The End of one Road the Beginning of Another

I just got back from Los Angeles where I finally got to meet with a wonderful medical doctor, Dr Schechter, MD, who specializes in psychosomatic illness. You can check him out here:

www.mindbodymedicine.com

I'm so happy that after 12 years of being certain that in my case, much of my health issues are related to emotions and psychological issues, but only running into medical doctors who at best have had no clue, I have finally found a competent and respectful physician who not only agrees with me that my health issues are psychosomatic, but who has a way of medically diagnosing psychosomatic illness, and on top of that has a developed, tried out, and seemingly effective treatment program that addresses this exact problem. I have been hunting for the bodymind connection together with millions of others for years and done my best to incorporate psychotherapy, meditation, positive thinking, massage, stress reduction and many other things into my own DIY healing program that as you can see from this blog, has not worked wonders.

After the physical examination and some very thorough blood work the doctor was able to give me a proper diagnosis.
It is with much joy that I can declare that I have a proper, medical diagnosis of:
TMS, Tension Myositis Syndrome!

This is wonderful news because the prognosis is amazing! It also means that I am in fact totally healthy physically!!! It is such a relief to know that the underlying cause of my still very real physical symptoms is nothing dangerous or difficult to figure out, nor is it incurable or chronic or evil, it's simply caused by emotions. :)

Now that I have the correct diagnosis, I will be able to work on the correct treatment! I fully believe that this is the right diagnosis for me and I am looking forward to doing the treatment program which is a home study program and specific mindbody focused psychotherapy by a therapist trained in the area of psychosomatic illness.

As I understand it, TMS is technically a mental disorder with physical manifestations. It's not the same as being a hypochondriac, but instead it is a psychosomatic condition. The difference between the two is that a hypochondriac believes they have medical physical problems that they do not have. The psychosomatic person has real medical physical problems, but the problems are caused not by organic causes like hormones or viruses or mechanical faults, but by emotions, stress and tension. If these problems can be healed, the medical conditions will also be restored, within some limits depending upon the physical condition, but many symptoms are potentially totally reversible.

Essentially people who suffer from TMS experience their emotions through physical symptoms. This is something I feel is totally applicable to me. TMS seems further to be an illness of the nervous system. No wonder none of the diets and alternative treatments I have tried have ever worked for me!

I started this blog in 2008, and it has been so meaningful to me. In fact, it is through a comment from a kind stranger called Robert on this blog that I found out about Dr Sarno's work in the first place. Robert, I don't know how to thank you enough for sharing your wisdom with me. Also, thanks to everyone who has been cheering me on these last years! Your support has been so strengthening and has helped me continue my search for that holy grail called health.

However, I now understand that it is in my best interest that I leave behind my focus on the physical symptoms and begin an entirely different journey. One of focusing solely on the psychological aspects.

Therefore, I won't post as much here on this blog from now on, but I promise to do updates on the psychological side of things as I work through this program.

Also, thank you again Matt Stone at 180DegreeHealth.com for helping me find my way back to "eating the food". Your down to earth approach really helps us who have become fixated with cutting out food groups in meaningless, ill informed, neurotic, and sometimes harmful efforts to heal. Keep saving lost dieting-souls! :)

To further focus away from health, I plan on creating a new blog where I will post some of my electronic music. I will add a link to that new blog when I have got it started.

Thank you all for your support! I wish you continued luck on your healing journeys.

I'll leave you for now with one of my favorite cover versions of Dolly Parton's "I will always love you" by the ever entertaining and brilliant "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes to symbolize leaving the physical symptoms to the past. Not that I will always love the symptoms but I couldn't think of anything better. lol....

Tsunami Relief through Friends and Apples

My friend Umi from Japan is doing some PTSD trigger calming techniques with her friends and giving us all a break from the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear power plant melt downs, showing us the simple healing power of the apple, laughter and friendship. This video is aimed at everyone who has been effected directly or indirectly by the recent events and for Umi's mother in Japan.



http://www.youtube.com/embed/82nNPEKo0aw

To read Umi's blog go to:
http://nomoregaman.blogspot.com/

For tsunami donations:
http://www.jprn.org/