Mind Body Coach Recommendation

I'm not sure if we can post this here so if it's not allowed, please let me know. I've been struggling with mind-body symtoms for over a year. I have tried Journalspeak, worked with a few on-line mind-body programs (and coaches), tried therapy and a number of other things. I'm just curious if anyone has a mind-body practitioner they would recommend? I feel I just need someone to point me in the right direction and possibly a little therapy although I think I have a lot of my emotional baggage already worked through. I admit to having done too much on-line mind-body researching and the space has gotten very crowded with practitioners so am trying to sort through everything! Any recommendations are welcome.

 

Hi @Maobadger11 - whilst you may understand that it's all TMS and the symptoms are treated all the same, is a coach who has been through what you have preferable to you? I know that I was the same and it's a comfort to many people to choose a coach like that. Feel free to share your symptoms here if so and I hopefully will be able to think of someone for you.

Also, I wouldn't hesitate to shop around/try before you buy in a sense if I were you, you're entitled to do so as this is your health and it's an important decision! You'll click with some and won't click with others. Many coaches offer a free initial session, no strings attached (I do myself, however I just want the best coach for you specifically and I won't be that for everyone - I'm happy to help you make that decision beyond me). It might be wise to pick 4 or 5 you're considering (hopefully who all offer the free call), and then take up those free calls with each before making a decision (so you can feel more informed in your choice)

 

Thanks so much for your insightful reply. My primary symptom has been burning mouth and more recently a bit of tinnitus if that helps. I do agree it’s probably worth talking to a few people as I know even trying to find a therapist to work through some emotional issues was challenging. If that helps in making any recommendations, I appreciate it!

 

Hello @Maobadger11

As you have already looked into mind/body approaches, my suggestion would be to decide which viewpoint and approach to dealing with emotions best chimes with you. I'd think about which 'school of thought' makes the most sense to you, and then vet and choose from some coaches who lean towards that particular approach (or mix of approaches as, for instance, I'm of the opinion that #3 below could be going on at the same time as either #1 or #2).

#1 With Dr Sarno’s TMS the symptoms are seen as a distraction from tough/'dangerous' emotions.

#2 Approaches like Mickel Therapy flip it and the symptoms signal an ignored emotion, so you acknowledge there’s an unexpressed emotion and then act on it in a small, practical way to calm your system.

#3 And Pain Retraining Therapy (a la Alan Gordon) sees the symptoms as a brain false alarm driven by fear — you reassure yourself things are safe (e.g. “this isn’t dangerous”), and over time the threat response fades (this being at least in part due to neuroplastic changes occurring in the brain).

Personally, I have gone from being bedridden and housebound to functioning pretty well by comparison by taking Dr Sarno's advice to get on with normal life as best one can despite the symptoms (I did this very gradually in teeny weeny 'baby steps'). I suffered a myriad of different symptoms and when I concentrated on doing that (coupled with my believing that my symptoms were mind/body and not a physical/structural in origin) a lot of them fell by the wayside (to include burning mouth and tinnitus). And what's definitely gradually working to reduce and lose my residual symptoms is Mickel Therapy (however, I didn't choose to have personal sessions with Dr Mickel... although I might do because imo he comes across as being very personable and my cup of tea... I've just watched his YouTube videos to include those of him being interviewed on Raelan Agle's YouTube channel, and am doing his self-treat course, which hasn't broken the bank).

My other suggestion is to consider having a look on the success stories sub-forum... use the search function and use search terms, such as 'practitioner', 'therapist', 'coach' and 'burning mouth' and 'tinnitus' and see what comes up as people mention on there who (and what's) helped them lose their symptoms and recover. (With symptoms though bear in mind that they can be anything and what you're tackling isn't the symptom but the emotions behind the symptom, so if you like the sound of a particular coach it won't be important that they have a history of successfully particularly coaching people with burning mouth and/or tinnitus.)

 

Thank you for this helpful
Information! Did you personally work with any coaches or apply Sarnos principles pretty much on your own? Did you do Much emotional work? I have tried Journslspeak which is based on his principles somewhat and so far that hasn’t done the trick. I do have a mind body coach largely from the PRT school which may be helping but feel
I’m just not getting over the hump. I may try looking at success stories but feel those can be a mixed bag. I have recently started to try more of what you suggested which is just living life regardless of symptoms as I know I have spent way to much time investigating and researching which is not helpful!

 

Pretty much on my own. With Sarno, I followed his “get on with normal life as best you can, despite the symptoms” advice, and I also did a fair bit of “talking to my brain” and telling it that it was being ridiculous for producing symptoms. The latter did help virtually immediately to decrease them, and sometimes they would disappear completely, but then symptoms would pop up elsewhere in my body, like playing a game of whack‑a-mole.

However, buried emotions weren’t actually my big issue. My anger/rage was always very close to the surface and didn’t need any digging up (there was more suppression going on than repression) and I found it didn't do me any favours at all to keep going over past upsetting times and reliving them.

Sarno also recommended self‑soothing, and I did and still regularly do that too. He said in his book The MindBody Prescription:

“Suppose, however, there is another element in the equation; that it is not simply the quantity of rage that brings on symptoms, but the presence or absence of counterbalancing soothing factors. Theoretically, these pleasant elements in a person’s life would modify the threat posed by the rage and make symptoms unnecessary. One can carry this to the point of absurdity, but I believe something like it goes on and that the occurrence of symptoms reflects too much rage and not enough counteracting soothing elements in one’s life.”

JournalSpeak didn’t do it for me either. Journaling helps a lot of people, but it didn’t help me (and I tried a lot of journaling methods). Writing some “unsent” letters to those who “did me wrong” was helpful though; I found that doing that has taken the sting out of past hurts whenever I’m reminded of them in passing.

I was very taken with PRT when I stumbled across it and did The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook: Using the Brain’s Neuroplasticity to Break the Cycle of Chronic Pain by Vanessa M. Blackstone and Olivia S. Sinaiko. I do believe that a certain amount of “rewiring” of the brain is required for recovery.

But I still found myself looking for something that really gelled with me, and that’s what led me on to Mickel Therapy. It gave me a real “ah‑ha” moment about what had been going on with me, especially around something Mickel calls “body boredom”.

In Mickel Therapy, “body boredom” doesn’t mean you’re lazy or just mentally bored; it means your body is under‑fulfilled and using symptoms to flag that up. The idea is that the body generates emotions (including boredom and lack of fulfilment) to steer us toward a more satisfying life, but when we ignore those signals, the system gets overloaded (in particular the hypothalamus) and starts communicating through physical symptoms instead. Mickel Therapy encourages you to treat those symptoms as messages, notice where life currently feels dead or joyless, and make small, practical changes that bring more genuine interest and enjoyment, so the body no longer needs to “switch on” symptoms to get your attention.

I agree. The main reason I suggested going to the success stories subforum is that, on most other forums, the majority of people are still on their recovery journey. They may be finding a particular coach good, but they are not necessarily fully recovered.

It’s key! Regular movement has also been key in feeling better on my recovery journey; I believe that's because it helps the flow and release of emotions (as well as being generally good for the body). I pepper my day with little movements as per this book: Micro-Movement Medicine: Tiny Daily Routines to Heal Joints, Boost Energy, and Stay Strong at Any Age – The Minimalist Guide to Lifelong Mobility by Scott J. Rivers.

I hope that something I've said will be of help to you.

 

Wow! Thank you so much! This contains so much helpful information, a lot of which resonates. I like what you said on Sarno and talking to the brain. I have been doing that but more in a soothing way and I’m thinking I need to try a sterner approach. I do agree with the soothing aspects which I take to mean incorporating more enjoyment and pleasure. I’m not too familiar with the Mickel therapy but the premise is very intriguing given what was going on in my life when symptoms arose as well as now. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!

 

You're very welcome!

Yes, I'd definitely recommend experimenting with what you say and with the tone of how you say it because I think our individual brains all respond differently. I tried soothing mine, being stern with it etc., but what worked for me was saying to it (and please excuse the swear word, but because I'm a Brit it did make all the difference!)..."Do me a favour, you're just being bloody ridiculous!" and other variations on the same theme!

With Mickel Therapy... you can see my postings about it here on this thread, which have links to a couple of YouTube videos (that is, the one at the top of the thread and the one at the bottom of the thread) https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threa...d-mickel-of-mickel-therapy.33293/#post-169725 (and Dr Mickel has his own YouTube Channel where you can also watch his videos for free). So you can just see what you think, see if it gels with you at all; if it doesn't, then nothing lost financially at least.

Wishing you all the very best.

 

P.S. Further to my latest reply to you above, I meant to also say...

Yes, that's right, exactly... plus a book I found very helpful regrading calming/soothing techniques is this imo little gem https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1991006039?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_11 The cutesy illustrations (I know they won't be to everyone's taste) belie how profound the techniques are, especially when they are used regularly. I don't do them all, but have a number of favourites that I do on a regular basis, one or two or so a day.

Good luck!