Is there a difference between TMS and FND?

[Lady4]

Hi

Following on from my reply to a young adult earlier it prompted me to find my notes and find "the softer words" to describe pain, which I am still struggling to find.

However, I am going to share a link to Dr Sarnos 12 Daily Reminders which comes from his theory (I noted these down and shared with my son following watching a video on the Migrane Summit 2023.

The background:

Tension myositis syndrome (TMS), also known as tension myoneural syndrome or mindbody syndrome, is a name given by John E. Sarno to a condition of psychogenic musculoskeletal and nerve symptoms, most notably back pain.

The link:

sarnoclinic.com/guide-to-dr...

The reminders:

1) The pain is due to Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) not to a structural abnormality.

2. The direct reason for the pain is mild oxygen deprivation.

3. Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) is a harmless condition caused by my repressed emotions.

4. The principal emotion is my repressed anger.

5. Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) exists only to distract my attention from the emotions.

6. Since my body is basically normal there is nothing to fear.

7. Therefore physical activity is not dangerous.

8. And I must resume all normal physical activity.

9. I won’t be concerned or intimidated by the pain.

10. I will shift my attention from pain to the emotional issues.

11. I intend to be in control and not my subconscious mind.

12. I must think psychological at all times, not physical.

A lot to remember and say to yourself every day but try with one or two to start off with and build up.

The following link is to the TMS website.

tmswiki.org/forum/threads/i...

A couple of the key points noted:

FND is a way of saying that the nervous system is sending pain when it shouldn't. The brain is working perfectly. However, it is perceiving danger where it doesn't really exist and acting as the danger is real and sounding the alarm systems so everything goes a little crazy (diff symptoms).

At the bottom there is a David's success story which I can relate and shows us there is light at the end of the tunnel, we just need to take back control, so hang on in there 💖

David is inspirational and I noted this little piece too on CRPS:

"Especially when it is Chronic Pain. The brain is almost living in the past and is still remembering events abd repeating the pain. Like a warning signal to stop you and in doing so your world is just shrinking.

The brain goes into "survival mode" we just need to keep reinforcing the message that "we are safe and everything is ok", just might take a little time to get the message across xx

[Granimmy1]

Thank you so much for this information.

[Van604]

The problem with the psychological theory of FND, chronic pain or whatever, is that it presupposes that the medical profession knows everything about the human body, so if they can't find anything physically wrong with conventional methods, then the problem must be psychological. But the truth is they DON'T know everything, or have every possible test. Remember, MS was considered a psychological disorder until the MRI was invented. This was admitted to me by an FND specialist "we just might not yet have the machine that can see it". So insisting that FND is psychological can feel a lot like gaslighting, and lead to medical PTSD.

[Lady4 in reply to Van604]

There is a test I heard someone mention the other day but can't recall the name. I think it was used also in medical research.

I agree that the diagnosis itself can cause additional stress and depression and the amount of time to get answers just makes it ten fold because you just sit there with it going over and over in your head and I agree by not testing (although most turn up normal) they will inevitably miss something.