I chose my next symptom during a flare up and it worked!

Hi everyone,

Long time TMSer here. I had a funny thing happen to me recently that I would like to share involving symptoms during a large 'symptom flare'. I've really been going through it lately with lots of heavy life stuff, and I of course started into a major symptom flare, pain in the elbow, anxiety, ringing in the ears and then IBS when I ignored the rest of it. IBS is a new one for me and of course I started to obsess over it. The other day on a hike I th0ught "you know, it would be GREAT if we could just get back to basics and go with some good old common run of the mill back pain. Some real Sarno type stuff. I mean if this is going to continue, can't we just go old school?" SO, yesterday, I was doing my normal weight routine workout, I pick up a couple of weights I've picked up a million times, nothing crazy heavy, and BANG, I feel a tweak in my lower back (all nerve) which of course I still feel this morning and is driving me crazy and I'm now obsessing over. Ha! The joke is on me, all other symptoms have now disappeared (except ear ringing) and I am now Mr. Back Pain.

As I sit here with my lower back anxiety, I am thinking about how during a flare, my symptoms move and change. I realize that I always want back the symptom I just had because it felt more familiar, I was getting used to the last one, but of course, it is gone because it was no longer working. I just thought this was so interesting because I have tried this before, and my body typically won't go back to a symptom that I have conquered (unless it's been awhile of course). And normally back pain wouldn't work for me because I've had it so many times, but the 'tweak' was a new form of the back pain (because it mimics an injury) and it IS WORKING! So so very clever. And now, I have a choice right? I can continue behaving normally (Sarno), or nurse it (basically modern medical approach), or walk middle ground. Yesterday, I finished my workout, and of course there was no change in the symptom, just remained as it was. I carried some heavy things yesterday (moderately heavy and awkward), again, pain is the same, no better no worse. I slept fine, even got up this morning and was OK and then a couple minutes after waking I remembered the back pain I was supposed to have, and......well you of course know what happened because you are on this forum.

TMS Warriors we must remain intrepid, we must never give in. I must face my fears.

 

Good for you!
I've tried to "move" my pain into someplace less scary like into my toe but I can only get it to work for a little while.
I definitely notice though that when a new symptom (or real symptom) arises, the TMS symptom currently dealing with recedes.
Which is always a good reminder that it's from the mind and not the structural.

 

Yes, I agree, it ALWAYS recedes, it is your nervous system saying "will this work? How about this? This?" It's such a game
and it is amazing how often I fall for it. It's also hilarious how symptoms that I am totally over will cycle back through in like a 5 years and get me again!

 

OMG..this is funny. The title told me everything and then the text was even better. You had me at "I chose my next symptom"

A lot of the time when I am 'under the gun' with pressure, I have to be careful about what I read and who I listen to because even HEARING about somebodies symptoms has given me them before. The Nocebo is strong and real. I just started watching @miffybunny 's video and I was like "Wait..careful here" I don't even know what CRPS is, but I wouldn't put it past my unconscious to give me some..it's not very creative or original.

Right before I got the pain that brought me to my knees and then to Sarno, I was at work carrying a bunch of heavy stuff. Some of the veterans said "Hey , careful there gamecock , or you'll hurt your back". I made fun of them and their 'back problems'. Walking away from them I felt a twinge in my butt that was day one of an 18 month odyssey through the system. My unconscious KNEW more than my head that a butt spasm meant 'back/sciatic nerve/disc'...

and like you, during some of my 'odd' TMS symptoms I have thought 'Damn, this is so much easier when it is just Meat and Potatoes back pain', until of course , that pain comes and I'm like 'NO..I was just kidding!!'

That is probably due to my faith in Sarno and 100% success rate getting rid of back pain, whereas some of the 'conversions' have taken longer because I didn't recognize them as soon as I should have.

I Have had, over 25 years:

Headaches, Neck, Shoulders, arms, hands, Thumbs, Hip, Chest, Fake Hernia/gallstones,Knee and foot pain, Skin Rashes and itching along with Teeth problems that were serving the same role as back pain...they all sucked. They were also all short WHEN I realized what they were...the hardest was actually teeth...it looked so real and it was next to REAL broken ones...but it was absolutely serving the same purpose.

After my last round, I was actually pretty bummed. 25 years in and it's still doing BACK Pain? The Good News is, it still goes away every time I re-read the book and do the work.

The one thread that ties all of those symptoms together is how much it occupies my attention the way you've described. When I have had real injuries, I don't pay much attention to them...When I have had real trauma from falls, Hit by baseballs, Gnarly cuts, I don't keep checking and rechecking them. I know they will heal....TMS is really about occupying your attention....as soon as I turn my attention to my Emotional and personal problems, it goes away....always,w/o fail.

Hang in there...GREAT Post!

 

Hahaha....I love this part.
So true.

Me: This tooth pain is so bad, I wish I had my normal pain the chest.
My TMS: Ok, sucker, here you go.
Me: Ack! Go back to the tooth. Go back to the tooth!