Day 10 Progress so far

First, I want to start out by thanking everyone for your support so far. I wanted to report on my progress as of day 10 of the structured program.

I have had tennis elbow in both arms for 10 months and lower back pain for 2 months. I had believed that using the mouse and keyboard on the computer was causing the pain in my arms/wrists, so I had switched over to 100% voice control. I also gave up a number of other activities that I believed contributed to the pain including weightlifting, opening jars and bottles, gripping the steering wheel while driving, etc.

For almost two weeks, I have begun using the mouse and keyboard again, about 5-10%. I have stopped using grip assisting gloves for driving or opening jars. A few days ago I have begun doing some light exercises that involve gripping things.

Before I started, I had no pain in my hands and wrists. I had restricted my activities in such a way that none of the triggers would occur. Now that I have resumed my physical activities, I have pain occasionally, but it is usually not too bad.

I am having difficulty determining the emotional triggers for my pain. Stress, in general, seems to exacerbate the symptoms, but only if it is combined with using the mouse and keyboard. Otherwise, it doesn’t seem to cause pain. Sometimes I get flair ups while I am relaxing at home and not doing anything particularly stressful. Whenever I feel pain, I stop myself and try to assess my emotional state. But I can never seem to pinpoint an emotion that seems to be causing the pain.

I have been writing the journals about past events in my childhood, but I am not sure if I am uncovering anything subconscious. I have plenty unpleasant memories of my childhood, but I have been over them many times before and am well aware of how I feel. I’ve always thought of myself as a very introspective person, so I am surprised to hear that I may be repressing something.

Any advice or guidance would be appreciated. Thank you for your support.

 

Hi. Happy to hear of your progress and congrats on being at Day 10.

Note that being aware of childhood issues does not mean we feel resolved toward them. This takes time and effort. A change in thinking sometimes, and many times, forgiveness of others or ourselves. So I'd encourage you to do a little more delving. There are times when writing delayers things for our brain, and memories we have suppressed can come back to us for resolve. It is very interesting when it happens. Things I had not thought about for 20 or 30 years came back to me. What I do with them at that point is equally important.

Best wishes.

 

Hey Gydiwon,

first of all I think it's very good you have stopped avoiding certain activities . Just also try to focus a bit less on the pain (easier said than done, I know, this is my current struggle). Are you already working with positive affirmations?

I agree with what Lori says. Dig deeper! Everytime I have to journal I think: what for? But everytime some subconscious belief about myself or something that makes me angry comes out. I have read about breathing techniques that help you get closer to your emotions. It was something like breath out for 6 seconds and in for 4 seconds and continue a few minutes.

Good luck!