Hello!
My TMS journey was a long and winding road, but it made it possible for me to help others like yourself or possibly a family member or friend. My name is Stacey Townsend, and I am a certified Pain Recovery Coach and a Certified Life Coach. I help people like yourself recover from chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and many other conditions. Pain recovery coaching was the final treatment I needed during my TMS journey, and I’m confident it can work for you, too.
Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), also known as Neuroplastic Pain or Mind-Body Pain, occurs when nothing is wrong with the body but the brain signals pain. The brain is just making a mistake. Recovery from neuroplastic pain happens when we teach our brain to signal pain accurately.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy, or PRT, is the coaching method I use. It is designed to help you feel safer around your pain. I work with my clients to help them get out of fight/flight/ freeze/fawn mode, turn down their sensation of pain, and learn to live in peace and calm, living their best lives.
The Beginning of my Journey with TMS
I was raised in North Dakota and have lived in Colorado for over thirty years—two wonderful places to live. Often, when I’ve been asked where I’m from, I get a reply: “Oh, North Dakota. I’ve been to every state except North Dakota.” Poor North Dakota gets such a bad rap. That is part of why it is such a great place. No one thinks to go there.
On the other hand, everyone wants to live in Colorado because it truly is amazing. I’ve lived here since 1985. I recently divorced after twenty-three years of marriage and have a 22-year-old son and 29—and 32-year-old stepsons. I am a certified tennis professional and have been teaching tennis for about ten years.
As most do, my TMS journey began during childhood, when I developed the emotional patterns that led to TMS. I was an intense, high-strung kid who was a tomboy and often played sports with the boys. I played sports through college and was often the last player to leave after practice.
How TMS Happened
Adverse childhood experiences where we learn to perceive life as scary are almost always what end up leading to chronic pain later in life. I had a loving childhood, but it was also very stressful, with a lot of family conflict and generational depression and anxiety. My TMS journey began in 1992. In 1986, I lost my boyfriend in a car accident, and in 1990, my dad had a stroke at the age of 52, both of which caused a lot of stress that lasted years. Working long hours in retail management didn’t help.
I was a workaholic, and in 1992, back pain came on suddenly. I was miserable for a couple of weeks. The acute back pain subsided, but I had back pain for several years. In 1995, I was still working excessively when I became ill. My doctor told me I had chronic fatigue syndrome. I had never heard of it. After a month, I recovered and went back to working my sixty-to-eighty-hour work weeks, and in 1996 I became ill again.
I tried to keep working until I had to stop in 1997. I was devastated. If I were rational about it, I would have been relieved. I mean, who wants to work that much? I didn’t slow down enough to really know what I wanted. TMS isn’t about being rational; it’s about trying to stay safe at all costs and doing things in excess, which helped to keep me safe from what I didn’t want to feel.
My Symptoms and Recovery from TMS
Over the years, I’ve had TMS back pain, chronic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivities, neck pain, hip pain, plantar fasciitis, shoulder pain, esophageal spasms, head pain, and anxiety. Working with a pain recovery coach has made it possible to overcome my symptoms.
I process things by writing, and so I started writing about my experience through healing TMS, and this website is about just that. I wanted to share my writings with you in the hope that they might be as beneficial to you as they have been for me. Let’s work on rewiring our neuropathways together. This blog is not about the destination; it’s about the journey. I hope you will come along with me on the ride.
More information about the treatment for TMS.
More information about the symptoms of TMS.
For Pain Recovery Coaching, fill out our contact form or send a text to 303-250-4275 or an email to [email protected].
