Question about Unlearn Your Pain

Hi there,

I purchased the Unlearn Your Pain Book and having a bit of a time understanding some things....Maybe it's me thinking it's too deep or academic. I just need some examples to see the forest for the trees I guess? Or, it's the TMS!

Step 1. Symptoms. It's hard to think back years ago as a kid. I remember different things but not every single time I had a ache or pain..... I might have had a stomach ache as a kid but, I have no idea what age I was. Do I need to be exact?

Step 2 Childhood. Describe your Mother, Father, or Caregiver. For one word descriptions I used a site on personality words on Google to help trigger my memory if needed.

Step 3. Core Issues. I've done close to 2 pages of core issues, including using some of the examples in the book.

Step 4. I have every one of the Personality Traits checked off.

Step 5. Finding connections between life stresses, core issues, and the onset of MBS symptoms. This is where I'm stumped....... I understand I'm using the list on page 66....Do I do this?....

Age....
MBS Symptoms (from Step 1)
Potential Triggering Events...... Is this to be taken from where it says "Finally, consider if there were any particular stressful or traumatic events in your childhood" on page 60?
Emotions that were triggered/core issues. Are these taking from Step 3?

I'm just having a hard time understanding this because when I did the list on page 66 it appears, from what I remember, I didn't have a lot going on other then a stomache ache here and there that I vaugley remember .... Could be more of a guess ...... I do know I had a lot of IBS symptoms in high school and when I started my first job.......over the years those symptoms stopped and were replaced with the following..

Left foot pain that lasted for years! ... (I have very flat feet)
Pain above my right eye....was diagnosed as ice pick headaches
Headaches every single month for 2-3 days .... Mother had bad headaches so it's only fitting I do!
Burning mouth.
Right side upper abdominal ache ..... CT scan found nothing
Diarrhea on and off for years....suddenly disappeared after having food sensitivity test. Cannot have peanuts or potatoe.....poof no more diarrhea after I stopped those foods! Strange eh?
TMJ go to PT
Shoulder and neck pain....go to RMT and PT for treatment.....
Then!
I went to see at different PT who was closer to me. She pressed onto where my neck and shoulder meet.....I freaked out it hurt so much! I never went back to her, the next morning my ear started draining clear fluid..... laterthat evening I laid down, didn't feel right and every single muscle in my legs went into spasm..... Went to ER and nothing was found....All within a matter of days this happened... I broke out in a odd itchy rash on my stomach doctor gave me cream.... Then my back and right leg pain started..... I went to a chiropractor who used active release ...... She diagnosed me with a little herniation I thought she said L3-5 and myofascitis, and a little piraformis..... I've this pains inch Feb this year..... My doctor, Chiropractor, and new PT all agreed no MRI or CT is needed. .I had nothing but time so I started doing research and asked the doctor to do a MAG RBC, IRON, B12 blood work......All this was done in ER but the MAG RBC...long story short the MAG RBC was low end of normal.....b12, iron was low to. The Doctor didn't catch it until I made him aware.....Anyhow the MAG is slowly coming back up and iron and b12 is too.....Fast forward I started reading about John Sarno and I'm fully convinced my pain is TMS.....I was able to have maybe 2 weeks with hardly any pain this summer.....until I tried some Hanna Somatics then it started up again!..... It's strange because since it started in Feb I've had pain in my right leg....pins needles, tingling, pulling, cold spots, burning,.... I've had pain in my left leg.... Both upper buttocks...waist pain...hip pain...I could go on and on!

I think my simple question ended up being a novel!

Thanks

 

"Forest for trees" is a good metaphor, Wendy - in fact, that's exactly where Forest (our founder/admin/hero) came up with his name

I'm responding because I see that no one else has waded in. I also purchased Unlearn Your Pain, mostly because we love Dr. Schubiner here, but I found it to be too structured and overwhelming, and I didn't do the program - instead, I did the Structured Education Program on the wiki, which breaks down exercises and readings into daily activities which I found to be much more manageable.

You might consider starting with the SEP, and it's possible that you could find some of your answers by doing the work there. You can always switch over to UYP after a while, if that feels right. Seriously - there are no hard and fast rules for how to do this work - although the perfectionist in you (us) may have a hard time believing that! The one and only rule for success is to believe 100% that your symptoms are TMS/MBS.

Good luck!

~Jan

 

Thanks Jan for your reply!

Yes, that maybe a plan in the future if I can't get the gist of the LYP!

Has anyone had good results with the SEP?

Wendy

 

Check the H-R list for stressful life events that cause TMS :

THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS SCALE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale

 

Plenty of us, yes. Any post that has a label such as "Day X" is someone working the SEP.

 

Thanks fanbrits, Tom and Jan!

 

HI WendyS,

I'm going to chime in just because I did the UNLEARN YOUR PAIN book a few years ago. I just purchased the updated version to work through the process a second time, but I'm a little behind you in the process. The first time I had noticeable improvements. This method works for me. I realize that I need to keep working on it to keep the pain at bay, otherwise my "life" creeps back in and I forget to address my emotions. Pain comes back. Over time, however, I realize that it's TMS, so I'm not scared anymore. This is a big success for me (not to be fearful of pain).

Just reading your post, you sound like me. You want to get it perfect or otherwise you won't get the full benefit. That, I would argue, is a classic TMS way of thinking (Sarno). I know because I think like this every day. Believe me, you will benefit even if you don't get everything the first time. The more you work on these aspects, the more clarity you will have and over time, you will start to remember things from the past as emotions come to the surface; emotions you may not remember for some 30-40 years can surprise you in this process.

The book is laid out in a step-by-step process, so you are correct in your understanding of procedure. Basically, you list items, then you elaborate on them. Don't worry if you can't remember everything from your childhood. The more you do the work, the more you will remember. It's crazy how it works, but it works.

Reading on, you list a lot of details regarding health checkups and blood work ,etc. To me, this is a sign that you haven't embraced the diagnosis of TMS. All that info, what other people are telling you, is taking you farther away from where TMS resides. If you have gotten a checkup and don't have one of the rare diseases listed in the UYP book, then do your best to drop the story. I know it's hard, but this is what keeps folks from letting go and getting better. They are attached to a story and to the importance of what other "professionals" have told them. I've been working on TMS for years with good results, but sometimes I fall back into believing that my pain might be physical or related to an injury. Your mind uses this process actively and if you don't keep the process at bay, it will keep turning up in different places with different symptoms.

Don't fear it. Your body is strong and you can do it. Don't try to be perfect, just keep moving. When you feel the doubt creep in, just remind yourself that this doubt is TMS and you've figured out how it works. It can't trick you any more.

Stay strong and don't stop the process. You're on your way to better health. Give us a shout (or shoot me a message) if you hit a rough patch or need some guidance.

best,
Oscar

 

Awesome post and advice from Oscar.

 

Thank you so much for the posted advise Oscar!

 

Hi, Wendy, The others have given you great replies. I can only add that I healed from severe back pain through knowing about TMS from Dr. Sarno's book Healing Back Pain. A nurse-friend in Hawaii recommended it. The SEProgram led me to journaling and I discovered some repressed emotions, most importantly the feelings of insecurity that I got when my parents divorced when I was seven. Journaling helped me to realize they had their own TMS pains (Mom had migraines, Dad had bad back pain). I put myself in their shoes (financial problems, mainly) and that helped me to forgive them. Forgiving ended my back pain.

Don't worry about doing any TMS steps perfectly. I agree with Jan that maybe you should switch to the Structured Educational Program. It is easy and helps to discover the emotions causing your symptoms. And it's very common for pain to move around. The subconscious wants us to work more on the emotional causes of our pain.

 

Thanks for the reply Walt, I'm thinking the same thing heading over the the Structure Educational Program. I think I tried it before but really didn't beyond Day 1, however, I do have a better understanding as to what to do now.

When finished with the SEP I may continue with the Unlearn Your Pain Book Program.

It's funny, I was just trying to log into the SEP and seen your post! LOL