Just made Day 37 for the Program

Forest · Jun 22, 2012

Hey Everyone,

I spent some time today adding a new day to the TMS program. I wanted to focus on the work Dr. Zafirides does with Existential psychotherapy in regards to treating PPD. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts about it, so feel free to let me know if we should make any changes. Better yet feel free to make the changes yourself! The program is a community project so anyone can add to it or adjust it. BTW, we probably want to add a brief intro to the page as well. If any of you have any ideas feel free to write something up and add it to the beginning of the page.

Best,

Forest

Educational Activity: There are multiple different psychological lenses one can use to understand TMS/PPD and the underlying emotions that create our symptoms. Sometimes using a different therapuetic approach to identify what emotions what are repressing and what the source of our rage and anger is can be helpful as one recovers. Dr. Peter Zafirides has produced a podcast where he explains the role Existential Psychotherapy can have in explaining TMS/PPD. According to the existential approach, there are four core issues that everyone deals with, but which also contribute to PPD symptoms. These core issues are: meaning, death, freedom, and isolation. By understanding the role these core issues affect us, we can begin to identify which emotions we have been repressing and uncover the source of our symptoms. To access the Dr. Zafirides' podcast visit: Existential therapy: How anxiety leads to physical pain. You can find more discussion about this podcast and approach in the forum post The Role of Existential Anxiety in TMS Pain.

From the Forum: Sometimes reading forum posts can provide clarity about a certain topic and help explain different psychological concepts. The following exchange between MorComm and Dr. Zafirides shows a great example of how Existential psychotherapy can relate to PPD. These posts are from the thread How Our Thoughts Play a Critical Role in Pain Relief. Feel free to post your own response or thoughts.
MorComm wrote:
"Which reminds me of another time when I was really "hurtin'" following my herniated disk in 2001-002. I remember being afraid to get under my old van to work on tightening up a transmission pan so it wouldn't leak. I thought sure I would "hurt myself". However, while I was lying on my back on the hard asphalt, checking socket sizes, and sorting out tools to replace the tranny modulator, I noticed something really, really interesting. While concentrating on the task at hand (an intellectual activity involving muscular coordination and making choices about procedures), the pain in my back disappeared completely. Again, shifting my center of attention to the intellectual part of my brain, short-circuited the whole TMS pain cycle. Now that I'm thinking about it, I can think of many other occasions where being mindful caused my TMS pain to disappear or diminish. Bet if the "little men in the white coats" hooked up a monitor to my spinal cord while I was flat on my back under the old Ford, they'd notice that the pain messages had subsided."
Dr. Zafirides wrote
"From an existential perspective, it is interesting that when you were fully engaged in your work (existential purpose and meaning), the pain was at bay. There was no reason for it to distract you from anything, as your work provided fulfillment and purpose. During the times in between however, you began to feel the pain. It is as if the pain had to fill the existential "void", if you will, of the passing of your mother and also now being in between work.
FYI, this has been a very common scenario in the TMS/PPD individuals I treat. Keep doing the TMS work and never doubt your strength!!"

Journaling Activity: Existential anxiety is prevelant in everyone. When we repress the emotions related to these anxities, we can develop PPD symptoms. Since you just learned about the four core anxieties, pick one and briefly journal about today. The four core issues are meaning, death, freedom, and isolation. Remember, these issues occur in everyone, so there is no reason to feel ashamed or embarassed by anything that comes up during journaling. It is also not important to fully resolve any of these issues. Simply recognizing that these issues are present may be enough for you to fully recover from PPD. Pick one issue and write as a free write or essay. Write the topic on the top of the page and begin writing.

Question to Ponder: What person(s) on the forums do you think is the most helpful? What is it about their posts do you find so beneficial? If you feel comfortable sharing, then post your response in a thread in our Structured Program forum. We would love to hear from you
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veronica73 · Jun 23, 2012

Great stuff! It's comforting to know everyone thinks about these core issues.

JanAtheCPA · Jun 24, 2012

I just listened to that podcast today, Forest, before I saw this - and BTW, I'm impressed by how you keep adding to the SEP. Anyway, I loved the podcast, sent it to a friend, and I also signed up for Dr. Z's newsletter. I love listening to his topics - it's like personal psychotherapy.

BruceMC · Jun 26, 2012

It seems to me that you might want to journal on Dr. Zafirides' four core existential issues - meaning, death, freedom, and isolation - as interrelated dialectical pairs, hence:

meaning/death

freedom/isolation

Or maybe reverse them? death/meaning, isolation/freedom? Or even, death/isolation and meaning/freedom?

In any case, those core issues certainly have a way of interacting and making psychic sparks fly!

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