Almost a year after: should I start the program again?

It has been a while since I last visited this forum or posted. Things have been better with the help of a TMS therapist and my personal growth when it comes to TMS. But as you probably imagine, some symptoms have come back in a crucial time of my life. I'm moving countries, jobs, life really and my husband an I had to deal with a lot lately to prepare for the move. When things settled down and we sorted most of the complicated stuff, I felt a wave of symptoms the moment I relaxed and let go. So I'm having tightness in the back of my head, neck, moving to my spine, legs, I feel like in a strain. And there is a little bit of dizziness and unsteadiness. I know it is TMS and I am dealing with it much better than when it happened to first time. I'm not in a panic mode, since I know what it is, and I worked the entire week despite the symptoms. My question is (are): why am I reacting like this again since I've done so much work on myself in the past year? Is this the consequence of the past few months or is it the anxiety for the future? Should I start the SEP program again? I still do yoga at least 2 times per week and write down in the journal when I feel I need to. And I have therapy every 2 weeks. Should I just let it go and let the symptoms settle or?

 

Remember that Dr. Sarno said something like: "Read a little of my books every day, think psychological ---continue your TMS work even when the symptoms go. It is like taking vitamins." Point being that once we figure out TMS, the way you have, it is important to stay the course in time. Expect symptoms to return, use your strength and knowledge as you suggest, and don't worry too much about any of it. I would say that counseling is good, but you should work some basic TMS contemplation into your daily routine. However this seems right for you.

 

Hey, DSB - it's nice to see you again!

Years before I discovered Dr. Sarno, I heard that the "Saturday morning headache", which was something I frequently suffered from back then, was actually a well-known phenomenon. What I learned from Dr. Sarno is that the distractions of the work-week replace the need for physical symptoms in the constant desire that our brains have, which is to keep repressing the negative emotional things that come up constantly in our lives.

Your brain is undoubtedly trying to protect you from some hidden negative feelings about all these changes in your life. Chances are that they aren't very important, but your not-very-bright primitive brain is not able to distinguish between big dark issues and minor everyday ones.

As Andy said, you really don't need to worry about this, because it's totally normal. Take a little time, and make a few lists like you learned to do in the SEP (it's absolutely not necessary to start over and do the whole thing!) Let things pop into your head and onto the paper, and see what weird issues or incidents your brain might be worried about. Once you bring them out into the open, your brain will be able to let them go. I do this semi-regularly and it's super-helpful.

~Jan

 

Hi both and thank you very much for your replies. I'm feeling much better, have managed to work through the setback using the techniques I've learned and revisiting some issues I forgot about but my brain obviously hasn't. I have been journaling and making lists and similar through the year, doing yoga breathing at least once a week and that helped to not have a stronger burst of symptoms now. I also haven't dealt with one symptom in particular which has been with me for at least 10 years now and that the doctors call irritable bladder symptom because no matter what I tried to do regarding it, nothing helped. I'm very tired of it and frustrated.

 

Hi DSB,

It's been over year since I posted on this wiki, and I've come back to reassure people that this treatment DOES WORK. I was a complete mess before I read Sarno's books and did the educational program/exercises on this blog. And now I'm a totally new person. Yes, symptoms come back when I'm stressed out or depressed, but the most important thing I can do is recognize them as TMS. Recognize that they're symptoms of my anxiety and not of something wrong with my body. And it sounds like you do just that! My suggestion is when they come back for you, pick up one of Sarno's books and start rereading it. OR -- read over the pages that you've written your most volatile journals in. In my experience, you won't get very far before the symptoms disappear again.

 

Hi Tiny, thank you for your message. Yes, the treatment works, definitely, I'm a living proof of it but I do get frustrated when setbacks happen because it is usually when I have most stress and have to face things. I do recognise them as TMS, and am amazed by how much TMS reinvents itself over and over again. It has been particularly hard in the last few weeks because one symptom stops, another starts. I have been doing yoga, journaling, rereading journal entries and doing TMS therapy for more than 6 months. It is reacting to the stress that gets to me. But I know, it takes time.. I will get better again.