What is TMS?
TMS is the name given by John Sarno MD for disorders which are believed to account for the majority of chronic pain so prevalent in our society these days. The pain, and in fact many other uncomfortable symptoms, although very real, are actually emotionally/stress induced. This term, although recognised by Dr Sarno advocates, is not a widely recognised term and there have been many discussions amongst many of us in the field about the best term to use in order to help raise the profile of this work.
In the UK, the new Association we are developing to train and regulate practitioners has been called the Stress Illness Recovery Practitioners Association. SIRPA will be aimed at helping people with TMS, any chronic pain/symptom and any medically unexplained symptom that may be stress induced. In this way we hope to also gain the attention of those who do not know about TMS as a condition.
So – are you saying the pain is all in my head?
No, the symptoms are very real, just as you can have very real nausea if you are anxious. Dr Sarno’s theory for the cause of the symptoms is a slight reduction in the amount of oxygen being delivered to specific tissues via the blood and is brought about automatically as a response to an emotion. Other theories are that there may be sensitisation of the nerves, or the body’s stress response system causes abnormal messages to be sent through the nerves into the body.
We all recognise that emotions cause physiological responses, for example we think about our body’s responses to embarrassment, sexual arousal and fear. These all cause very real changes in our bodies, so it is not that much bigger a step to recognise that pain and many other symptoms can also be emotionally induced.
How is it caused?
Briefly, the symptoms are believed to be caused in response to the build up of the emotions we bottle up as we go through stresses in our lives.
We all bottle up emotions in order to carry on with our lives and act appropriately and we all learn that we shouldn’t ‘wear our hearts on our sleeves’ and ‘big boys don’t cry’. However, if strong feelings aren’t acknowledged and are stuffed down, they tend to build up and can end up manifesting themselves in physical and psychological symptoms. These symptoms create a diversion from how we are really feeling, without us realising that they are actually telling us something. If we continue to ignore how we are feeling deep down, they will try even harder to be noticed by causing more and more of a distraction in the form of symptoms. As many of you know, if you have a treatment for a particular symptom, you may have some relief, but if the underlying emotional cause has not been addressed, you often then develop another symptom to replace the other distraction that was removed.
The emotions may be caused by specific pressures throughout our lives, but are also very often self induced by the negative behaviours we have learned through childhood. For example if you have a tendency to be very self critical, analytical, a perfectionist etc these can all cause you daily pressure. In other words, it’s not just the thing that is stressing you that is causing you pressure, but how you respond to it.
A study undertaken even as far back as 1967 found that stressful events could cause physical health problems. Try out the questionnaire they used in the study and then evaluate your own score.
How do I know my symptoms are TMS?
Firstly you need to be absolutely sure that nothing more serious is being missed, so problems such as cancer, infection, fracture, immune disorders etc needs to be ruled out by your Doctors.
Observing the pattern of your symptoms while learning about TMS and acknowledging the underlying pressures may give you an indication that your symptoms are emotionally induced.
A diagnosis by a TMS/SIRPA Practitioner will involve taking a full history and examining you while also determining whether you have the TMS diagnostic signs. This in itself can help in the acceptance that your symptoms are not of structural origin, which will therefore help in your recovery. Following an assessment you will also learn more techniques that will help you in your recovery.
Find out more about a TMS assessment and how the TMS Recovery Programme could help you.
To book an appointment and for further information, call 01484 452500, or email info@painrelief-centre.com
The Origins of TMS
The TMS concept itself was developed by Dr John Sarno, Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the New York University Hospital School of Medicine from the early 1970’s. Unfortunately due to the existing medical beliefs, despite demonstrating the highly successful outcomes of his patients, he faced great resistance.
However, as more health practitioners begin to treat people with TMS/Stress Illness and frustrations grow due to the lack of success with contemporary approaches, more people are taking onboard the concept that stress causes very real symptoms and is in fact responsible for a high percentage of the chronic illness around in the western world.
Visit http://tmswiki.wetpaint.com/ to find out more about TMS and Dr Sarno