Hi Tineline,
Thanks for all your suggestions....I am seeing a therapist and he helped me tremendously. My very first session, he walked me through the most important thing I have learned about this diagnosis to date: to separate me from the pain. That lesson is what gave me the power to search for answers instead of burrowing under the covers, suffering.
Still searching, but no longer hiding.
You are very young and your attitude is great. We have some things in common....besides TN. I am also a nature lover, avid reader, researcher, and musician (for fun). One of my favorite co-workers is Norwegian. Are you from Minnesota?
Again, thanks for all your feedback,
Rissmal
Tineline said:
I was not quite finished but got thrown out of my reply. Part of my new internet life using an e-reader.
As I said, I suggest to seek out a professional sooner rather than later. I have had tremendous help from a psychologist, who I coincidentally sought to help with something else, but who helped me resolve a lot of anxiety and so it seeped into my general being. As I got TN when I was 20 (am soon 36), it is important for me to embrace new ways of living rather than hang on to old. (Then again, since I had it all my adult life, maybe I grew used to it as just a part of it all)
Anyway - I am very happy to have seen the psychologist for a while. I came out on the oher side a happier and more content person.
Tineline said:
the trigger thing is hard - sometimes it just sneaks up on you rather than poking you obviously. My reading and tv-watching may have been of those kinds. And then all of a sudden they are there with a vengeance and force you to stop, and you realise that you actually feel better stopping them altogether, than when you thought they didn't trigger you.... It also takes time to accept and be able to choose to disregard it as an identity. I am tineline, Norwegian wman, nature lover, hobby musician and researcher, not Tineline TN victim.
I think time is key. we have to accept, in which lie to disegard the future, which is perhaps more hard than anything. This is why I refuse to feel saddened by losing the tv and going to noisy parties, which I always loved. I have found podcasts and entertaining at home instead! I will miss the reading, though.
If you are struggling with acceptance, I suggest you consider a therapist.
No, hehe -I am from Oslo, Norway. what we like to call the real kind. :-)
Well, it sounds like you are on the right track. I am glad to hear that.
Eckart Tolle says you have to "cultivate the life outside your life circumstance " . I have done lots of work around this. We are not our diagnosis .its just something that’s happening to our physical bodies at this moment.
I have studied a lot of eastern philosophies as I have lived with pain a very long time.
The pain of the condition is one thing . the stories and judgements we tell our selves about the pain adds a whole other level to our suffering . That , I have a say in. I try to meet the pain with non judgement and to accept life exactly as it is . It’s a process and a practice but this has helped me tremendously.
I maintain a consistent meditation practice
I also work with people around their diet and pain issues . Being of service and having tremendous empathy because of my pain is a gift I share with others. It’s taken a long while but I see the benefits of my difficult journey.
And… With a meditation practice, I don’t get as bored when life isn’t exactly how I think it should be 
Hi, Jay jay. Thanks. That is very nicely put of Mr Tolle. When it comes to mindful practice, I do yoga, which I find helpful. Sit-down meditation has never been my thing - I live in a fairly noisy environment, and I just cannot find the peace of mind I achieve through the more dynamic yoga practice. t is the same with sitting down and gazing into space. Cannot do that either. But when the wind allows, I walk, and I pretty much achieve the sam peace of mind I suspect I would through a more structured meditation practice.
I think most of my restlessness and boredom stems not from being judgemental (as in 'I can't do it")but having a lot of synesthesia (sensory crossing). Every sound I hear, pain sensation I feel and word I think is accompanied by visual presentations 'in' my head, which means that even when I am relaxed, my mind reels unrelentlessly with impressions - like if I am watching two strange art installations at once AND reading a book at the same time. I actually feel quite stressed if I have had many impressions that day. I 'meditate' better wih a task or a book in front of me: something that can help me streamline my thoughts onto a single trajectory. If I can achieve that, my mind relaxes completely.This is my non-judgemental side: I stopped blaming myself for not meditating. I do sometimes use a hypnotherapy programme, but earplugs/headphones hurt. But yoga is still one of the best things I can do! :-)
Now that I am losing the visual part of reading a book, I am looking for other things onto which I can fix my attention. I have had great success with the podcast/craft combination. However, sound sometimes triggers me too, so more suggestions are always welcome!
" I stopped blaming myself for not meditating" …lol ! Thanks for that
I am a big believer in sticking with something that works for you …so yoga it is! We are all different. If there was one cure we’d all be completely healthy all the time .
Having said that , there is a reason they call it " practice". If any one had told me 8 years ago that I would enjoy 7 day silent retreats where I meditate for 8 hours a day , I would have told them " no way !!!. Not this ADHD , dyslexic distracted brain. " And now I love it and look forward to it. Who knew ?
Even if if I don’t always enjoy the act of meditating I stick with it. It has changed how I relate to ,and how I experience life in such a profound and fulfilling way that I keep at it. There are some great podcasts out there. Dharma seed comes to mind… and that Eckart tolle is a pretty smart guy
That's great, thanks. Yes, everyone is different. And what really works for me, more so than yoga, is hiking, crosscountry skiing and rowing on the lake by my cabin. Nothing tops that for me. i just have to get my hands on a skimask. :D