Christine: Sarno Medal of Freedom Winner!

My name is Christine and I am very happy to accept the Sarno Medal of Freedom. I live in Australia. I am 72 years old. I have had many TMS symptoms over my life. Migraines, anxiety, burning eyes, vertigo, panic attacks, severe digestive disorders and more recently tinnitus. I had read a couple of John Sarno’s books over the years and accepted my issues were probably TMS but had never really devoted the time or resources to doing the work during a 40-year career as a teacher. 

Being a perfectionist and very stoic I managed this career with the minimum of sick leave and an attitude to just keep going and it was rewarding despite the health issues. On retirement in 2016 my migraines vanished - there’s a signal! A couple of years into retirement a series of life stresses saw me spiral into fight or flight in a big way. I became super alert - very sensitive to sound and very anxious about my health. I was prescribed antidepressants and beta-blockers as my heart was racing a lot. 

In 2022 after a colonoscopy and endoscopy I was given a diagnosis of ulcerative gastritis which led me to the Pain Cure Clinic. Enrolling in and following the Master Class resulted in a complete recovery of this issue. However, my life still had many challenges and I reverted to many of my old emotional habits and a couple of months later developed a new and very distressing symptom - pulsatile tinnitus - which persisted throughout 2023. Nighttime was very difficult as I developed a fear around bedtime wishing to avoid another distressing symptom: waking up with loud tinnitus and a racing heart. I got my heart checked out-no problems - so knew I had to get back on track with the course.

A few months ago, I started to put a lot of effort into reworking the course which has resulted in 95% recovery - the tinnitus sound is just detectable but not distressing, I’m no longer taking any medication, I’m sleeping very well and waking normally and feeling so much happier and more comfortable within myself. Here are a few things that helped me:

- Slowing down (Laura did a great video on this):
TMS: Stop Running: https://youtu.be/XV2Xi6VNfj0?si=_ApApBg3XuRSmAZD

- Reminding myself constantly that I was OK. As John pointed out, it is a kind of mental conditioning and requires constant reinforcement- I even used the post-it notes that John recommended in one of the videos.

- Rethinking how I react to things. I grew up in a chaotic home where everything was a drama so when I’m under stress I tend to default to catastrophic thinking. If something is bugging me, I now reappraise the situation and realize that most times it’s not such a big deal and so my reaction is more appropriate. This is powerful as it means my nervous system is much calmer all the time.

- Being patient with the process. Notice the tiny steps forward and be kind to yourself when old patterns reemerge.

- Movement! The one thing that I have stuck to right from the start is exercise. I walk at least 5km/3 miles a day. I also do yoga/stretching at least 3 times a week.

- Meditation! It took me a while to slow my mind, but I can now mediate comfortably and do so daily.

- Getting in touch with nature. I live in a lovely rural area surrounded by abundant wildlife. I have been enjoying watching and photographing the array of birds and creatures that visit.

And Christine is a star contributor on the PCC private Facebook page - inspiring others to heal TMS too - thank you!

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