilitation medicine, he did family practice for 10 years) to put the common sense back into medical treatment.