How can you test to see if you have TMS? There are five diagnostic criteria, and if you meet most of them you probably have TMS. Generally, if the pain lasts more than 6 months, it’s TMS, but it’s always best to check with your doctor to ensure nothing more is going on.
How do you Diagnose TMS?
Normal pain is when you get injured, and TMS is when there is no injury, or you had an injury that has healed, but the pain continues.
5 Questions To Ask Yourself To Determine if Your Pain is TMS
- Did the pain come on during a stressful time?
- Is the pain inconsistent or does it move around?
- Do you have symptoms in different parts of your body?
- Does the pain demand a lot of your focus? Are you thinking about it all the time?
- Have you been to many doctors and practitioners and still have little or no relief?
- Has the pain been around six months or more?
If you answered yes to several of these questions you may have TMS.
Dr. John Sarno (The Chronic Pain Pioneer)
Dr. Sarno started noticing that most of the people he was treating for chronic pain had similar personality traits and learned behavioral patterns such as:
- Perfectionism
- People pleasing
- Anxiety
- Hypervigilance
- Hyper-critical (mostly to self)
- Type A personalities
- Low self-esteem
- Worrisome or apt to ruminate
- Emotional suppression
If you have a few of these personality traits and have chronic pain, there is a good chance that your pain is TMS.
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