Educational Program Day 38

How we respond to stress is affected by our personalities. Gaining an understanding of why our personality characteristics developed and how they present themselves in a moment-by-moment way, will help you reduce your emotional tension and become more comfortable with being present with your emotions.

Educational Activity: Listening to how someone else recovered can greatly benefit you in your own recovery. For today's educational activity you will be watching the success story of TMS therapist and author, Nicole Sachs, LCSW. Nicole was a former member of Dr. Sarno's Alumni Panels, and is the author of the book, The Meaning of Truth.

EDIT: Nicole asked that her original video be removed "as my work has evolved and I wanted to represent it more clearly. Please check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-tz1Du69PhcBkC3-9_Mgmw (The Cure For Chronic Pain with Nicole J. Sachs, LCSW)"

The channel is organized with the most recent videos listed first. You can reorganize the order, or view Nicole's new introduction here:

From the Forum:

Leslie Wrote: Your posts sound so much like me I'm worried for you! I doubt very much that you even realize how much pressure you are putting on yourself. Do you realize that in less than 72 hours you added at least 3 books, a few cd's, and a couple "classes" to your 'to do' list? I also did that when I first started. I became overwhelmed very quickly and my body let me know it. I had the idea that the "answer" was on the next page, or the next chapter, or in the next book. The answer is actually inside you. There is an abundance of wonderful resources out there and you will find useful information in most of them, but the benefits will be minimal if you approach your TMS healing like a semester of vet school. The "pain-free" day does not depend on the successful, perfect completion of the syllabus. Spend some time with each of these book. You've got enough educational material in your possession or on it's way to take you easily through the next 9 months. Tell your dedicated student side that she is not wanted for the TMS healing. You will find the results to be far quicker and most beneficial if you let "Natalie on vacation" take the lead with the TMS healing. Read about it as you would read while you're on vacation, not with an intended specified goal (have to) but for relaxation (want to). TMS healing is a much needed, well deserved break from the stresses and pressures we have all put on ourselves to heal. Throw out the "to do" lists and just enjoy getting to know the "you" that has been buried deep inside for a long time. It helps me to think about the calendar in "vacation mode" also. I have yet to meet someone who watches the clock or the calendar while on vacation, anxiously waiting for the end to arrive to go back to work. The healing actually happens when you're not "working at it", when you're not "watching for it", when you least expect it. Spend some time with Natalie. Be her friend, get to know her (you'll like her! I know I think she's great and I'm glad to know her!). Try journaling about nothing in particular once in a while, I find that's when I actually "unearth" something that is more relevant to my pain. All the TMS authors agree that the hurts and angers we're consciously aware of do not make up much of (if any at all) of the cause of the symptoms. It's the stuff we don't even know we're hurt or angry about. The other day I sat with my journal and I wrote the words "I forgive you" on the first line of the page. I had no one in particular in mind to journal about. After I wrote the words I sat for a few minutes with the pen touching the paper, waiting for the next words to show up on the page. I was truly surprised with the name that showed up on the page following "I forgive you". It was someone I have known for most of my life and I didn't even know I was angry with her. As I just let the words flow the hurtful mean things she had said and done to me in junior high (that I had not consciously remembered until then) all came out on the page. This was a person I considered to be a friend and who had not shown up on any TMS list I had made. As I was writing my pain intensified -- and I was happy for that because I knew I was definitely in my "TMS stuff"! From the thread: Really Struggling, Someone Help Me

Journaling

Briefly write about how your personality affects your symptoms. How does your personality lead you to repress emotions moment-by-moment?

Question To Ponder

Have you developed any new relationships since starting this program?

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