Sarno's Theory Is Wrong

Thank you for sharing. You’ve expressed exactly how I’m feeling. It’s good news that you were able to go into a remission! Do you know what triggered you to be free of your symptoms and what causes it to come back?

 

The last time I experienced it was here:

https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/an-update.30270/#post-162974

Back in December, I also had three full weeks with zero symptoms - which is absolutely incredible, considering that both then and now I usually experience 20–30 different symptoms or more. But it’s also a strong indication that my brain is creating this, and that I’m not actually sick.

Both times, I managed to bring my brain into a safe state simply through belief. I haven’t done much emotional work yet, but that’s something I know I need to start focusing on now.

 

No. I avoided them. Before I started doing mind/body work I attended an NHS pain clinic and was prescribed various different drugs and they all made me feel like crap and with some of them I had the task of tapering off them which was no picnic. I know Sarno said 'needs must' is okay for a while re taking prescription drugs for pain, but personally I would never try ketamine for pain or reducing nervous system hyperexcitability.

Yes, I did and it's virtually gone now (I only get the very occasional bout of internal vibration... the last time being about 6 months ago now) because I regularly focus on my breath throughout the day... I slow down my breathing and lengthen my out breaths. It's part of my daily routine of small beneficial habits... I use cues to make sure I do this... I go to the bathroom and when I'm there I do my breathing, I'm stirring my soup for lunch and I do my breathing... you get the picture.

This is the last leg of my recovery journey... travelling and sitting for long periods. I can do it but it hurts. I'm using an upright hard chair to sit on with just a thin cushion on it to sit on each evening while I watch TV, gradually increasing the time I sit. At some point I shall remove the cushion... I'm training my brain/nervous system to view/experience it as a safe activity.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking! I was reading the Jennifer Mann book that was recommended to me and i disagree with a core premise about creating new neurological connections that reinforces nervous system regulation. I don’t believe we need to do that. I believe the brain knows exactly how to live, breathe and survive normally. The neurological connections are already there. I don’t need to retrain my brain or create new connections. The brain, within its power, can regress back to baseline. The connections that support rest and digest are already ingrained. I believe my brain believes it’s being threatened and it’s trying to protect me. What I’m trying to do is exactly what you did or believing, which I do believe, that I’m okay and the sickness is due to a malfunction of the lizard brain. I am okay. I am fine. The lizard just needs to chill and go on holiday. Amazing story and reinforces my beliefs. Thank you. Brain does not need retraining. It already knows. It just needs the operator ie you to tell it that all is okay consistently. I believe once in remission any doubt can bring symptoms back so the belief work must be ongoing. Thank you.

 

This here is a great point. As you said TMS is not just about the mind. The body (including of course the brain) is part of that. We have limited stored energy in our pre-frontal cortex that depletes during the day. Sleeping (particularly deep sleep) is the moment we recharge it, and also store daily memories. Without enough sleep you will become mentally tired sooner. To make things worse the limbic system partially shuts down the pre-frontal cortex.

With an exhausted mind it's not a matter of positive thinking anymore. The brain urges for rest and rest alone. I imagine for anyone who's got trouble sleeping, meditation is the best tool available.

 

I think that Mann would likely respond (to what you said in your last posting above) that the brain's inherent capability is recognized but that recovery involves helping the nervous system to permanently return to baseline by reshaping the neural patterns established through threat and stress. The "operator" role—telling the brain it is safe—is what her model facilitates via awareness and redesign, which is about strengthening or rebalancing existing connections (and her book goes into detail with suggestions as to how to promote achieving this). Thus, while one might agree that "the brain already knows" how to live and survive normally, Mann would propose that due to lived experiences, the typical wiring can be overshadowed by survival mode neural patterns. Repeatedly reassuring the brain that "all is okay" (as you are proposing and going to do) in words and/or through your behaviours is part of reinforcing the brain's natural regulatory capacities to permanently restore balance.

This might seem like nit picking, but as it's been pointed out to me and others on this forum many times... it's important not to regard one's symptoms as being 'sickness'; it feels that way, I know, but with mind/body sensations you are not sick and it's important to show your lizard brain that you see what's actually happening, that you're not being fooled, by referring to sensations and thinking of sensations in the accurate way (so your lizard brain is more liable to cease doing what it's doing).

Also, although some people argue that the lizard brain is malfunctioning, ramped up and stuck on 'go' mode, others argue that the lizard brain isn't malfunctioning at all; it's working perfectly well at perceiving danger and trying to make you act to keep looking out for danger and/or putting you into flight, fight, freeze, appease or fawn mode to deal with perceived danger. Whatever the case, the trouble is that it is a primitive mechanism designed for when we were cave people at risk of being attacked by tigers and lions (intermittent actual dangers that required the turning on of stress chemicals maybe once a day and to be on alert only when it was our turn to be on 'look out' duty for our tribe) and not designed for modern day life with its stressors and stresses (so numerous that they are happening much if not all of the time). Just as you said, our lizard brains need to chill out and go on holiday, and so our job is to teach our lizard brain that these modern day stressors and stresses, although unpleasant, are not life threatening and a part of that is to actively chill out purposely ourselves whenever and wherever we can, as much as possible. This is liable to help turn off the 'go' mode.

I think that what you say is likely to be true. I say this as it reminded me of when, many moons ago, I went as in-patient into an Ayurvedic hospital facility in London. There I met a fellow patient who was suffering with severe insomnia; he struggled to get off to sleep. All we patients (suffering from various maladies) attended a daily meditation class and he was the one in the class who consistently fell asleep in the sessions despite lying on one of the not very cushioning rubber mats on the very hard wooden floor, the uncomfortableness not being at all conducive to sleeping. (We knew he'd fallen asleep due to his loud snoring!).

Have you tried practising Yoga Nidra, @mikeinlondon? (It's not a movement yoga, it's a guided meditation and deep relaxation practice often called 'yogic sleep'.) There are loads of free yoga nidra videos on YouTube to choose from, to include this lady who provides yoga nidra sessions lasting from just 5 minutes to a couple of hours https://www.youtube.com/@SarovaraYoga/videos

 

Regarding meditation...you have to be careful where is your mind during the day as well. It's not just meditation once or twice a day and that's it. The mind must be kept at peace, calm and away from demented stuff, drama, loud music, shocking news etc. It's very important.

Most people say that they can't meditate, they are too restless etc. That's because the mind is all over the place during the day. It's normal that when at the end of the day you sit to meditate, you can't control your crazy thoughts.

 

I don’t want to control “crazy thoughts”. I just don’t want to react to them in ways that are perceiving these thoughts as dangerous. I want to respond reasonably to them by seeing they are simply thoughts, not truth, not real.
Sure at first I avoided these things but to live a peaceful life amongst others, I need to be able to go with the flow.

 

There you go. Life happens. Work, relationships, traffic, TMS...

Not every meditation will be perfect. Far from it.

 

You can glow with the flow AND be at peace in your mind at the same time. No need to pay too much attention to the crappy thing that happened around, in the outside world. Not taking things too seriously...that's the idea.

 

Sita, may I ask, out of curiosity, if moving to LA was a trigger have you tried moving back or vacationing in a rural area to see whether your TMS symptoms would completely go away? I heard of stories where people’s symptoms would go away when they get out of a triggering environment!

 

Yes. Eventually I was able to move to a more quiet, kind of rural area for a while. And then (now) I live in a rather small city, it's a tourist area, in the mountains (1600 m altitude). Very pretty, very quiet, elegant, green, lovely. I feel much better here, for sure. I'm almost fine all the time. It's a great improvement. I would not go back to live in a bigger city. Ever. Maybe if I'll be forced to do it for money, then I will.

Every time now, when I travel to a bigger city for x or y reasons, I can feel the agitation, the restless vibrations, the noise and nervousness in the air. I don't like it. Usually I recover in a few days of silence, stillness and calming life, here back at home.

Some people like the constant noise. I know someone who has the TV on, in each room on a different channel, music, news, etc. He can't sit in silence. Some people are like this. To each his own...

 

That’s so beautiful, you give me hope Sita. Your story is an inspiration to me. If Sita can do it, why can’t I, right? Maybe your light will help guide me to salvation. I have so much to live for, just like you, Sita.