Our society has changed dramatically in the past 100 years, for example: think back to the lifestyle of a century ago-1918. Most women were stay-at-home moms and only the men worked outside the home. Divorce was unheard of. People still walked everywhere as cars were not extremely commonplace yet nor were roads. Most people had farms and did not live in the city. They had multiple children and often lived with extended families to make their finances work. Only 30% of households had a phone. Less than 20% had a stove. Very few owned a refrigerator and almost no one had a radio. Washers and dryers, air conditioning, and television was non existent. You can imagine how much longer it took to get simple things done that we take for granted theses days. So what was their common day to day like? Wake up, get kids to school, work the farm or go to their job, come home to eat, and go to bed and do it all over again the next day.
Our day to day life now is not drastically different from 100 years ago, but lets add in all the other things we do. Kids activities, constant flow of information from our phones, calendars full of schedules to keep, entertaining and validating our kids and ourselves with technology, full time jobs, full time parenting, cooking, cleaning, gym workouts, or being addicted to social media…. the list is endless. These days we try to cram in as much as humanly possible everyday of the year. Do you ever stop and think, I need a vacation so I can relax? Sure! We all feel that way! Do you think vacations were common 100 years ago? Heavens NO!!!! No one could afford them nor was traveling by plane to exotic places doable in a weeks time. Let’s talk about credit cards; how many of us use our credit card to get the things we “need” and then rack up debt that adds to our stress in life?
So what exactly am I getting at here? Our lifestyle, the things we do daily, effects our body. But how? We have all learned to move and adapt to our lifestyles. We get used to living in a fast paced world with a million things to do everyday. Then after adapting we keep piling it on. How often do you stop to recharge? Is it only briefly before you are off and running either mentally or physically? Have your stresses in life been pushed under the rug because it’s just easier to continue moving forward trying to forget about what has happened?
This is where the pain steps in. Your mind tells your body, “Hey! This is too much.” The bottom line is this, ALL people with chronic pain or other TMS symptoms and diseases have the following:
- Perfectionist Tendencies
- Goodism/People Pleaser
- Legalist
- Anxious or Fearful
- Low Self Esteem
- Hostile or Aggressive
- Dependency
Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want to come across as someone who has it all together?
- Do you worry about disappointing your friends and family by saying no?
- Are you fearful of not being accepted?
- Do you put your needs last?
- Do you prefer to be taken care of?
- Are you scared of being alone or isolated?
- Are you obsessed with completing tasks or achievements?
- Do you just go along with things just to keep the peace and keep your thoughts to yourself?
-OR-
- Are you a know it all?
- Does everything have to go your way and your views and opinions are always right?
- Do you hate showing emotion?
- Are you embarrassed to cry or show emotions?
- Are you afraid of being honest for fear of rejection?
- Do you get road rage?
- Do you have a short tolerance for people?
If any of these resonate with you and you are suffering mentally, emotionally, or physically, then chances are extremely high that you have the perfect personality profile for one who has TMS but also that your suffering can be helped.
This is the cause of the pain epidemic of today. How many people do you know who have had or are about to undergo surgery for shoulders, back, or some other body part? How many people do you know who are medicated to cope with life either due to depression or some other disease or pain? I’m sure we could all name someone who is suffering.
Dr. John Sarno asked the question in his book The Mindbody Prescription “ Why and how did this happen? After millions of years of evolution, have we suddenly become incapable of functioning normally? Are there architectural inadequacies in our bodies that have only become apparent in the last 40 years? Now the question of why the switch? This is not comprehensible unless one realizes that the purpose of a physical manifestation of tension is to deceive. Our brains have decided that feeling tense, which is the appropriate response to being tense, is too unpleasant to bear and is not as socially acceptable as having something “physically” wrong. And so the brain makes a few adjustments in circuitry and instead of looking and acting like a nervous wreck, presto— a bellyache or backache. The reason why the ulcer had to go was that everybody began to realize it was a phony, that it really meant tension, and that’s not socially acceptable.”
Isn’t that fascinating?
As a Mind Body Healer and Coach, I help individuals overcome physical and emotional pain so they can claim the power that has always been within them.
