Day 19 What I'm Proud Of...

So, I'm closing in on the halfway point in this program. Today's question was very thought provoking. Most of the questions up until this point revolve around negative things: past events, current stress, personality traits that can lead to TMS. So here are the things I'm proud of so far...

1. My pain is on the move. While it's kind of scary to feel new pain in new places, it's also very encouraging. My brain is aware that I'm searching through repressed emotions, and is adjusting by giving me new pain to focus on.

2. I've discovered time periods in my distant past where I believe TMS began. In high school, I had a stomach ulcer before graduation. In college, I had a very rapid heartbeat before graduation. About 7 years ago, I had terrible nerve pain in my foot during a particularly stressful semester. I've had multiple acne flare ups in my mid twenties during stressful times. I had asthma during middle school. I definitely had problems dealing with stress, change, anger, and shame from an early age.

3. I'm proud of my participation in this community. I feel a strong urge to help others during this journey. Even if I don't have the answers they are looking for, I feel good when I'm able to simply encourage them to keep pushing. It very much stems from the "golden rule" principle. I love it when people take the time to read my posts and respond, so I should return the favor. This community needs encouragement. It needs those who have healed to tell their success stories. It needs wise, compassionate folks like Walt who always seem to brighten the days of us who are struggling. It needs fresh minds to give new perspectives on techniques in treating TMS. I love all the different schools of thought on this site. I like the debates about being nice to your pain vs. being forceful with your pain. All of this stuff is good and useful to the many people coming into this community looking for hope. I encourage you guys to find threads that have zero replies and find something to reply, whether it be advice or encouragement.

- Matt

 

That's great, Matt. You will find a great deal of satisfaction in replying to other people's posts. Few things are more helpful than encouragement.

 

Hello Matt-
I am just coming across your post, and I was hoping to ask you if you'd had any further insight as to why you had TMS flare-ups leading up to Graduations in at least two cases. I am a TMS warrior, fully on board. However I am currently trying to give my brother a nudge towards understanding his own chronic pain. Thinking back, I notice that he had two flare ups, one acute and one chronic, directly before graduating college. I am hoping to talk to others for insights about what emotions could have triggered the brain to protect against. Thank you for your detailed post!