The Final Leg: Need Tips

So I’ve been at this TMS issue of RSI pain since late November. I’ve made tremendous progress. I no longer have anxiety. I KNOW 100% that this is TMS at s gut level even.

I’m now at that stage where I can’t stop thinking about the pain, which then reinforces the pain. My personality type is to get hyper focused on things in my life. Sometimes they are things that make me happy. Sometimes technical things I don’t understand. In this case, it’s a problem I’ve been trying to solve, pain.

I could really use some tips for those who have had success. I know the fact I can’t settle myself down about the pain when it arises is my final leg on this journey. Whether I’m experiencing pain or not, my mind goes toward this “issue” very frequently during the day.

 

At this point you are truly tackling the beast...your mind. If you can take a step back you will probably be astonished at how enmeshed in negativity and minutiae the mind is. It is a self-reinforcing cycle. I call it emotional quicksand. As with actual quicksand the way out is not to fight but to soften and yield. It's something of a retreat where you face forwards but walk backwards. TMS thinks it still has you in its snare but in fact you are about to disappear over the horizon.

The way you achieve this is by;

1. Refusing to indulge in negative thinking and negative emotion.

2. Using affirmations religiously and soaking up positive experiences and emotions.

This talk by Rick Hanson pretty much sums it up. He speaks about neuro-darwinism (ridding oneself of redundant circuits aka pain etc), he explains the negativity bias and goes on to describe how to overcome it by taking in the good.



It can feel a bit hokey at first but that really betrays how snared we have become in negativity. The truth is if we can brainwash ourselves into the horrors of the damned, we can jolly well sweet talk and suffuse our minds with goodness.

This is actually a skill you can use to your advantage. Use that hyper focus to zone in on the good without respite.

If you've done Alan Gordon's program this is essentially 'cognitive soothing'. Use it in combination with somatic tracking and you should start to see a difference. Be patient though. It can take a little time to create a new habit of this but with persistence you can switch wires.

Plum x

 

It's hard to ignore the pain. Just don't fret and worry when you think about it. Be mindful of it.

By not using the pain as an excuse to not do anything physical is a way of ignoring it.

 

Thank you. I have been pushing on with all physical tasks the past 2 weeks. I will continue no matter what.

I like the input of basically diverting my focus to the positive. Honestly life is pretty good right now, and this annoying issue keeps grabbing my focus.

I basically need to not care what level the pain is at because I’m going to not only do what I intended, but I’m going to keep my mood and mindset where it was without pain.

It’s clicking a little bit this morning. I’ll be sure to update when I think progress has been made in regards to my focus.

 

And it was Rick Hanson (along with Richard Mendius, MD) who taught me about this negativity* - about how our brains are wired to be negative because that's what kept us safe in an unsafe primitive world. We live too long and have too many more interesting things to do in today's world, to allow this negativity to run our lives anymore. It's up to us to take charge, and change that focus. Not that hard when you realize once and for all that it's your primitive brain that is sabotaging you - and that you have the power to switch it off.

*in an excellent audio program called "Meditations to Change Your Brain".

 

I think I get it. In my own words I had to make the decision that I would be ok, and everything would be fine EVEN if I stil had pain. Just accept that. And now things are improving again.

 

I pounded away on the keyboard at my new job the past 2 days as if nothing was wrong. The sensations are basically just that in my arms/hands.

It all just makes senses now to me. I will elaborate in a post in the future.

A weird thing that happened is that when I was really close I had this crazy amount of energy for about 10 days. I was on a high almost. That seems to have past right as I made more progress. I don’t feel one way or another about it. It’s just interesting.

I feel like this never could have happened without depression and anxiety happening first. I don’t really hear that much talk about that aspect of it. I feel like it all the TMS would be gone instantly if I had amnesia.

 

Is that audio program available anywhere? Cheap or free of charge?

 

I downloaded it from SoundsTrue, probably for about $20 or so (they are always having sales and they are a great resource for amazing mind-body/meditation/spiritual/inspirational books, audio, and video). Amazon definitely has it, and at one point I found it listed in the catalog of my local library to check out on CD.

 

Found these for free on youtube !
Rick Hanson has his own Channel
And you can follow the whole serie there

 

Oh, excellent, thank you guys.

 

Late to this particular party but I did want to thank you @plum for posting this Rick Hanson talk. Normally I don't get into videos (too impatient!) but this is really a gem and was just what I needed after a couple of days when I've felt on the point of being overwhelmed by pain. I'll look out for more of his talks.

 

Rick Hanson is a gift and his work dovetails beautifully with Alan Gordon's program. I love the way it's forward thinking and nurturing so we have the chance to not only heal but flourish.

 

Seems like a good time to update this post. I’ve had ups and downs regarding the pain. I can truly see it’s the reaction to the pain that decides if it’s going to hang around and/or present another symptom. I can trace back my TMS ailments all the way to 15 yrs old. No doubt about it.

I now notice that my brain, often in the mornings, is searching for things to worry about and latch on. I’m getting better and preventing the latching on. So progress is being made. It’s a long road for me it seems but I keep getting farther down it.

 

As Alan Gordon states "From my experience, the true defense is not the pain itself, but the constant level of preoccupation that the pain brings along. This in my opinion is why often after reading Sarno, when people do stop caring about/fearing the pain, it tends to fade. Because the preoccupation about the pain is the true defense."

Breaking the preoccupation = Breaking the pain cycle.