Quote:
Originally Posted by Rose76
I was offered a possible job assignment. If I accept it, it wouldn't start for weeks. So I have time to consider what to do. I don't believe I would succeed at this assignment. No, that is not the depression talking. I am developing physical ailments. Most problematic is tendinitis in at least two places in my right arm.
I am truly physically limited in what I can do. I hold my mug of tea in my left hand. I turn the steering wheel with my left hand. I put the computer mouse to the left of the keyboard. I am not left-handed.
|
Obviously I am in no position to evaluate your physical condition, and I am not a doctor. But a doctor named John E. Sarno, whose field is rehabilitative medicine, has written several books arguing and documenting his claim that many severe musculoskeletal symptoms are *caused*, not made worse, but actually *caused* by psychological processes, specifically the repression of emotions we ourselves find unacceptable. This is in no way to trivialize your situation -- the mind is very clever and very powerful in its effects on the body. It's trying to help us out by doing this. And on a short-term basis, it may be preferable to have an aching back, or a case of tendonitis, than a strong feeling of anger at, say, your boss. Longer-term, the physical symptoms can be disabling rather than helpful, though. Dr. Sarno claims that after one 45-minute office visit and two one-hour lectures, 80-85% of his patients with the condition he calls TMS experience complete relief of their symptoms. Some people appear to experience relief without any intervention by a doctor, just by reading the books.
His claims may seem radical, but I find that he writes and reasons like a scientist, not like a huckster.
The way you describe your situation, your physical symptoms would stand in the way of your being able to make a change that would provide some relief of your psychological symptoms, so the brain's strategy is not an effective one for you.
Some people find that talking to "their brain,"and telling it that they know what it's doing, that it's the cause of the pain, is effective in getting the pain to stop, sometimes within minutes or hours. I think it helps a lot if you believe what you're saying, and reading the book(s) might help with that. The most recent, I think, is titled _The Mindbody Prescription_.
I'm in a fairly small city, but this book was available at the public library. It doesn't work for everyone, but 80-85% seems like a pretty good bet, and it's cheaper than most other options.
And I'm not telling you what to do (that would be ridiculous of me), just relating information that I have found helpful.