A steak knife in my shoe

Last week an old acquaintance of mine dropped by. Unwelcome as always.

But I was happy that it had been 2 months ago already. Lately he leaves me alone more and more.

For years he used to drop by weekly and then stay for days, no matter what I said or did.

He could be quite dominant, but usually he lingered stubbornly in the background. A constant threat to worry about incessantly: “How am I ever going to get rid of him?”

He ruined a lot of nice plans. I always had to take him into account when we planned trips. I also stopped jogging because of him.

I have long thought it was my fault. Because I was born that way? Because I had thrown out my orthotics?

But during all those years that I wore them obediently, Mr. Foot Pain was just as bad.

Last Thursday I started to feel it while strumming on the computer. Suddenly that familiar spot in my left foot demanded attention again.

Until recently this threw me off right away.

Then I would have been careful, massage it a bit, do some strengthening exercises, take the bicycle instead of walk, and worry a lot about my foot.

But now I know better. Instead of half an hour, I went for a full hour of walking.

Halfway through, the pain became very intense. With every step it felt like something tore in the front of my foot sole, as if a steak knife was carving into a muscle there.

I ignored the pain as well as I could, kept walking and reminding myself of the things Dr. Sarno & co. thought me:

  • There’s nothing wrong with my body.
  • My brain causes physical pain to distract me from unwanted emotions.
  • If I focus on what bugs me in my life at the moment, the distraction loses its purpose.
  • Just keep moving.

It didn’t disappear immediately, but I smiled because I sometimes forgot all about the pain for a few steps.

The day after it had vanished completely and I walked for hours.

If I ever doubt TMS again, I intend to reread this text right here.

Whenever I hear people talk about their back/foot/knee pain, migraine, fibromyalgia… I can’t resist mentioning Dr. Sarno, Steve Ozanich and the Curable app.

Do you suffer from chronic pain? Definitely check out these links:

These are some of my experiences with TMS:

Good luck!
David