Testing myself,Fighting the symptoms

Hi all hope all is well Was just writing to ask if anyone is like me? lol I am finding myself having alot less pain since starting which is great! But then i say to myself ok lets see if i can run again or do a specific activity that i know would normally agravate it. I think im just in the wrong frame of mind when i do these activities and sure enough it creates pain and then i get dissappointed and the spiral goes on lol Has anyone done this to themselves? How did you over come it so??

 

Any chance the problem is in your anticipation of the activity? Are the words you say to yourself actually the "let's see if I can run again" that you stated above? If so I'm thinking that might be the culprit. You're more asking than directing and you're leaving the outcome open for options. Possibly your subconscious (remember, young children can be very tricky and they'll always find the loop hole that gets the outcome they want) recognized that you've actually left the decision of whether or not you can run again up to it? I know for myself anytime the word "if" is in my thought it leaves room for debate. It also leaves room for the word "what" to join up with it. If your mind works anything like mine, "what" and "if" getting together can be a recipe for disaster if left unattended. My suggestion would be to rephrase your thoughts. Instead of "let's see if I can run again", maybe just recognize that possibly your confidence needs a little more boosting before you actually attempt that and say to yourself "I'm going to quickly walk (some amount) far right now without pain now or later".

 

That sounds like a great idea and I think you hit the nail on the head! I def ask if I can do it! I need more confidence and should maybe start smaller. Crawl before I walk thanks heaps!

 

That maybe my problem with sitting, I expect the pain. Even with walking for some time. I need to some how not give my mind any options. Would saying to myself- sitting does not cause me pain work? Or should I not even think of pain and maybe say- I am fine when I sit?

 

Yeah I think from what I can gather the idea is to not focus on the pain and tell yourself your goin to sit and that it's not hurting you to sit rather than thinking its gonna hurt to sit! If that makes sense lol I'm new lol

 

Hard to not think about the pain. I'm trying though.

 

Leslie is so right. I find that the habit of constantly checking what my pain feels like, is the hardest to break. Even when my pain is less, I will then start thinking ' ohh pain feels a bit better' and sure enough it will then get worse. I try to just act as though my back is normal ( which of course it is ) and when I feel the fear creeping up, say to myself - I am healthy and strong, there is nothing wrong with me.

 

I think you need to bring yourself slowly back into your life. If you try to go full-force back to doing things you used to do, your fear (even if you're not conscious of it) will take over and bring pain.

Try to be patient. You need to de-condition yourself, which can take time.

 

Yes Gailnyc that is my problem. This thing started in one day. I went to sleep and woke up with it and sometimes I feel like it's only fair it leaves the same way it arrived. But then the issues must have been piling up for years. Patience. Yes.

 

Then, don't try to do anything that you expect will cause pain. If sitting or running always caused pain in the past, why not do something entirely different, like play tennis or go swimming instead? The nerve pathways controlling those new activities should not be programmed the way the ones associated with running or sitting currently are. Theoretically, they should not cause pain. It could be that if you perform these non-pain causing activities that you can develop new nerve pathways that will allow you eventually to sit and walk without pain.

No guarantees of course. Just my two-bits worth based on what I've read about programmed pain pathways.

 

I completely agree with Bruce. The more things you discover you can do without pain, the more confidence you will develop in the strength and capability of your body, and ultimately the TMS diagnosis. Besides, don't forget, if you look for anything long enough you're going to find it. If you are looking for pain, your brain is focused on pain, it's paying attention to the fact that you're "expecting" pain, and it will try to please you by generating it.

 

But what if almost everything cause s you pain? Its hard to stay positive when every effort to do something hurts! Like sometimes i am feeling better and i just roll over in bed and i get a sharp pain or any pressure on my sacrum causes a sharp pain say laying on a hard floor or something like that then i start getting doubtful thoughts such as maybe its not its not TMS maybe something is wrong etc etc. always when im jus about at the point of fully believing too! there is always that logic in bedded by doctors etc saying you have pain because of this disc or this joint dysfunction or what ever it maybe! struggling to break that last piece. IM so close but and i jus got sarno book to which has helped alot in the believing process for me. so many similarities its not funny lol

 

I think your own quote says it all: TMS uses pain to introduce an element of doubt about the psychological diagnosis just when you're on the verge of believing fully in it. Likewise, "struggling" says a lot too: You're trying too hard and ultimately that's self-defeating because it invites you to be a perfectionist, which, in turn, creates more internal rage. There isn't really some "last piece" to break; recovery from TMS requires a relaxed, outcome independent attitude. That new attitude is itself the cure.

 

Ahhh ok! That definitely makes sense because its only been 6 days and I'm already putting pressure on myself as to why aren't I feeling better yet? Am I doin so etching wrong? I need to try harder and thus the perfectionism steps in causing further pain and anxiety. Funny cause I never would have thought that I was a perfectionist! Lol but totally get your point. I can believe and let it happen and I guess jus be conscious of how much pressure I'm putting in myself to get better. I think that's the big thing for me. Thanks Bruce. Anymore great advice like that and ill smashin the weights like never before in no time

 

Thanks Nate and Bruce. I'm a bit like that. I'm in pain all of the time for the last two months, well nearly. Mostly in bed. So I feel like I'm a TMS failure. I keep telling myself the pain is not serious, just my mind trying to avoid issues. But it feels serious, the worst pain in my life. I know it's not caused by any structural problem but still when my TMS strategies fail to chase it away I get discouraged. Yes I think I need to stop looking for immediate outcomes.

 

Definitely mate. Steady she goes as they say lol jus today alone I feel a bit less pain already after that revelation lol also it's like a 2 for 1 deal now it feels like a weight has been lifted and am finding it easier to forget the pain. I actually did forget about for a few hours at work today which was great! But still ill creep crawling along until one day I realise hey no pain!! Take it easy and all the best. Keep in touch

 

Nate, I bet work functioned as a distraction that kept you from focusing on your pain. That ought to assure you that your pain is not caused by something structural or physical. For example, two days ago I decided to "challenge" my TMS by taking fast hike out on the game preserve. Fine on the way out, but when I started back my sciatica, knee and lower back became more and more painful. However, just before I got back to my car, I got a call from a friend in LA on the iPhone. I stopped and talked to him for a while about what old friends were up to. When I hung up and started walking again, my pain was completely gone. In other words, the distraction of the phone call had broken my conditioned TMS pain response to walking. I no longer "remembered" to hurt. It also taught me a very valuable lesson that my pain was not caused by something physical or structural. You just have to learn from what your body is teaching you about your mind.

 

Yeah most definitely! It was a distraction but in saying that I used to work and think about how sore I was all the time but somehow yesterday I jus managed to let it go for a bit as conscious decision I chose too and it worked. Def a big part if it for me is the fact I'm expecting results to quick I think and waiting and working on deconditioning the mind. After all this has been festering in me and using pain against me for 2 1/2 yrs now. So it's not gonna happen in 3,4 or 5 days! So steady she goes for me in half way through sarnos book which is great and I will complete the structured program thanks bruce

 

Nate and Lauri, you really need to give yourselves more time. Say a month. See if you're any better in a month. But all this daily checking and re-checking will drive you crazy. Take it from me, I've been there.

 

I agree and definitely heading down that path and feels good! like a weight has been lifted! No more pressure!