New Mind/Body Book - with PROOF

[grannyh]

Checked my local library.. to see if either book or audio is available.. to such luck.. now to wait for an interlibrary loan of a copy.. Thanks for suggesting this book
grannyh

[Robbie]

I have some Sharper Image light therapy glasses I need to get back into the habit of using. They really help me zone out and relax.

I took up my knitting again recently, when I discovered I can knit on small projects for short periods of time with very thin needles and thin yarn, since they are light weight and don't cause too much pain (as long as I don't do it for too long). For instance, I used to make sweaters and the like - now I make socks and gloves. I still can't crochet much, which I used to do like a house afire - my wrists and hands can't take it. Anyway, it's not true meditation, but it's my main "relaxation therapy" and has been since age 7. My mom says I was born an old lady

[takef586]

Since I have found a pretty close correlation between my version of MC and stress, I have bought the book too. I think stress triggered my MC in the first place, and I hava also noted a close correlation between the degree of stress and the perceived pain level in the last months.
The primary problem of my MC is abdominal pain, linked to the feeding cycle. I want to try to lower the stress through relaxation and employ the visualization technique for lowering the pain. I wonder if anybody else has tried this so far and can report any results.
Thanks
Marek

[hoosier1]

Polly,

A book called "A Headache in the Pelvis" by Dr. Wise applies similar meditation approaches, as well as yoga type stretching and trigger point release therapy. I find this to be very credible, yet difficult to do on a regular basis.

Rich

[hoosier1]

Marek,

When you say you have abdominal pain, where exactly do you feel it the most? Is it mostly a bloating type pain or a stabbing/sore type of pain?

Rich

[TooManyHats]

I think the most important (and most difficult) task is to incorporate this practice every day. It is a lifestyle change and involves finding those 20-25 minutes just for ourselves with absolutely no distractions.

This would be next to impossible at my house as anyone who knows anything about autism can attest to. My husband works from home, my oldest son has bipolar, my middle son has autism, and my youngest son has ADHD (but is an absolute pleasure and fairly stress free). I suppose I could try to wait everyone else out and do it late at night. I already know that my MC has a stress component because I had a significant flare before my oldest son was diagnosed and our family was under siege from his illness. When the flare that finally landed me at the doctor began, my middle son was involved in an altercation at a party that could have resulted in criminal charges. Talk about stress! I wonder now if that had anything to do with WHY I couldn't get the symptoms under control as I always had been able to do in the past.

Everyday at my house has it's fair share of stress. I wonder if this would still help, or at least lower my overall stress level to that of the average person. Now that would truly be a miracle! I've never been able to figure out HOW to meditate. Does the book cover that?

[takef586]

@TooManyHats
Yes, according to this book, you can get substantial results by just practising this relaxation technique alone, which would take only 12 minutes a day, as a minimum. Apparently, it is also possible to attain the relaxation effect while performing some other activities, like aerobic exercise, gardening or listening to the music, or praying... I think the book is worth buying, mainly in order to overcome scepticism. It furnishes a lot of common sense facts, backed by pretty orthodox medical research.

@hoosier1
My pain has been initially caused mainly by bloating, but then it evolved into pain that accompanies the passage of food in the intestine ( it gets acute if I eat any fiber). It increases when the BM is overdue (like in the morning) and when I stand up or walk. The pain is localized between the navel and the pelvic area , more often on the left side. It is not constant, and I have some periods fairly painfree, but they do not last for long.

[Gabes-Apg]

Marek / Rich

for as long as i can remember - since my teenager years i have had the symptom of sharp stabbing pains. during my teens they said it was my ovaries.

During the period i had so called IBS (about 20 years), without warning i would get the sharp pains that would cripple me, i couldnt stand i couldnt walk most times within 30 mins of this i would have a BM. when these pains hit, i knew i had to get to a toilet. I have left shopping trolleys full of groceries in supermarkets i have left meetings to make sure i could get to a toilet and breathe through the pain.

Post MC diagnosis and adhering to my strict diet, i only get the pains when i am fatigued mentally or emotional or physical. ie After an intense day at work i will be in pain for a couple of hours.

[MBombardier]

Arlene, though there is a "protocol" in the book, the doctors stress that whatever works for you works for you. The most important thing is to shut out intruding thoughts, which they recommend just mentally saying, "Oh well" to.

I generally do this right after I wake up in the morning. The doctors say that if the process of meditation is not tied into your faith tradition it will not work, or not work as well. As a Christian, I generally use a short prayer or bit of Scripture on the out breath of my relaxed breathing. Sometimes I just focus on the process of breathing itself, and making sure the rest of my body is relaxed. I have a tendency to squeeze my eyes shut, so I always check that.

Later on, the doctors recommend some visualization concerning whatever you are struggling with, and it's pretty amazing the physical ailments that have been helped by this process. This is the "placebo" part of it, where you believe the research studies that show that the ailments have been helped with meditation, and therefore your ailments are helped with it.

Some mornings I do well, and other mornings I have so much on my mind that I just have to give it up as a bad business. But something I have started doing is that in the middle of the day I will check to see if I am relaxed. For example, in the car I will notice that my shoulders are tensed and I am gripping the steering wheel. So just in going through my day I seek to relax my body, even if my mind is not calm. It seems to help a lot.

[Polly]

Arlene,

You DO have a lot on your plate! One trick I use to create alone time for 10-15 min. of relaxation is to find a parking place as part of solo trips to the grocery store, library, gas station, whatever. I just park in a parking lot, turn off the engine, put on my sunglasses, and relax. Then I'm on my way! It works!

Love,

Polly