Just dicovered TMS

Hello all. I am new here. I was lucky enough to stumble across a reference to Dr Sarno's book over the weekend and it has already made some significant improvements in my situation. I have been suffering mainly from pelvic pain off and for several months. Went to Dr and was informed I more than likely was experiencing non-bacterial chronic prostatitis. Did have some minimal BPH but nothing unexpected given my age. Anyone with this diagnosis knows that there is nothing definitive to help other than meds, stretches, supplements, etc etc etc. Additionally, upon seeing urologist he also recommended eventually getting a PSA test, although since I was currently experiencing symptoms, it would likely be high. So I passed on that till my symptoms decreased. However, I worried and worried and worried and obsessed and they never did. Looking back, had he not mentioned that I likely would have felt better much sooner but at least now I know more about myself.

So I have been trying all the regular stuff and searching forums etc and come across Dr Sarno's book. It was like a lightbulb went off. I realized how and when my symptoms get better or worse, it generally revolves around specific upcoming events that I stress about, mainly work events. I also noticed that after these events pass, or when I am distracted by other things in my life, whether they are bad or good, I dont notice it as much. I started actually looking at my calendar and can tie the timelines together almost exactly.

I am focusing on not judging my reaction to my pain and knowing it is my mind. I do feel it and no doubt there is actual pain, but if I can tell myself to stop thinking of it, push through the pain a bit, it subsides. It will come up again later if there is some stressful thought or i start to think about it again but I am pretty conviced this is TMS.

I just wanted to share my story and how quickly things have changed although they are not perfect. I am hopeful that this continues to improve but I know I have a journey ahead of me. I definitely have a anxious personality and catastrophize things often. Thinking back there are definitely other times in my life I have obsessed over some malady that has remained until there was another stimulus or something else replaced it.

Any feedback or recommendations are appreciated.

 

Hi @last337
You are doing a great job beginning to suss out how stress affects you. Now you can begin to explore how you truly feel (and may not accept) your emotions around stress. People sometimes do this journaling. Some people just make a list and mull over the emotions around it.. no matter what, this is where somatically feeling the emotions helps teach the brain the emotions are safe to feel. Just like the pain of TMS is benign, the sensations of emotions in the body are benign (even though our brain thinks they are not).
The two free programs (choose just one) at tmswiki.org (scroll down) can guide you through this if you like. They are helpful at exploring various techniques to help you get through this and help you stay committed, keeping a slow, steady pace.

 

Hello @last337,
The insights you describe are powerful and exactly the kind of personal observations that can lead to longer-term healing. Being able to observe your own pain and how the onset is completely linked to stressful events on your calendar is a light bulb moment indeed. Keep at it.
And, if the symptoms shift around in some way, that can be just another part of it. You already identified the pain distraction that's going on.