Best resources to convince myself?

I am trying so hard to have that faith!

I'm going to read Nichole Sachs's book next since I just finished the Claire Weekes book.

 

Plus the pain is always real, whether it goes away with emotional work or not. It goes away with emotional work doesn't mean it is not real, not physical.

 

will do, thanks!

 

There are some recognizable traits that TMS/MBS has that differs from physical injuries. Psychogenic symptoms are inconsistent throughout the day, or will shift depending on what you're doing. Physical injuries generally only respond to movement that's specific to the afflicted area. TMS will mimic physical injuries or take advantage of an existing or old injury site as well, so learning to distinguish between the two can take some time.

Once you are satisfied with Sarno's diagnosis and you begin returning to normal activity, you will likely begin to experience the "symptom imperative," where the location of the disorder begins to jump around and change. Most of us have found this to be affirming that we do indeed have a psychological condition and not a physical one.

I followed the Wise-Anderson approach for about a year and a half. I found that the trigger points in the muscle tissue that they discuss do play a role in generating TMS/MBS, as they replicate the symptoms when palpated and provide temporary relief when released. This finding confirms Sarno's theory that mild oxygen deprivation is what is causing the pain, at least at a mechanical level. I abandoned Wise's approach entirely after I read The Mindbody Prescription and was mostly recovered within a few months. My symptoms were similar to yours, originating in the pelvic area.

 

That is really interesting to hear. These days, it feels like everyone is diagnosed with a hypertonic pelvic floor and sent to pelvic PT. How come we all suddenly have tight pelvic floors? When I went through this 15 years ago, nobody had a tight pelvic floor, so doctors came up with all kinds of other diagnoses. But I feel like so many people rave about pelvic PT, I wonder if I'm missing anything. (I did try it, and it made me worse.)

I've now had two experiences with psychotherapy sessions that substantially reduced my symptoms right after, and that's going a long way to convince me that this is a mind body issue. Overall, my symptoms are better since starting more intense psychotherapy two weeks ago. It's just still difficult to wrap my head around.

 

It’s the new thing that’s in vogue. Like back pain.

 

This is proof of TMS, right? How else could it make sense?

 

My mom is having similar symptoms to me (I think part of the reason I got this) but also very different, she's 30 years older, and has had a total hysterectomy, and she ALSO got diagnosed with tight pelvic floor and sent to pelvic PT. I was like, what?? How did all of our pelvises get so tight all of a sudden?

 

Yes, although the hard part is that it only improves during the sessions where I talk about my father's recent death, which has been really hard for me. My psychotherapist asked me, "Would you rather be sad or in pain?" Hard question.

 

Sadness passes. Pain can increase.