From Chronic Pain to Passion
helping passionate creatives heal from chronic pain
-
How I Healed From Chronic Migraines
Have you ever cried into your pillow out of desperation when yet another migraine snuck up on you and ruined your day? I have. If you have too, I can truly empathize. As a psychotherapist and coach who helps people heal from chronic pain, I draw on teachings from books and courses by experts in…
-
A Prayer for Peace
When I look around me at how people on social media are responding to the war in the Middle East, what I see is not “who my friends are and who my enemies are.” Although I’m human (and I’m Jewish) and I certainly feel that at times. What I see is that, when something very…
-
Reluctantly Healed By Barbie 😅
Tips from a chronic pain recovery therapist I’ll start by saying that I was prepared to hate the Barbie movie. I thought it would be a giant advertisement for a toy that perpetuates the objectification of women and impossible, Eurocentric beauty standards while trying to re-brand the doll as a symbol of liberation… and watching…
-
Recovering From Chronic Symptoms Through a Lens of Collective Healing
In the world of mind-body medicine for chronic pain recovery, it’s often said that the medical approach to chronic pain is only applies band-aids to the problem by suppressing symptoms with pills and injections rather than addressing the root cause. I agree with this and I would take it a step further: If we are…
-
How to Reduce Chronic Symptoms When You’re Stuck in a Stressful Situation
A couple of weeks ago, I made a post on Instagram about the bodily stress and symptoms that can result when you find yourself caught in an intense inner conflict like this one: You’re working in a stressful and/or abusive environment and you feel that it would be unsafe to leave because you need the…
-
The Role of Fear and Self-Abandonment in Chronic Symptoms
A popular concept in the field of mind-body medicine is that fear fuels chronic symptoms. I find this concept helpful for understanding and healing from chronic pain and other stress-related symptoms, but I want to propose an additional layer of nuance. Fear, like pain, is something that we need for survival. Without fear, we wouldn’t…
-
Embracing Fear: The Path to Calming Chronic Symptoms
When we experience chronic symptoms, it can be intense and overwhelming. And our fear of these symptoms — which is totally human and understandable — adds to the intensity, making it difficult to find relief. If you’ve been learning about the mind-body connection for a while, you know that fear and emotional stress are often at the very root…
-
Chasing “100% Pain Free”
Tips from a chronic pain recovery therapist If you’ve ever found yourself hoping and wishing and praying that this time is finally IT! You’ve kicked chronic pain to the curb and it will NEVER come back… 🙏🙏🙏😬😬😬 I can totally relate. And then… when the next pain flare crept up on you… did you brace…
-
Overcoming Self-Blame and Self-Shame
Tips from a chronic pain recovery therapist This week, I’m doing something a little different. Instead of my usual blog post, I’m going to share with you an excerpt of a new book that I am honored to be interviewed in! Healing Honestly: The Messy and Magnificent Path to Overcoming Self-Blame and Self-Shame by my…
-
Other People Can Trigger Chronic Symptoms — But They Can Also Help Us Heal
Barbra Streisand sang these famous words: “People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world…” The truth is that we all need people. We need connection with other human beings. Do you ever find yourself wondering why you’re feeling down or lethargic or symptom-y, and then out of the blue, a friend…
-
Healing Is Activism
Tips from a chronic pain recovery therapist Healing is activism and activism is healing. Here’s what I mean… Emotions are not pesky symptoms caused by cognitive distortions. Emotions are how our mind-body system is designed to respond to our experiences. Emotions like joy let us know when something is good for us. Emotions like sadness…