Advice please

Good Afternoon All.. my name is Amanda and I was diagnosed with TMS by Dr. Rashbaum a little over a year ago. I have made good progress, but I still have a ways to go. My biggest issue is the fear of not getting better. IT IS ALMOST CONSTANT! I know that doubt is a normal part of TMS, but I don't doubt that I have TMS. I doubt that I will be unable to bring myself to a place of full healing. Any advice?

 

Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?

 

Hi, Amanda,

As somebody who considered himself a TMS success story (I'm now encountering a relapse), I can tell you what worked for me in my route out of hell last year: acceptance. Pure, unadulterated, this-pain-is-nothing-but-a-sensation acceptance. Now while you have the TMS diagnosis (which is a tremendous boon!), it is clear that your primary issue, perhaps, is confidence in your own abilities to heal: a fatalistic attitude very common among TMSers, I think. Why do you doubt your ability? We are much more powerful than we give ourselves credit for. While I might not be the go-to for advice on sustained healing at the moment, as I am going through a difficult time myself, please know that your potential is much deeper, and more vast, than the subconscious will lead you to believe.

Kick ass and take numbers.

Best,
Steve

 

That second Sarno quote is where it's at, Tom. Truly. When I broke free last summer I was playing ball with my brother regularly in the park, running around, riding my bike, skateboarding, and I don't remember having/caring about pain. It just didn't enter my mind.

Physical activity is crucial.

 

You are right. I know physical activity is key. I am currently 8 months pregnant so intense physical activity is something that I can not yet engage in. I was a dual college athlete and plan on picking up these activities as soon as my body recovers from birth!

 

I really appreciate your response. I feel so alone in my struggle because I don't want to talk about my pain to friends and family, but I do want to feel a sense of support (which is what you have provided). I absolutely have a fatalistic attitude. It is something I have struggled with my entire life... always expecting the worst. I am not sure why I am doubting my body's ability to heal because it has not failed my prior to this.

 

Understandably you have to modify your activities--I'm definitely NOT the one to give advice in the pregnancy dept. But, I have seen women playing tennis and swimming almost to the day they delivered. I'm sure there must be programs for exercising for pregnant woman.

Pregnancy must be on the Holmes-Rahe list of life passages that create TMS dis-ease. If you internalize TMS theory, that the emotions create the symptoms, physical and affective, then at least you can understand the source of the dis-ease.

 

Very true for both parts! I was mostly sedentary due to the pain prior to getting pregnant so I am not allowed (as per my doctor) to engage in anything much more rigorous than pre-pregnancy. Right now I am walking (which is all I am capable of in this heat with my swollen feet/ankles). Funny you mentioned swimming and tennis because those were my two college sports and I plan on doing both as soon as I am cleared by my doctor post delivery!

 

Far be it from me to advise against doctor's advice, especially to someone pregnant, but, this is the TMS Wiki, and TMS theory contradicts current allopathic medicine. IMHO, doctors are overly cautious for many reasons, first they generally do not know their patients very well if at all. Most patients are just going down the conveyor belt of factory healthcare. Doctors don't see their patients very much so feel compelled to be overly cautious, like most moms, warning their charges to behave and be careful--rather then let it rip! ALSO, they don't want to be sued for malpractice so they er on the side of caution.

As I've said, I've seen with my own eyes, women playing tennis and swimming on a Friday and with a newborn the next week. Maybe pool work could be tolerated at least to cool down in the heat. I don't know the particulars of your condition so check with your doc before doing something. Have you researched "exercising while pregnant"?

Boilerplate: I'm only a tennis player and not qualified to advise pregnant women on anything. This is the TMS Wiki and you asked for opinions--but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express in Astoria, Oregon. a week ago and have played tennis with several OB-GYN's.

 

Pregnancy is #12 out of 43 on the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale:

THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS SCALE:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale (Holmes and Rahe stress scale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 

Don't care if you don't get better!!