How to find the root cause/trigger of your pain when it's there all the time?

Hello TMSWiki,

I discovered TMS/Sarno just about a year ago and unfortunately am not seeing any pain relief so far.

Most of the cases I've read involve the person having flare-ups of their symptoms, then working to find out what events were going on at the time, and that provides an answer to the root cause of their emotional stress. Makes sense.

For me, my knee pain (or any other of my TMS symptoms) is there always. So, how can I figure out what's triggering it?

I injured my knee in July '18, had meniscus surgery in July '19, went through 8 months of PT and got better!...for two weeks. Then injured it again while foam rolling. Such a minor slip up but that was almost a year ago and my hip/knee/lower leg (Saphenous and Peroneal nerves) have had a clicking and dull ache ever since.

I've had MRIs, EMGs, and X-Rays, all look pretty good (some mild disc compression in my lumbar spine but I know from Sarno that this is normal for most people and not a likely cause). Even a chiropractor said it feels fine and is moving normally. Yes I absolutely have repressed anger and fear and anxiety, no question. Along with some stressors in life and childhood - but overall not anything all that traumatic, pretty average stuff that most people are dealing with (financial, dating, career, etc).

I can still walk, exercise, elliptical, and even run - I wasn't even doing that pre-injury!

So, it's gotta be TMS. But through all the journaling, meditating, knowledge and therapy, it hasn't backed off even an inch. If anyone can share a similar experience and advise what they did, it's very much appreciated.

One thing Alan wrote that stood out to me - he knew his foot pain was TMS when he got up to go to the bathroom at 4am and realized it didn't hurt - if it was structural, it would hurt all the time. It's similar for me, the pain is always flared (sometimes worse than others) but I'll occasionally "forget about it" if I'm really into a TV show or engrossed in my work. At best it feels like I'm forgetting about it but not overcoming it. Not a permanent fix of course, but maybe that provides some useful information.

Although I'm happy for those who have found relief, it's frustrating seeing all these success stories people have immediately after reading the book, especially coming up on the 1 year mark of discovering all this stuff with no progress :-[

Thank you for reading! I'm grateful for any assistance here.

 

Pepe, it took me 2+ years to get rid of my symptoms. I tried to follow Sarno's method precisely, but it didn't work for me. Only after I realized that every person is unique and I have to tailor the concept to my particular situation and personality, I started moving forward. Your hang up seems to be that the pain is always there, so your mind tells you: no, pal, you are not the same as those who succeeded. Could that be a reason?