Is reading about Tension Myositis Syndrome enough to heal it?
For some, they recover before the end of the final chapter of a dedicated TMS book, while others might take, weeks, months or years but why the difference, shouldn’t we all recover in the same way?
I pondered this thought for some time, discussing it with my friend and co-author Miriam Bongiovanni. For a while, I was troubled by the idea that some people could heal so quickly while other people could take many weeks, months and even years to fully recover. Dr. John Sarno believed that those who healed just from reading his books alone made up only a small percentage of cases while the author and TMS expert, Steve Ozanich, claimed in his book ‘The Great Pain Deception that for him it took many years of work to fully recover.
I personally did not make an "instant" recovery from my mind-body chronic knee and Fibromyalgia pain and it took time… a long time! Miriam, on the other hand, healed her tension myositis syndrome in a matter of weeks. (learn more about her story here and on the podcast 'The Mind and Fitness Podcast' with Eddy Lindenstein)
It’s my feeling that the main difference between the book healers of the world, those who recover in weeks or months, and those who have to slog it out doing ‘the work’ comes down to a deep well of factors. Such factors can include their continuing life situation, this might be continuing to contribute to symptoms, while one's personality naturally plays a huge role too. Are they stubborn or just too flakey to commit? Is perfectionism making it impossible to do the work without becoming overly anxious? Are they just too darn nice to begin creating boundaries? What is the depth of emotional pain? Did they experience childhood trauma? How many traumas, and how “stuck” within their physiology and sense of self is that trauma? And as a result, how embedded are their dysfunctional behavioral traits? What is their ability to put ‘the work’ into practice? Do they have any other underlying conditions like ADHD, clinical depression, autism, etc that might be holding them back? Do they need some support but have no access to resources, or even a compassionate friend? There are a wealth of factors that inhibit someone's ability to heal ‘overnight’ but what about the book healers? What is happening for them that allows for such a rapid turnaround of symptoms?
It appears that ‘book healers’ might fall into two camps, those who have an innate ability to put methods of healing into practice and therefore shift the neural circuitry responsible for TMS back over to prior 'non-pain pathways'. They will likely take fast and intentional action in making the necessary lifestyle changes responsible for their symptoms. For an ‘overnight’ healer, the mere thought of making these changes might be enough to soothe their internal anguish and rage. Their mind does a full 180 overnight. Hope, optimism and a change in belief conquer all in this scenario. This can sometimes be short lived. More work might need to be done later if symptoms return.
On the other hand, the overnight healer might likely have the advantage that the original stressor that triggered the onset of TMS symptoms will have passed and the only thing keeping them in pain is their fear of the pain. I experienced this many years ago before I developed chronic TMS. The stressor would pass but my angst surrounding the pain perpetuated it. The deep fear of not recovering from the pain became the new underlying emotional tie. If I had only known back then that what I needed to do was let go of this fear and know that my body was okay, that my tissues were no longer acutely damaged, I am positive I'd have healed overnight. In this scenario, the simple knowledge that the body is in fact 'okay', that it is safe to do sports and make movements, would have been enough to soothe my fear and take me out of the pain cycle, and since the original emotional stressor that leads to the onset of symptoms, in the beginning, had passed the pain would go away and not come back, there would be little 'work' to do. It is a simple process of belief, hope, and inspiration.
The key difference lies in where the person is at in their life. If the original unconscious/partially conscious emotional stressor has passed but instead now the primary fear is the pain itself then it might not be such a big hurdle to get over to let go of that fear and get back on with living life. If, however, the original unconscious, emotional stressor is still present due to the complexity of its nature, or due to a life situation that simply can not be resolved quickly then one might have a much longer and tougher journey in the recovery and resolution of TMS symptomology.
If you are struggling with TMS symptoms, and if you would like to learn more on recovery please feel free to browse this website or call me for a free chat. You can also purchase the book 'Path to Pain Free', a 25-day program that will help you uncover blocks in your recovery, leading you towards a healthier and more contented life.
Best wishes
Duncan
