Technology addiction, TMS, and ankylosing spondylitis

Hello, been reading the forums for 2 years now finally posting! 40/m
Timeline:
Years of hip pain, some back pain. Never bother going to doctor about it. Always came and went. Assuming it was bad running form.

Caught covid early 2020 (was one of the most stressful 3 weeks of my life) after recovering, I experienced debilitating hip, back pain and even full body pain. Months of doctors and tests... MRI showing SI joint inflammation, costochondritis, blood inflammation markers high, and hla-b27 gene positive, rheumatologist diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis.

Devastated, I turned to low starch diets, fasting, 100s of supplements, etc (The things we all have tried!) and made no progress. Depression and pain felt like the rest of my life. I refused to take a biologic medication. But then found the work of Sarno. which branched me off to others. Steve Ozanich, Peter Winslow, Eckhart Tolle, David Hawkins.. to name a few. Stopped all diets, supplements and anti-inflammatories. It took about 6-7 months of daily retraining of my thoughts and attitudes to go from not being able to walk to running 12 miles and squating/benching heavy, and little to no pain!! Which brings us to mid 2022.

I then went for 1 year without even a flair, but now the last 3-4 months, I have been having bad flairs again. I believe I have slipped back into my old thinking patterns again but not sure.. Earlier I came to terms with my problems with my parents, partner, and job and my people pleasing tendencies. Now I am confused about the nature of the pain (what is my body trying to tell me?) At least now that I have the knowledge of Sarno, and success in the past. "If I did it before I can do it again". Maybe I need to let go, there is nothing to "solve" or "figure out". Perhaps I had gotten lazy with rewiring the brain, and need to start relearning once again.

The one thing that has changed is now I feel like I am completely addicted to my phone and technology. It slowly crept to become a more and more consuming thing in my life. 5 hours daily scrolling through social media/twitter/youtube. I used to read books, watch movies, and play music with my free time. I recognize my addictive personality type, and am a recovered alcoholic (actually curing TMS is very much like applying the 12 step program to pain).

I am very curious if the smart phone is causing this current pain. I think so, my body is trying to tell me something. So right now I am going to digitally detox, (get a dumb phone, use my computer just for working and music)

Anyways I have digressed a lot with this post thanks for reading, I would really appreciate personal feedbacks and antidotes !

 

Why on earth could a phone cause physical pain?
Does that make sense?
Now examine what you do on your phone.
“hours daily scrolling through social media/twitter/youtube”
What do you avoid when you are on your phone? Are you interacting with others? Are you aware of your body, your emotions?
Does mindless scrolling make you avoid things in your life?
Does what you see make you tense? Stressed?
Do you feel guilty, ashamed or other similar emotions you perhaps felt drinking?
Flair ups or new symptoms are common. It usually means old patterns of stress are still operating. It is important to recognize that we need to adopt tms practices for our lifetime. Journal maybe a few times a week to express our feelings, to let out stress or meditate.. or do whatever it is that you need.

 

Whenever I have been where you say you are, it is always something in that list and that I THINK I have 'solved'.
I recently had a relapse in my FOOT? I posted here and a fellow forum member gave me some great insight.
It was an issue with a GF...one I broke up with almost 2 years ago, BUT had remained friends with...and she did something to piss me off... but it didn't bug me (consciously) at all

Intellectually -"Not my problem, I was the one who left her, so it would be absurd to be angry"
Raging 3 year old selfish unconscious -"Even people who I have shunned need to act appropriately"

I have been cured so long I have zero patience for relapses, but they came anyways... The sum total of my experience is that whenever it seems to come out of nowhere , Look REALLY CLOSE... Anybody close to you that you don't think your pissed at? It's probably them...start brainstorming.

The internet crap? Yeah..maybe, especially if your reading news BUT since your aware of it, it is probably a factor, not the cause.

IMNSHO

 

Your mind is too stimulated, all the time scrolling on the phone. Different images, sounds, colors,lots of stimuli over and over again. For hours and hours a day. It needs more quiet time. When the mind is stimulated too much, the stress level increases, then the pain, then even more the stress and again the pain. Over and over again, they feed each other.

You need quiet time, to play music, to meditate, to go for a short 10 min walk or just stretch on your balcony outside. Use breathing exercises every 2 hours or so, just stop and breathe in and out deeply for one-two minutes.

F that phone and social media, it's a lot of noise and craziness anyway. Not beneficial. Do your best when you use it to be something positive, fun, or relaxing.

Take care.

 

Thanks for this response, I feel like definitely an avoidant activity. Started journaling right after I read your message, it helped me uncover a lot of what has been causing this current flair

Yep, youre 100% right, it was something that I thought I solved, the flairs coincided exactly when my parents were visiting, and I was expected to be their tour guide, and have everything planned for them (food, rented van for them and their friends, hotels, flights), and I was super resentful, although I was happy they were visiting, Can't believe how obvious it was yet I thought it was something else. Patience is the key, I think all of us former TMSers really have struggled with patience.

Yep, youre right, F the phone, F doom scrolling, appreciate the response friend

Thanks! sometimes we forget how far we have come, and our recovery stories, that a few years ago I would never have imagined how much better my life is now...

Yes I agree, each person in this community give a different angle, sheds a little light in a different area of the "big picture" yourself included and I appreciate it. Self compassion and affirmations I started up again recently too, acceptance of all things... that is the mantra! I am ok with everything

 

Saving this thread - very relatable to me.

 

Got back into my daily affirmation, yoga and workouts. Regardless of how much "pain" there was. also did some coaching. Crazy how it just melts away , now that I'm feeling great need to keep up with the healthy mindbody practices. It is so easy in retrospect to see that it is all TMS... but when you are "in pain", you go into survival/panic mode.

 

Please tell us some ways you got rid of your pain.

 

Following the “work” Dr. Sarno sets out in his book and/or the work in the SEP which is free here.. and finding what works best for you as an individual.
TMSWiki.org .. the “front” page of this website offers many free resources. Just scroll down and read free programs, success stories and more!

 

I say this after every relapse. And only after I admit it, do I begin to recover.

 

Lot of different things, Used this amazing amazing website, got some more resources to explore, read through success stories, got motivated, journaled every day (using the artist's way technique), listened to these amazing podcasts, used this list of resources
Let go of fear, shut off my personal phone, it has been off for a week now, hope to make it a month (but I am lucky I have a rudimentary heavy duty work cell phone that I can still use but has none of the distractions! perhaps getting a "dumb phone" could help people here).

JanAtheCPA, you have had the most encouraging thoughtful messages to all users, I tell all my friends to try the SEP, my friend hasnt had a chrons flair in a year... wow

hahah yep