I have TMS. What now?
You’re not broken. Your nervous system learned a pattern that no longer serves you. This site will help you understand what’s happening and take your next step at your own pace.
Free: Your First Week With TMS
A short, calm walkthrough of what to do (and what not to do) in the days after discovering TMS.
What’s Actually Going On?
TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome, also called Mind-Body Syndrome) is when real physical pain is driven by your nervous system rather than by structural damage in your body.
It was first described by Dr. John Sarno, and has since been supported by a growing body of research on neuroplastic pain. The short version: your brain learned to produce pain in response to stress, difficult emotions, or psychological pressure. The pain is real. What drives it is a nervous system stuck in a pattern. Patterns can change.
If you’ve been told there’s nothing physically wrong, if your symptoms move around or don’t respond to treatment, or if your pain gets worse with stress rather than activity, you might be in the right place.
Common symptoms people arrive here with
This isn’t a diagnosis. It’s a starting point.
Hi, I’m Orian
I’m an existential psychotherapist in Tel Aviv, trained at Seminar HaKibbutzim. I help people with TMS and neuroplastic pain understand what their body is trying to say. My practice site is oriantal.co.
I’ve been through this myself. I know what it’s like to be in pain that no one can explain. That experience, combined with my background in psychotherapy, is why this site exists.
I work in English and Hebrew, with people dealing with stress-related pain and the emotional weight that comes with it.
How People Usually Begin to Make Sense of TMS
There isn’t one right way forward. Most people start with one of these.
If you want someone to help you orient, ask questions, and slow things down.
Clear explanations written for people who feel overwhelmed, not for experts.
Start here
Four pages cover most of what you need. Read one, then take a break.
- What is TMS? What Tension Myositis Syndrome is and where the idea came from.
- TMS symptoms The full list, with what a doctor should check first.
- Is my pain TMS? The signs, the red flags and a short self-check.
- How TMS recovery works What helps and why people get stuck.
Quick answers
TMS, or Tension Myositis Syndrome, is real physical pain driven by the nervous system instead of damaged tissue. Dr. John Sarno named it. It is also called mind-body syndrome or neuroplastic pain.
Yes. All pain is produced by the brain. With TMS the brain keeps sending the signal after any danger has passed.
Many people do. Recovery usually comes from understanding the pain, lowering fear of it and making room for emotions. It takes days for some people and months for others.
More questions? See the TMS FAQ.