Muscles tension

[Fight&Flight]

I've started a blog but can't post link yet as not enough post :/ wrote one post atm.

Whilst researching , why and what to do with muscle tension. I found a great way of self massage. Called " trigger point " this explains all of my aches to a tee.

If you do suffer from back legs tightness it's well worth a look at. All say sat on a computer or on your iPad. Is not good for us as anxiety causes your muscle to go tight.

When I get to my post will link it as it explains a lot about me and my journey with anxiety.

Notgoingmad @ worldpress. Com

[MyNameIsTerry]

I posted this on another thread not long ago:

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DLb7ShX-gskC&q=page+51#v=snippet&q=ear%20and%20jaw%20pain&f=false

Thats an older addition of a book I have on trigger points but a lot of it seems to be in there.

Hopefully it will be useful for your blog?

[Fight&Flight]

Thanks Terry I'll have a look. I'm starting to believe that " head fog " is the result of tight scalp muscles. As when I've been very anxious this still happens to me. That said I'm due a ATOS letter very soon :-(

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Sorry missed the last bit. Yes I'll be doing a blog on it as. Think muscle tension is a massive problem with GAD stress as a whole, and very little wrote about it, a bit more nowadays.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Tell me about it, I get a fair amount of it near my diaphragm.

I guess you will be doing a fair bit on relaxation techniques then?

I used to use Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) to help with muscle tension.

You might find Mindfulness interesting as it includes body scanning and the breathing inductions tend to include focus on muscles around the mid section.

Interesting about the fog. I'm sure a lot of people would like to know more about that. I don't think trigger points are very well known on here but they could be a useful application for muscular tension and the most you need is a tennis ball!

Wouldn't ATOS be more a pain between the lower back and upper thigh, perhaps around the back of the body :winks::D

[Fight&Flight]

Yes is my best way of coping with it. Through exercise I found I was able to keep my anxiety at bay. Always there but with the burning off of it helped me a lot

Unti I did my hamstring in and couldn't do it. Hence muscle tension being a problen of mine.

Hence I found this " trigger point " very interesting. And very cheap too.
As you say a tennis ball is all you need or a PVC pipe.

Re ATOS the 1st time I went scored big fat zero. It's a massive bug bear of mine how the DWP let this happen. Won at a tribunal been fine with them since.

The amount of people who don't get what they should is disgraceful.

All are on my list for a blog.

Thoughts behind " fog " are as the muscles are so tight ( iron band ) you struggle to think straight as all connected neck shoulder are all tight too. Is for me, if I massage my head I some times get a bruise in the middle of my forehead.

---------- Post added at 13:16 ---------- Previous post was at 13:03 ----------

Thanks for that mindfulness first I've heard of it. Yes body scanning is the first thing I do in the morning sadly.

---------- Post added at 16:57 ---------- Previous post was at 13:16 ----------

My thoughts on muscle tension and Brain Fog.

https://notgoingmad.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/muscle-tension/

[MyNameIsTerry]

That sounds likely. I would imagine people who suffer the more intense headache forms feel a similiar way. Cognition can be affected by so many things even dehydration.

I know a charity co ordinator who went through all the ATOS stuff years ago and he always told everyone that the first assessment is an unpleasant experience but the appeal is nothing like that and far more common sense based. So, I've started to regard ATOS as a filter to kick everyone off that they can so they can get rid of the wasters because those with legitimate claims will pass the appeal. The trouble is, it doesn't work for mental health conditions as people are scared off by the original assessment.

But then, its not like anything ATOS do is for mental health anyway. I remember someone telling me she was assessed by being asked to pick a pen up and put it on her shirt pocket. Then another lady told he how he mentally disabled son was ruled for for work when they can't even let him cross the road on his own as he has no sense of danger.

The trouble is, its all about money and the DWP see a way to cut a load down. The government do what they do best, create a new list to shuffle people onto so all the old waiting times are rubbed out over night (seriously, if anyone did that in the private sector a director would be kicking your backside for trying to bluff him!)

If you look at my signature, there is a link to a Mindfulness resources thread that I have put together. Some of those have body scan meditations, yoga based meditation, etc. You might find Mindfulness an interesting read anyway on the FranticWorld website of professor Mark Williams from Oxford uni. Some of the articles explain how they use it in pain management and I known the MBSR form has studies of asthma, cancer, etc.

[Fight&Flight]

Yes I'm going to read up on mindfulness will go on that website thank you.

Agree re ATOS and DWP I was one of those the other year, when our lovely Govn released the number of people on ESA was down. Only to phone and have it overturned with out even having to do anything ( playing with numbers )

Can't remember the % of overturned at the tribunal now. But I know it's high.
The whole interrogation is just wrong. With that I mean the question. Plus they lie * cough * write to suit. I asked for my report back from the DWP. Made me laugh how they made my answer fit.

I'm in the work related program. But still they try and put me in groups. When I'm on a 1-2-1 basis. Last one today. Then back to the DWP.

ATOS are on the list for a blog, as to get a yes you basically with GAD have to not do anything that's is proven to help our problems.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Its really sad how they have been allowed to get away with it at the cost of peoples health.

Agoraphobics come off pretty bad too. They like to exploit the fact they may be able to make certain journeys and decide they can do everything on that basis.

I thought the government had binned the ATOS contract. I seem to recall ministers saying it has been a failure and had massive issues. When does it finish?

Its not just mental health either. I can remember reading a story about a guy who's wife was immobile in hospital with a serious condition. They wanted him to get her to their office to do the assessment regardless so he asked them if they would be stumping up the cash to pay for the ambulance, doctors & nurses, etc. So, they visited the hospital instead.

For gods sake, surely a letter from the far more qualified consultant would have been enough. Most of these ATOS people are nurses aren't they?

At my last company we have nurses in our occupational health dept and they were rubbish with mental health. I recall they had a one day training course on it...might as well have just Googled it really!

[Fight&Flight]

They aren't even proper nurses as you say just a one day course on mental illness. Plus they are paid a bonus to give a " they are fit for work " too

Reason I know is my partner is a band 7 one. So we looked into how and what they get paid.

Yes it's just designed to trick you. Unless you know what you are doing you going to get a zero no matter what illnesses you suffer from sadly.

Have they ? I hope so re ATOS DWP. Just a massive waste of public money.

Would be better employing people like us, to do the interview.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Oh no, they would never get everyone booted off then. We would be fair!

I think that answers the question about the kind of people who would be employed by them then. Commission is often a bad thing. Sadly, no one seems to be looking at what these people have been doing like in the private sector where you have investigation teams who police commission depts because of the high profile customer complaints about things like dodgy sellers in supermarkets or on the doorstep, like in the utilities game.

ATOS paid compensation to exit the contract after talks. I thought I remember reading this when it came out.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/27/atos-quite-work-capability-assessment-contract-early

Some others will replace them but the DWP will be under the microscope going forward as no one wants a repeat of this sham. Hopefully, those involved in these assessments will be investigated as well and any money recovered, even by ATOS themselves, and it wouldn't surprise me if there weren't solicitors seeking people to taken a joint case against the DWP for what people have been subjected to.

[Fight&Flight]

That's brilliant news re ATOS I didn't no. Nor did my PA at my workplace thing i have to go. 2weeks back she said.

" There has been a back log in ATOS interview, but they are back on track. You'll be get one soon, and they are rejecting loads on ESA and you'll be put on job seekers. You'll lose housing benefit and etc "

I said " I only claim ESA nothing else " she went mute.

Sadly i also know how the public sector work. Having spent my whole working life with them until 7 years ago.

I can spot someone who is anxious a mile off. We would be fair and it would save public money. Plus give us something positive to do, with out the pressure of full time employment ( and the stresses than come if your sleeping is poor like mind ) win win situation!

[MyNameIsTerry]

The funnt thing is, people who've had these disorders for a long time would be quite adept at working out who is bluffing. Certaintly a lot more than a nurse with basic mental health training!

I guess whilst the contract is gone, they must be working as an interim until the new players come in so that it doesn't just stop dead in the water. But nevertheless, ATOS have gone.

If nothing else, you can sit at the assessment thinking "you're out soon, ha ha!"

[Fight&Flight]

Yes very true. Also we are the best at hiding it too.

Yes 10:30am I'm there. Exit interview most pointless 12 months ever sadly. It's not like I don't want to work as £100 a week isn't what I'm used to after working my whole life.

I just want to be in the right place that's all. The misconception on people on benefits ( are all lazy work shy people ) which help win votes bugs me.

No more " how did you get here " can you make a cup of coffee questions anymore :-)

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think that bugs many working people who have just fallen on hard times to. You can end up redundant and unable to get a job so you have no choice and you've got that nagging thought in your mind about the perceptions of the employed by the ignorant.

My dad was made redundant at about 63. He decided to retire in the end. He went and signed on as usual prior to this and they went through all the usual speeches about seeking work and he just put it to them that at his age he was very unlikely to get any work anyway because he's on the scrapheap. His trades were always manual so it was a younger mans game and he had been a supervisor but who would give a job to a 63 year old in a heavy manual job over a 25 year old. They replied with sentiments that that it discrimination so he gave them the reality of how you can never prove that one!

He retired to get away from all the red tape nonsense.

I can remember one of the guys at the charity walk-in groups I used to attend. The Jobcentre were trying to send him 60+ miles by train for work or cut his benefits. Silly behaviour.

I can't say I've ever come across someone with an anxiety disorder who doesn't want to work other than because of the anxiety issue. They want their lives back!

Sadly, the issue gets clouded by the stigma portrayed by the media of the unemployed and the less intelligent believe them. There are plenty of work shy people out there but you'll find they were like that all the way back to school, everyone else has hit hard times. If you've worked and find yourself on the dole, its a big issue to your self esteem so you will do most things to feel part of society again.

[Fight&Flight]

Hard times for the last 6/7 years for most sadly. Just detest this " welfare state mentally " that certain papers spout out. The Sun today is a fine example of this. English headline vote Tory Scottish vote SNP ( re printing utter nonsense )

Very true, re any who is off with mental health issues. We all want to have normal lives again. It's just ashame that the DWP etc are driven by facts a figures, instead if they help more instead of saying " if you don't do this that we will cut your money "

Quick story. I get confused with times dates. ( I was 30 mins late today ) 10.00am was my appointment.

I went once I day early so went the next day. I forgot one appointment so was REPORTED and they sanctioned me. Only for their later to have the date 23/04/13 when it was in fact 23/04/14 so I waited and appealed, staying due to my anxiety I had on one occasion gone a day early. Their response you shouldn't get dates mixed up so sanctions upheld. So I phone and asked them to checked the date of the letter. 20 minutes later all backed paid and sanctions lifted.

Going back to my head fog post. After this morning I've had to take co-codamol and NSAID due to being so anxious and muscle tension in my head neck. I can't think for toffee at the moment. I could take Valium but I try very hard not to. My dr is very good as will give me two lots of 28 per years.