TMS - Tension Myositis Syndrome (or Too Much Suppression)
When I was 22, I took an opportunity to live and work abroad in Hungary. For a good chunk of that time I experienced intermittent digestive issues - vomiting, diarrhea, all that fun stuff. It was a mystery to me as I lived very clean and simple, prepared all my meals for myself, and never had any prior digestive issue. After some time it dawned on me that the source of my problem wasn’t in the food, water, or my microbiome - it was my thoughts! My lonely thoughts and homesickness masqueraded as a perpetual stomach flu.
It’s a damn amazing and mysterious thing my body was able to do! Astonishingly, within moments of this insight, my symptoms completely faded back into the nothingness from whence they came. I was left inspired to pursue this realm of “mind-body medicine” as a career, jumping through the necessary educational hoops to become a doctor.
Fast forwarding a decade or so I find myself on the other side of naturopathic medical school and operating a business that supports people in healing themselves with food and lifestyle. It’s pretty cool to witness the innate intelligence that moves towards health when given the proper environment and resources, i.e. nutrition.
It wasn’t until my first year as a practicing naturopathic doctor that I figured out what the heck took place in my body/mind back in Hungary… sort of. The phenomenon is called Tension Myositis Syndrome or TMS. This medicalized term is essentially the name given to the mechanics that weave together “mind” and “body.” TMS has been best described through the prolific works of Dr. John Sarno, most notably “Healing Back Pain” (which, needless to say, concerns all parts and systems of the body, not just the back!). I am a true Dr. Sarno fanboy. I was devastated to learn of his passing just months before I was introduced to his work through a documentary film. His legacy continues to impact and inspire millions towards wholeness.
In my professional career, I’ve learned that we humans (yes, myself included!) are so hyper-focused on the physical determinants of health to nurture and heal physical ailments. Who could blame us!? It would make sense that physical problems need physical solutions, right?? Well, it turns out the Human Being is much deeper and more mysteriously nuanced than this. You know this. That’s why you are here.
The multidimensional Being that we are requires multidimensional nourishment. Some try to point themselves towards this multidimensional nature with words like “holistic” or “mind-body.” While words always fall short of describing the true essence of life’s miracle, I hope to keep us moving in this direction to more clearly see and feel our true nature - the peace and health that anchors us to life.
Ouch! WTF?! UGGGGghhh…
The message sent through TMS is clear: PAIN. But WHY?! Put simply, it’s often easier for you and me to feel physical pain than emotional pain. In other words, this is your body’s intelligence looking out for your multidimensional self.
UGH! Really? Emotional pain can’t be THAT bad! I mean, I’m feeling emotional pain now, TOO! On top of this physical agony. WHY!?
Actually, emotional pain can be extremely intense… especially in a society such as ours conditioned to be good and nice little boys and girls that fit into the “normal” box. Emotional pain is in fact so gosh darn intense at times that even with our True Nature being totally and completely connected to universal wisdom we literally repress the difficult feelings subconsciously because they seem too devastating to our Being.
This sort of cognitive dissonance leads to a lot of physical pain, suffering, as well as confusion about health and the body - not to mention the fact that those dang repressed emotions are still there! It’s easy to see how we might quickly find ourselves in a downward spiral of physical and emotional agony. I trust we have all, at least to some extent, been there.
The discord of mind and body is so murky and mysterious that it has our entire society in a state of delusion, with even the most brilliant holistically minded medical professionals perpetuating the disconnect between “symptom” and “cause.”
The truth of the matter is that nobody in this world can treat the cause of your or my pain and suffering besides ourselves.
Now I know you’re thinking…
“My ___(symptom x, y, or z)___ isn’t TMS.
There is something really physically wrong!
My thyroid hormones are low.
My inflammatory markers are high.
I saw my bulging disc on an MRI.
I have toxic levels of heavy metals.
I contracted Lyme disease.
So on, so forth, etc. etc. etc…
I’m not telling you any of these nutritional, biochemical, anatomical, or immunological imbalances don’t exist. They do. However these imbalance in and of themselves cannot and do not cause symptoms. I’ll say it again for those just skimming by now… physiologic imbalances in your body cannot and do not cause physical symptoms. Symptoms manifest through the interconnected relationship between mind and body via the autonomic nervous system - the subconscious interpretation of infinite amounts of data. Physiologic input is just half of it, at most.
I guess now is as good a time as any to come clean and let you know that I’m writing this for ME, not for you. I’m suffering with TMS afflictions again today and I seek deeper clarity, a reminder of what is truly happening inside of me. How silly and naive to even for a second think that I learned and integrated what I needed after that brief affair with digestive issues in Hungary.
I’ve drifted out of alignment and TMS is nudging me back on course. The sense of purpose I found all those years ago from my first real “mind body insight” has all but faded. TMS is here to tell me, “Too Much Suppression!” Sure, I’m a naturopathic doctor practicing lifestyle medicine, but I’m not offering the medicine that myself or my clients truly need. Of course we all need nutrient dense whole foods and a balanced life free of environmental toxins, but more importantly we need deeper awareness and feelings of connection with our True Nature.
While I’m only just barely circling the rabbit hole of the True Self, I hope your natural curiosity has the mind opening to see your self and life anew. For me, I see infinite possibility.
