Healed!

I wanted to share this with you. I have been absent from the forum for awhile because I've been too busy enjoying my pain-free existence! I had suffered on and off from bad disabling back pain and bladder symptoms for years. The latest bout, from July to November, was a doozy.. I am here to say there is hope, never give up. I healed through reading Steve Ozanich's book "The Great Pain Deception". and also by being in contact with Steve, who reached out to me and was my rock. He is a wonderful, caring person. Through his method, I am now pain free, play racquetball, run an hour at a time, cross country ski, all with no pain. I did it by doing what Steve did- I did it through activity and physical exercise. I hurt a lot at first, during and after, but I gritted my teeth and did it anyway. I read and re-read Steve's book.. and increasingly became aware of how I translated my reactions to life and my repressed emotions into my back. I also continued to see and still do see, evidence that structural problems DO NOT cause back pain. I work in the health care field and I see it every day, the untruths and the inconsistencies of these diagnoses..

You too can heal, no matter how bad things seem right now. Never give up. The body is meant to heal - that is the way it was designed. Get out there and start being active, any way you can. It won't hurt you or injure you further. Hurt pain is not the same as harm pain. Don't be afraid.

Blessings and healing thoughts to you all!

 

Great Post! It gave me a lot of encouragement. I am suffering leg pain, buttocks, right
down to my feet, I would love to hear more from you, thanks, Nancy

 

Way to go Mtngal!! Wise words of encouragement above.

 

Just what I needed to read this afternoon Mtngal! I've been busy with some work deadlines and haven't been able to spend much time on the forum… But I realized I was slipping back into old patterns of thinking and fear of pain thus creating pain! So yesterday I got myself to a yoga class. First one in years. Turns out no one else showed up so I had a private class. I had pain but I just kept doing the posture as well as possible. I realized that half the battle for me is in JUST DOING IT. Getting over the mental shenanigans that keep me locked up in fear. I have done enough to know at this point, I may have pain during and the day after the exercise… but the following days are way better and I'm feeling muscle strength. Hurt Pain Is Not The Same As Harm Pain!

 

Awesome! Thank you for your post! I'm in a relapse and have been up and down for the past week. Your encouragement is just what I needed to keep forging ahead.

 

Nancy, I"m so sorry you are suffering. But better days are ahead!. Nothing stays the same forever. Think TMS . Maybe you are still having doubts as to the cause - disc pressing on nerve etc. Think of this: a patient came in for a heart test where I work. She was using a cane. She said she had been in an auto accident 6 mos. ago. The doctors told her she had been born with congenital spinal stenosis.. and that the accident had made that condition worse. BUT.... and this is a big BUT (no pun intended)..she never had back pain BEFORE the accident.. so her "congenital spinal stenosis" apparently was not causing her pain then. I'm not minimizing her plight - she was injured and probably has muscle/soft tissue damage. But remember what Dr. Sarno said, that we heal and the reason for CONTINUING pain is TMS..

 

You go girl! Yoga is excellent - I remember just a few months ago my back would just kill me in the sustained sitting ("easy pose") - Indian style pose. I ignored it the best I could and looked forward to when I could change positions - and it went away.. You are doing the right thing by ignoring it and feeling the fear and doing it anyway! Those dang muscles just tighten with our emotions and our expectations of pain.. so the heck with them! Let them tighten, you aren't going to pay much attention to them.. and when you do that, their purpose (keeping our mind riveted on our symptoms) is rendered useless.
Hang in there!

 

So very happy for you Mtngal. Could u pls tell me more about the urinary problems u had. I am trying get my head around whether it is tms or not as it also involves some fibroids.

Much appreciated.

Wishing u a very happy & pain free future.

Mala

 

Awesome story Mtngal. Thank You so much, I love the way you said you read Steveos book and then re-read it.
That is the way to get things done and then getting back to living life on purpose with the right tools is so important. Awesome

 

This reply has everything you need to do in it to heal. Thanks nowtimecoach.

I love the quote by Mtngal. Hurt pain is not the same as Harm pain.

 

Mala,

I was diagnosed with something called "interstitial cystitis".. actually Steve O. also "had" that as well at inal

 

Hi Mala,

I think that fibroids are a definite physical problem that should not be ignored. The bladder problems I had were attributed to Interstitial Cystitis . Steve O also had this , and it went away with TMS healing, as did mine. It is a condition that has no known cause and has been treated successfully with mind-body healing. I don't know the specifics of your problem, but if you've been thoroughly investigated and treated for fibroids, but continue to have pelvic pain, then perhaps TMS is involved. I do not know if fibroids can cause urinary symptoms so you need to have that checked out first. Hope this helps!

 

Mtngal, thank you for sharing your great story. I'm in the midst of a flare myself so it's always encouraging to hear from someone who didn't jump up pain free after reading a book. My TMS is a bit stubborn….many, many years of conditioned reactions to retrain. Stories like your's bring strength and encouragement.

Thanks again!

 

Mtngal, How awesome!!!! Stories like yours really encourages us who are in the midst of being healed. Thank you for taking the time
to tell your story.

Bravo!!!!!

 

I'm also trying the exercise and getting on with my life approach, I've been 98 percent pain free before but it gets worst after I decide to push only a tiny bit more. I know it's fear keeping me in pain. The fear comes from the fact that I feel I may be a different case than everyone here on the forums because my problem is nerve pain in back, legs and elbows into the forearms and hands... nerves are very scary for me to deal with. I see a neurologist in two weeks, I hope all tests are normal so i can ease my fears and move on with my recovery. Everything else had been ruled out and I'm healthy
according to doctors.

 

Since it will relieve your mind, see the neurologist, but be careful believing what he tells you if he says
your pains are from your nervous system. Dr. Sarno says in Healing Back Pain that our brain talks to our nerves
about repressed emotions and the nerves cause us pain because of mild oxygen deprivation. The pain goes away
when we discover our repressed emotions. So you may have to work more on learning what those are.
Journaling was very helpful for me. If you've already done a lot of journaling, and saved it, go back over the
pages and see if you have resolved the emotional issues. Even so, Dr. Sarno said we don't have to resolve the
emotional issues, just recognize them and our unconscious mind frees us of the pain it is sending us.
It may not happen overnight, but the unconscious eventually "gets it" and stops the pain.

Belief can fight fear. Breathe deeply and believe in TMS. Any doubt that your pain is structural will delay
or prevent you from healing.

 

Thank you so very much Walt glenview! You are a very sweet person, I often read your posts of hope and encouragement you send to everyone on this forum. I haven't done much journaling at all. I will begin tonight after my very bouncy and active 6 year old daughter falls asleep I have been able to recognize the daily stressors that surround me and help myself get through it all by affirmations and visualizations, also ive ignored the symptoms as best as i can but for short periods only, Soon panic sets in so i haven't been able to break the cycle of fear and pain for longer then 2 weeks. I will feel great and then its hell all over again...progress is progress and I'm excited to get myself 98 percent pain free like I was not long ago and keep myself there! I wish my pain manifested itself in muscles or tendons because nerves are very scary!! your reply was just what I needed today thank you so much, I wish you health and happiness

 

Thanks, Alexandra. I'm glad my words helped.
I hope you will start a regular routine of journaling. If only 10 minutes each day until you work up to 15 and 20 minutes.
Just write down your earliest thoughts of childhood... what your parents were like, siblings if any, and how you felt as a
member of the family. Were pressures put on you to be a perfect daughter? Did you experience physical or emotional abuse?

Dr. Sarno says our pain comes from repressed emotions often going back to our childhood and the emotions became hidden
as anger, and over the years the repressed anger turned into inner rage. We need to discover what made us angry.

Fear and panic and pain are a cycle we can break, with calm and positive thinking, deep breathing, relaxation techniques.
I also found it helpful to just laugh off frustration and fear and anxiety. Even a few moments of laughing makes me forget
what I was stressed about.

 

I have suffered many painful conditions over the years that went away.....without any realization of what was causing them....now I believe they were TMS....this latest episode ( pelvic pain/anxiety) is the worst....mainly because it has just about shut my life down....I am presently reading Steve O's book ( The Great Pain Deception ).....and am feeling overwhelmed with what I have to do to get out of this....does anyone else feel like this?