New Program Day 14: Fostering Empowerment

This is exactly what I had. My good ole family doctor finally...finally recognised it as trigeminal neuralgia type 2 or atypical. It is misunderstood and commonly missed because people do not realise there is this second type which is characterised by unrelenting pain. The classic form typically has horrific attacks and then passes. This happens with type 2 as well but is not the main feature.

I learned a lot from a book called 'Striking Back' which is all about the many kinds of face pain. Armed with this information and some low dose meds I was able to come back to TMS healing and make good progress.

Please read My Story and see if any of it resonates.

(I'm sorry I didn't catch your earlier posts. My 90 year old mum-in-law had another fall and I've subsequently been away from the forum.)

 

I had digestive issues about 20 years ago. I went to doctors, had all sorts of tests and tried different medicines and nothing helped. Then on the advice of a friend I started taking ginger capsules. For about a year or so, I took a ginger every meal I ate. I noticed improvement in my symptoms pretty fast. I completely healed from that issue (this was on and off for years) and haven't had any issues since. I always have ginger on hand now but very rarely take it.

 

I have no answers. I am new to this. I have a roller coaster ride of my own. But what you have done already gives me a lot of strength to continue on. Thanks

 

Pre-TMS I was a hell of a weightlifter. I competed in the 77kg weight class locally and trained 4-5x per week. A couple of months after my symptoms started I stopped training entirely. Then, when i found Sarno last July I jumped head first in and that empowerment quickly got me back to doing what I love to do as often as I ever had pre-TMS. Now, I am stronger than I was before any of this stuff started.

Empowerment in ALL situations in where I need to start employing this technique to necessitate a permanent eradication of all symptoms. Mostly, it's the pressure of performing well in my job. For years I was so sure of myself and I walked around like hot shit because I performed so well. Then I stumbled and every sales call scared the hell out of me; I'm getting that swagger back right now.

 

Hi Elen. How did you embrace insomnia or use empowerment at bedtime? Something you told your mind when you went to bed? I’m definitely having TMS related insomnia the last couple of months.
Thanks.

 

Hi,

I spelled it out in this Success Story. I'm still sleeping well most nights. Very occasional trouble falling asleep, but I follow the steps outlined and it goes away.

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/recovery-from-chronic-insomnia.16653/ (Recovery from Chronic Insomnia)

Oh, I should add that since writing this success story I have purchased and fallen in love with a weighted blanket. It feels so good to be under it that I look forward to going to bed, which I never did before. I don't know if it helps me sleep better, but it is a wonderful experience to lie under it.

Hope it's helpful.

 

Thanks Ellen. Great Success Story. I can totally relate to much of it. Great tips! I'm not sure I could do a weighted blanket; I get so hot sometimes during the night. Good that you are enjoying it. Cheers!

 

Hello,

Can you please be specific about what you did for insomnia? I have been suffering since 2016. I’m healthy so I suspect it’s another TMS equivalent. I would love a few examples of what you did. Thanks for your post!!!!

 

An age old solution is more exercise. But maybe you've tried that. Sometimes I take a half dose of Advil PM which helps a lot! I know these two aren't TMS related, but just thought from one insomniac to another I'd throw those out there.

 

Here you go, dear.

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/recovery-from-chronic-insomnia.16653/ (Recovery from Chronic Insomnia)

 

Wow. Wow. Wow. This resonated with me so much. I too have had 20 years of strange inexplicable medical oddities. (Arm, shoulder, back, stomach, eye, menstrual insanity, etc.) and my latest which is 3 years of Ambien for my insomnia.

My father was a preacher and my mother was a shrinking violet in the face of any conflict and both my brother and myself were taught that anger is unacceptable and that we must always be kind to others no matter the cost to ourselves. We grew up with some pretty extreme racism as the only kids of color in the entire town and were only able to express what actually happened as of 2016 when my brother finally blew a gasket and wrote an article about it with my help as editor. It was very healing at least for me.

Your advice is comprehensive and specific and I will be reading it several times just to absorb it all. In particular I will stop thinking of myself as a recovering TMS person and just do whatever I feel like. I also find guided meditation helpful and use the app “headspace” to be more present.

I can’t thank you enough!!!!!! I’m off to go work out!

Julia

 

i have almost overcome all of my ibs symptoms. firmly convinced it is tms. my thoughts around this would terrify me and make me extremely anxious, the possibilities are endless of some horrible disease that i may be denying and might be getting worse. ugh! that was a horrible place for the mind to circle around in. it's crazy what tms can do...that is, how REAL it can make something happen in the body. one of the main things i discovered about the ibs, was that i was so apprehensive and frightened by pain/gas/back ache/bloating/pressure/ugh, that i was walking around with CONSTANT tension in my torso and lower abdomen - resistance was physical! as i trained myself to continuously RELAX all these muscles, while breathing the 5inhale/5hold/10exhale technique to stimulate the vagus nerve (gut/brain connection), i found the pain and everything else easing up. there is a place where we have to surrender and let whatever is hiding and trying to surface reveal itself in its own time and way instead of trying to control the process.

 

I'm the same way I wake up the pain is there and then gets worse .its all over my neck SHOULDERS back LEGS BUTT AND FEET. Legs and feet CRUSHING BURNING PAIN. My neck and SHOULDERS deep stiff hard pain .my back down my spine can really hurt like its POPPED out of place .sence doing this program I've been telling my subconscious brain it's safe and thinking POSITIVE I've had days with less pain this is empowering when it hits me hard AGAIN I have to keep trying and hopefully never give..I do a lot of encouraging talk to my self first thing in the morning though the day I have to try a make this a habit. Today was bad day I'm laying with ice on my neck reading this .I was in tremendous fear and SCARED to DEATH of the pain.
IT made me panic but haven't done that for a few weeks so that's a PLUS don't want to go there again...THANKS FOR THIS AMAZING PROGRAM ☺

 

HI Ellen i have insomnia too and unbearable chronic pain . how did you work on your insomnia

 

hi i just tried relaxing my muscles with the breathing 5inhale 5hold 10exhale i thing this would really help me Thanks

 

wow 27 miles on a mountain bike thats huge :]

 

I can relate to everything you're saying here. I do these mental calculations all day long. And mornings--with the whole day ahead--have this background stress more or less baked into them. Day 14's Lesson about Empowerment-getting the right "mindset" as I've heard it called elsewhere is my biggest challenge right now. Alan's description of literally walking into his heel pain and find a way to do that with a liberating spirit of empowerment--regardless of the outcome--is a skill I'm working on. Not there yet, but working on it by reading this stuff over and over, and trying it out in little ways. The day is full of opportunities. Who would have known that simply putting on one's pants could be a spiritual experience.

 

First of all, I want to say that this is my first post and I know I have TMS. I started TMS programs after reading Sarno's book and started the programs shortly after, but had to stop/limit due to traveling to my sister's home as she entered hospice and I had to take care of her for 5 weeks (she's doing better now). Anyway, the first couple of weeks she woke me up several times a night and I always had a hard time going back to sleep (for hours) after being woken up due to insomnia and thought if I didn't get a good nights sleep I would feel lousy in the morning. The second night I told myself that I was strong and if I didn't get 8 hours or whatever that I would be fine. Anyway, I started going back to sleep sooner and even did well the next days with limited sleep.
Now to focus on my neck/shoulder/anxiety problems. I have started working out more and even doubled my weights at the gym (baby steps), after going on 18 years of pain. Like most everyone else, after surgeries and seeing every type of practitioner, I had had enough.

 

Awesome, @lindyr - this is great stuff, isn't it? All the best to you, and to your sister on whatever journey she is on now.