everyday triggers

hey everyone. over the past few years ive developed fibro like symptoms...pain which is affecting both arms, upper back, legs and fatigue, which all started out as rsi in my right arm. triggers for me now include using my phone, writing, holding cutlery, using a trackpad, driving, lifting weights and using the computer. so essentially, anything which involves the use of my hands! im curious whether anyone has had such symptoms where normal activities such as the ones mentioned have flared up symptoms and what you have done to overcome this? in the past it was merely using a computer or lifting weights which would bring on pain, so i could take a break or simply avoid doing these actions until the pain calmed down and then recondition myself at a better pace. however now, everyday tasks are an ordeal and the symptoms seem to keep getting progressively worse.

 

Enigma,

You don't say in your post whether or not you believe you have TMS. Fibromyalgia and RSI are considered to be TMS by those of us who adhere to the theory first put forth by John Sarno, MD.

Have you read any of Sarno's books or other books on TMS?

Many of us on this forum have had the symptoms you describe and overcome them. The entire tmswiki site is full of information on how we did that. But it all starts with acceptance of the diagnosis. Dive in and start reading!

Our unconscious brains are capable of providing an infinite variety of symptoms to distract us from our emotions. One of the first lessons learned after accepting the TMS diagnosis is that the specifics don't matter. It's all TMS or its equivalents.

Welcome to the Forum!

 

hey ellen. thanks for the reply back. yes i know i have tms, im actually considering this as a bad relapse as i managed to conquer the initial rsi pain in my right arm, after the pain faded it switched sides to my left and then went back to my right and is now spreading. however the symptoms have seemed to have come back with a vengeance and now everything that requires the use of my hands brings on pain, numbness and weakness. ive read numerous tms books available and have done the psychological work (journalling, think psychological, meditation etc) but feel as if im stuck now as I know that its tms and nothing seems to be working and the symptoms are getting worse.

 

Hi Enigma,

Welcome to the forum, i'm glad you have joined us.

It definitely sounds as though you have TMS. SI - symptom imperative/substitution seems to be at play.

Ellen makes a very valid point regarding whether you believe you have TMS - many people, like myself, tend to do the work but without applying 100% belief it is TMS, so we are merely going through the motions with minimal/no results.

If you can imagine our conscious only accounts for 5% of our mind, whereas the unconscious is 95% and is where we hold learned information (our childhood, personality traits etc). The average person sleeps approximately, 8 hours a day, therefore we only really have 16 hours in which we have any control of our thoughts and emotions. So therefore the key is to be mindful in those hours we are awake - 1. understanding how we are interacting with those around us, are we pre-conceiving thoughts of people before they happen? Are we setting expectations of people that are too high and can never be met and being disappointed when they do? Should we let go of relationships or not re-act to those who fuel toxic energy and feed our symptoms? 2. Are we compassionate and loving of ourselves - are we setting realistic demands with ourselves or pushing ourselves too hard?

It's also important, that when you are carrying out these TMS task - treat it as a journey to self discovery and knowing yourself, please don't focus on your physical symptoms or put a time frame on your healing - this will vary from person to person, I understand it may be due to our acceptance in the TMS diagnosis and social conditioning. I have noticed from my own experience that failure in either one of these areas only fuels the severity and intensity of the symptoms. Repeated stressors will only trigger your Amygdala into fight or flight and create new symptoms or open up learned pathways. I have had a situations in the past where all the pathways which have been learned as a result of SI have activated at the same time.

Finally, please continue with the TMS work but have 100% commitment, belief and determination that you will heal, knowing that persistency is the key to unlearning your pain.

God bless,

Mike

 

Great advice, Mike. I have trouble off and on in achieving 100 percent belief in TMS because of my age, 84,
and figuring any ache is at least partly structural. But I keep trying to convince myself, and my subconsdious,
that any ache is TMS and hope my subcon believes me. I wonder if the subcon can be fooled?

 

That is a really good point, Walt. I am 65 and do have some physical issues, but none of them are known to cause pain. I have some osteoporosis, but never had a fracture. I have scoliosis and some other mild abnormalities, but my X-rays aren't that bad. However, these don't account for my pain. I am also very active. Most doctors I have seen, including my husband, think that I am the "nervous type (read:hypochondriac) whose psychological make-up probably means more.

When i am doing well, I am generally happy and the pain doesn't bother me unless I really overdo it. However, in my darker moments, when I know I am seething with unconscious resentment and anger or fear, the pain can get really bad. So the point is that is it realistic for older people like us to try to believe our pain is 100% TMS? I really don't think so. All I can say is that I probably have some mild sciatic pain, but it is TMS when it really bothers me. Sometimes I think the "bothering me" is the real issue. Maybe I should ask one of the Psychologists about this.

 

Hi enigma,

So sorry to hear that you are having a relapse. I've had a few and know how frustrating they are. Even though you know it's TMS--here it is!

Maybe it would be good to submit a question to the Ask-A-Therapist Forum. They might have some suggestions about what you can differently.

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/forums/ask-a-tms-therapist.47/

Have you looked at the issue of conditioning? Perhaps that is an area to explore.

Best wishes...

 

Hi Chickenbone,

There was an interesting well-known study done by Ellen Langer called "counterclockwise", which demonstrated that many of the things we associate with aging are all in the mind. Here's just one summary of it:

http://www.superconsciousness.com/topics/health/aging-reverse-counterclockwise-study

There is no reason why we should have pain or less mobility as we age.

 

I'm 84 and keep thinking that I'm less mobile because of aging.
I see some people my age with walkers, and I rarely use a cane.
Others my age or older are walking like they are twenty.

I guess it really is all in the mind.

I tell myself that I am not sick. I don't take medication for anything
and don't even take an aspirin. I don't have arthritis.

I guess I'm in great health for my age or any age because I rarely smoked
and gave that up 50 years ago, and I drink moderately (one glass of red wine
or one beer a night, or none at all).

So why should I be concerned about being less mobile?
I do my own driving to do grocery shopping, make my own meals,
clean up afterward, clean the house, play with my darling dog.

When I feel stressed, I find relief in deep breathing, doing a 30-minute YouTube exercise
program for seniors, say the Rosary daily, work on the computer, watch good old movies on tv,
and practice mindful meditation, living in the present.

I'm like my mother. She never admitted she was a senior citizen. She died at age 94,
not ill from anything, just had a few falls that injured her hips, first one, then the other.
I asked her nurse why she fell so much and the nurse said she tripped, always looking to see
if someone was admiring here. Yes, mom was conceited. I came to realize she always
thought of herself as a 1920s "flapper," still going to dances to meet new men.
That's how she met my father.