People who suffer from RSI usually work on assembly lines, in repetitive manual jobs or clicking on a computer all day. Not me 😬!
True story, I got RSI from using Tinder! 🤦♀️ Obviously, I can’t make that up!
At the time someone I was in love with had left me and I wanted an IMMEDIATE “replacement”. I was swiping like mad on the dating app hoping that my romantic life would quickly take off towards a new destination, leaving all my excess emotional baggage on ground.
What I learnt from RSI is that I can’t go very far without luggage. There is too much of me in it.
Like any ordinary human being, I researched possible treatment for my condition online, and by chance I stumbled upon a book by Pr John E. Sarno that includes RSI in the psychosomatic category. 😳 Could my physical pain be caused by psychological factors??
After freaking out a bit I realised that my symptoms were indeed inconsistent. They would only appear when I was using my phone to meet someone else, and not at work for instance, or when flicking through a magazine even though the movements were the same as my Tinder swipes.
Thinking about the psychology of my pain, and after connecting with my emotions, I realised that my wrist would hurt only when I was doing something that dragged me away from an incomplete grief. Facing grief is tough because it’s a point of no return, it’s the acceptance of an end, it means cutting ties with the past.
Looking back at my pain I believe that my body reminded me through tension in my wrist that I needed time to grieve, that I needed to drop my phone, drop the distractions and heal, properly. With the tears that only broken hearts can shed. 😭
I did cry (a lot!) and my symptoms disappeared on the spot, and never came back!
If you’re in pain, please always consult a doctor 👩🏻⚕️👨🏽⚕️.
To go further 📚:
In his book The Mind/Body Prescription by Dr John E. Sarno talks about the mindbody syndromes (or tension myositis syndrome – TMS). According to Dr Sarno (I’m quoting the back of the book) : “Most neck and back pain, migraine, repetitive stress injuries, whiplash, and tendonitises – are rooted in repressed emotions. ” You’ll also find information about Dr Sarno’s theory in the handout found in the Mind Body section of the Harvard RSI action group.