Alex B. TMS or not TMS?

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Question

Hi there, I am still trying to work out if I have TMS or not. I really want to 100% believe so that I can get healing. A question has come to mind. Is TMS like blushing? The reason I ask this is because yesterday I had some pain in the morning, I then went with my family out for lunch. I was looking forward to the lunch, I had lovely conversations and my children were happy. When we were finishing off I suddenly realised that I had NO pain the whole time I was sitting there (pain is in my face, tmj pain etc) It started coming back on the way home in the car and was bad again when I got home and started thinking about work today. So the main question is can pain just arrive (like blushing) and disappear again. Thank you again for all your help and advice so far. You guys do a brilliant job. Kez

 

Answer

Hi Kez,

Thanks for the question. The short answer is that yes, TMS pain can indeed arrive "involuntarily" in a similar way to blushing in that is a physical response that can arise from a non-physical (i.e. emotional) cause.

In the context of the incident you are speaking about, it sounds very much that you are experiencing the symptoms that are typical of TMS: you were feeling relaxed, excited and were focused on positive interactions with your children. It sounds like a situation in which you were able to forget the stress and anxiety of being in pain and instead allow yourself to be in the moment. However, your pain returned once you began again to think about. This is very common! Sometimes the very realization that you aren't in pain can trigger a rise in symptoms as you pressure yourself to not "backslide". You being to think and obsess over the pain, fearful of when it may return. As you began to think more about pain and feel it return you also began to worry about the day's responsibilities. This of course compounds the anxiety and stress that can give rise to your symptoms.

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Alex's advice to you, Kez, about living in the present is especially topical today because of some new studies
on the health benefits of mindfulness (living in the present). I'm going to try to post a new thread today summarizing
what I've found. It will be called HEALTH BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS.

 

Thank you so much Walt. I read your book a couple of months ago! Loved it. I also love reading your advise on this Wiki, you come across as a fantastic guy x

 

And Thank you to you Alex, your answer has made sense to me. I hope to win this battle one day!

 

Yes, it's in the books.