Getting Unstuck- What to do when progress on TMS stalls
You're reading Sarno books daily, journaling, thinking emotional thoughts, affirming "my leg is perfectly healthy", talking to your subconcious, etc and it's not working. What should you try next?
Webdan65 wrote the following in response to a wiki member who was stuck in her TMS treatment
|
The brain works in Questions. And... the questions you ask yourself determine your emotions and outcomes.
The "If Only" questions you all posed early in the tread are all negative based - as if you are failing or weak or that the pain is your fault. Don't ask "WHY" questions - usually that puts us in the victim position. Why is this happening to ME? Why can't I get rid of the pain? Ask "HOW" questions. They are more solution oriented. How can I learn to force my body to relax more? How come I know TMS is the cause? How can I use the pain as a guide to understanding my thoughts and emotions? These questions create different emotions or feelings, don't they? Why does this matter? Like I said - the brain works by answering questions we pose it. Example: Someone asks you who an actor was that played in a show or movie. You don't know. You forget about it. Yet 8 hours later - somehow you remember. It's because subconsciously your brain has been working to answer the question. By asking the right questions (even if we don't know the answer) we put our subconscious to work on positive - solution oriented questions. If you ask "why am I such a loser" - your brain will find the answers. If you ask - "Why do I feel so **** good about myself?" Your brain will work on all the positive reasons. What you focus on magnifies. The questions you ask yourself determine your focus, your emotions and your feelings. TMS is an emotionally induced problem. Write out some "positive" based questions to ask yourself over and over - whether you know the answers or not. This is part of the mental reprogramming that I did to get myself out of the pain. One more.... Sarno tells us to resume activity when the pain has subsided enough. If you work yourself too hard WHILE in pain - it actually can have the opposite effect of making things worse which makes us more angry, frustrated, tense and stressed out. (many of the same emotions that cause TMS in the first place) My 2 cents is to give yourself a break. Learn to relax. Push through the pain to do things that are required. Work / family commitments. I get that and spent many a day laying on my office floor with the door closed. However - optional things I took a break from. Last year I barely played any golf - a game I enjoy quite a lot. This year when the pain had subsided enough - I got back into it. And it WAS difficult to conquer the fear of playing. Fear is an incredible thing. Fear that we are broken or that something is wrong physically is often a main reason we STAY in pain. Overcoming fear is REALLY difficult as many of us can attest to. I overcame my fear by SLOWLY resuming physical activity. However - while I was in MAJOR pain - I took it as easy as I was able to. |
Additional Threads
TMS forum topic:Setback - Have any of you experienced one as well?
TMS forum topic:Still no improvement - psychotherapy?
TMS forum topic: Am I on the right track?
It's important to get support and encouragement from people who have recovered - either via the TMS forum, or in real life if you're lucky enough to know anyone. Also, reading other people's success stories can help. Remember that others (who have now recovered) also went through this stage (even though they might forget to mention it in their success story!), so you're not alone!
See also
- Relapser's curse - there is hope, by Skizzik
- Q&A with an Expert: Q&A: Getting Unstuck
| DISCLAIMER: The TMS Wiki is for informational and support purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. See Full Disclaimer. |
