Feeling trapped between anxiety and pain

I have had some success making my symptoms go away with Sarno's approach and Alan's TMS program. Unfortunately, I feel like I keep getting to this place where I am caught between fear/anxiety (my repressed emotion) or pain. I will either feel incredibly anxious/panicked/not like my self at all, and anything I do to calm me down (meditation, yoga, exercise, mindfulness, etc.) results in my anxiety lessening but my symptoms getting worse. This includes any self-talk I will engage in, trying to remind myself that it will get better.

I feel trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Some additional information: I have abused marijuana heavily for almost a decade as I felt it helped with my anxiety and depression. About two years ago I quit because I realized it seemed to be actually making my TMS symptoms worse. This resulted in my TMS symptoms improving quite a lot, but I only lasted about 2 months or so before finding myself in this terrible pain-anxiety cycle that I was unable to break out of. I then went back to smoking for the last two years. I quit about 6 weeks ago and the first month was pretty good but the more I worked on my TMS symptoms the worse my anxiety got.

I want to work on resolving this WITHOUT medication. I feel like going on a psychiatric medication will only continue to push my unresolved anxiety issues aside without ever dealing with them at their root. But I am starting to fear that maybe I cannot do this without some sort of substance as I am in great pain and anxiety.

 

Hi @yurty-aherne,

Have you seen a mental health professional with a mindbody focus? Some people need outside help, but it certainly doesn't have to include medication.

I am particularly impressed by a practice called Existential Psychotherapy, and I have used its theories to access some deep emotions in a very constructive way.

I also found Hope and Help For Your Nerves, the deceptively little book by Dr. Claire Weekes, to be tremendously helpful for my anxiety, which was about to cripple me back in 2011.