HERE IS A SENTENCE I SAY WITH EVERY TINNITUS CLIENT:
"Recovery does not occur as a linear straight line upwards ☝" The end result is similar for everyone in the Tinnitus Therapy Program - the result is undeniably brilliant for them, they are in a much better place than they were before, they are progressing upwards and out of the blackhole of despair and symptoms.
HOWEVER, there are twists and turns, great days and some bad days, but the important thing I tell them is it is ESSENTIAL to KEEP THE EYE ON THE PRIZE 👀
Here's a common finding I have...💁♀️
Around Week 4 my clients ask me... 'how is this possible? My tinnitus has drastically reduced - Am I dreaming?! How did this happen so quickly?! Will it stay this way? I'M SCARED! I want it to be like this forever!!! What if it isn't?! It's too good to be true!" (you get the gist..)
Genuine panic. Genuine disbelief. Genuine fear of the future instead of accepting and appreciating the Good of the Now.✨
The fear of 'What if this is too good to be true!!' sense of desperation, opens many of them into an obsessive need to control all elements of their life, to 'make sure, nothing changes, and everything stays well forevermore'. Unfortunately, this state of mind usually has the OPPOSITE effect on recovery 👎 The obsessive nitpicking of investigating the exact HOW and WHY this result is so quick and effective in fact can give rise to Fear.
Fear, is The Fuel of Tinnitus 🔥🔥🔥 (as I like to call it)
What do most people try to do then, when they see significant positive change? They attempt to CONTROL EVERYTHING. And I mean, literally everything.
From the number of nuts they have eaten, to the random one-off Vitamin D tablet they may have taken. They begin to implement EXTRA things, that are NOT ON THEIR RECOVERY PLAN (Hot Tip: This is not an accurate or helpful way of thinking or behaving...)🤦♀️ The hypervigilant obsessive behaviour places them in a state of FIGHT/FLIGHT/FREEZE. A state of ATTACK💥 Instead of a state of Restoration & Recovery.
Typically, due to spiking cortisol and adrenalin from all the above thinking patterns, the 'fear state' reignites, and the person will then experience a setback, a spike for a few hours, depending on the fear response.
I welcome this opportunity & experience 🙌
Why?
Not because I'm a sadist (I'm not), not because it's pleasant (it's not), but simply because it is an essential demonstration for the client of what NOT to do‼‼
What recovering clients must truly understand is:💁♀️
Do not fall into the bear trap of FEAR. Fear is the Fuel of Tinnitus🔥🔥 Want a good fire, chuck in lots of fear. It'll burn your entire result down in no time. Symptoms Galore!
Accept the Good. Just as it IS. Do not analyse it to its death 🙄
BELIEVE in the possibility that RECOVERY is actually POSSIBLE!! BECAUSE IT IS!! ✨
Celebrate the WINS 🥇 instead of trying to doubt them, destroying the experience with your fear of Tomorrow because...
Fear is a SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY. You indeed get what you think, the brain instantly sends signals to the endrocrine system and physically manifests the biochemicals associated with each thought 🧠
Recovery is an interesting beautiful ride, with fluctuations, but with increasingly MORE POSITIVE UPS than dreadful downs.
That's what's important here ✅
It always gets better, even if you don't realise it during a temporary pitfall, a spike, a transient feeling of emotional flatness. You indeed have control over whether to doubt your successes and spiral, or to celebrate them and skip over the bear traps 🐻
The key is to keep looking forward.
To keep MOVING FORWARD 👉
To learn to believe and ACCEPT THE GOOD.
The more you accept and celebrate it, the faster you will recover 🌱
In wellness always,
Marie-Chantal x
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