Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) Questionnaire

If you’re still in doubt as to whether or not you’ve got Tension Myositis Syndrome (also known as MindBody Syndrome, Neuroplastic Pain & PPD), then I’ve compiled a series of questions that can guide you.

My Tension Myositis Syndrome Questionnaire will bring to light situations and factors that make an individual more likely to experience TMS pain, including personality traits that are exhibited by TMS sufferers.

But first of all, I’d like to stress how important it is to rule out any serious medical conditions, like infection and cancer, if you’ve got persistent and debilitating pain OR if you are experiencing a totally new symptom.

If you’ve already been examined by a medical professional and they couldn’t find anything wrong, OR your pain has been blamed on a past injury/accident, muscle imbalance, fibromyalgia, a herniated disc, a pinched nerve, bursitis, muscle tightness, repetitive stress injury, or a number of other conditions or triggers that are not in any way life-threatening, then you could have TMS pain.

Here are some questions for you to help you decide for yourself:

Tension Myositis Syndrome Questionnaire - PainOutsidetheBox

1. Have you been suffering from chronic pain for over 4 months?

2. Does your pain tend to move around or change intensity (e.g. it comes and goes, spreads or swaps to a different location?)

3. Do you suffer or did you use to suffer from any other chronic condition? (such as IBS, vertigo, acid reflux, tension headache, migraines, sinus problems) that tend to keep recurring in your life?

4. Do you experience chronic pain in different areas of the body (for example back pain and neck pain, or the same pain on different sides of the body)

5. Does your pain vary in intensity throughout the day? (for example worse in the morning, better in the evening, or vice versa?)

6. Does your pain have a pattern or a threshold? (i.e does it always result after certain movements or activities OR, after you have been doing an activity for a certain amount of time - for instance, after sitting down for longer than 30 minutes?)

7. Have there been any exceptions to your pain (e.g. the pain was better or worse when you were on holiday, or during an emergency or a break from routine).

8. Do you identify with any of the following personalities?

   Ambitious & perfectionist - you want to be as perfect as possible in anything you do, and often put pressure on yourself or find yourself criticising the work of others;

   People-pleaser - you tend to always put others; needs first, and are very afraid of conflict with the people around you

   Catastrophic/anxious personality - you often tend to think of the worst (find out more about catastrophic thinking here)

   Conformist - you are afraid for your self-image and of how other people perceive you

   Victim - you think of yourself as an unlucky victim to external circumstances, and often feel powerless

   Stoic - expressing your feelings doesn’t come naturally to you; you see it as a sign of weakness, or you often don’t know how you feel

   Legalist - you are very critical of others and determined to be ‘always right’.

   Low self-esteem - you often feel like you’re not good enough and are scared to voice your opinions and feelings, or to pursue your ambitions

   Dependent - you are afraid to take on challenging tasks, like to delegate responsibility and decision making to others, and believe that happiness comes from other people and external circumstances. You are very scared of rejection.

   Health anxiety - do you tend to worry about your health more than the average person?

9. Were you going through a particularly stressful time when or in the year before the pain started? (examples include family arguments, lawsuits, high-stress job, job loss or threat of job loss, breakups, serious illness)

10. Did you go through a significant change in your life when or right before the pain started? (for example wedding, birth of a child, change in career, loss of a loved one)

11. Did your pain get worse when other people (including medical professionals) warned you to ‘be careful’ or shared their own painful experiences with you?

12. Do you find yourself planning your day around your symptoms (e.g. avoiding specific activities to prevent flare-ups, scanning or checking the body for symptoms even when the pain is low, taking frequent rests, frequently googling your symptoms and what they could mean, trying out a specific diet, etc.)?

If you’ve answered YES to the first question and to more than 3 additional questions from the list above, then you are likely to suffer from TMS pain.

To proceed to TMS therapy or coaching, however, everyone should have answered Yes to the first question. This is because pain that has been there for less than 4 months may result from an injury that is still healing, or from an infection or a virus someone may have contacted. The rest of the questions in my Tension Myositis Questionnaire can then help you with additional clues.

And now? Time to find your Tension Myositis Syndrome cure!

If my Tension Myositis Syndrome Questionnaire has convinced you - or almost convinced you - that you’ve got TMS, then you should get going, for there’s a lot of work to be done!

You can start by subscribing to this site to get a short booklet explaining exactly how chronic pain develops, and complete the 3-step exercise within.

Secondly, make sure you read through the material in my resources section, especially about the distinction between Acute and Chronic Pain, TMS & Emotional Repression, TMS & Conditioning and Dr Sarno’s 12 daily reminders.

If you feel that you need additional guidance or support, please check out my comprehensive DIY online program, which includes videos, lessons and a workbook to help you tackle all the aspects that may be contributing to your symptoms.

The 3 pillars of TMS healing

Your Tension Myositis Syndrome cure can never consist of one magic pill. What you need are the following 3 pillars of TMS healing:

i) education to help you recognise TMS and ditch false beliefs about pain (like the belief that lifting a small backpack will damage your back forever, that typing/sitting down/walking and a bunch of other harmless activities are bad for you…)

ii) self-awareness, to become more aware of how certain events or situations in your life have or are affecting you. This could be admitting that something is not as ‘great’ as you have convinced yourself it is up till now. This could be a job, a marriage, and even parenthood. It could also be admitting how angry you are that you have denied yourself certain possibilities in life.

iii) reaction-shifting - finally, you need to learn how to react differently to your chronic pain. You need to learn how to diffuse your fear, how to observe your pain without judgement, without being scared, frustrated or helpless. My 7-step exercise can help you do this, and so can activities like mindfulness and self-talk (with your own pain).

All of these elements are addressed in my Intensive Transformational Recovery Program, Pain Free Breakthrough, and I can also help you tackle them in an individual level during a Consultation.

I hope this helps and that those of you who’ve answered Yes to more than 3 questions in my Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) questionnaire will embark on this wonderful journey of self-discovery!

I also invite you to join my Facebook Group for additional tips, videos and inspiration, or to sign-up for my recovery program if you feel ready for some deep work!