Tag: chronic pain
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4 Steps to Releasing Emotions Through Writing
Tips from a chronic pain recovery therapist. Expressive writing can be one of the most powerful tools for releasing chronic pain and anxiety. It certainly has been for me. But sometimes, you may find that when you journal your emotions, they just get stirred up into a spiral that amplifies pain and anxiety levels instead…
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Why I Don’t Believe in Healing Faster
Tips from a chronic pain recovery therapist. We all want a quick fix for our suffering, and there is absolutely no reason to be ashamed of that desire. How could we not want that? Our yearning to delete our suffering — whether it be in the form of chronic pain or otherwise — is also…
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Should You Rest or Keep Going When You Have Chronic Pain?
Tips from a chronic pain recovery therapist… This is a question that I often get from clients: “If I let myself rest when I’m in pain, isn’t that avoidance? Should I rest or just keep going?” The answer is… it really depends. Pain is a danger signal that your nervous system sends when it feels…
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What’s Your Mind-Body Relationship Status?
If the answer is “complicated,” read on… Mind-body therapy is a lot like relationship therapy for your body and mind. Yes, your mind and your body do have a relationship with each other! And the issues that can come up between them are a lot like the issues that come up between family members, partners,…
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What IS the connection between stress and symptoms?
It’s no secret that symptoms like chronic pain and anxiety are related to stress. Even the mainstream medical field has embraced this basic truth and you may have had doctors advise you to “reduce stress.” But what actually IS the relationship between stress and symptoms? How does one lead to the other — and what can we do…
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How Do You Feel About Your Parents?
Conflicting feelings are common. And they often contribute to chronic pain… Even in the most loving families, conflicted feelings towards parents are practically universal. This has something to do with the complexity of attachment bonds… And it also has something to do with the power dynamics between adult caregivers and children in a culture that…
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Do Affirmations Make You Cringe?
Cringing can actually be a gateway to healing. Here’s how… Years ago, I was working with a coach on some childhood issues and how they were impacting my self-esteem. My coach gave me a set of positive affirmations to practice saying to myself in the mirror. Ever an achievement-oriented student, I did my homework and practiced the affirmations.…
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The Biggest Misconception About Chronic Pain
When people use the phrase “𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱” to describe stress-induced pain, the implication is that the pain exists only in your mind — in your thoughts — in your fantasy. Not only is this notion dismissive and hurtful to those experiencing pain, it’s quite simply untrue. Anyone who’s ever experienced stress-induced pain (i.e.…
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How to trust your chronic pain recovery process…
3 examples of moving through hopelessness to the other side. If you’ve already begun the journey of chronic pain recovery using a mind-body approach, you’ve probably experienced each of these things at some point along the way: I’ve been to both places. And as a chronic pain recovery therapist and coach, I often get asked…
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Why Do You Want to Heal from Chronic Pain?
The answer could help or hinder your recovery. This was a barrier to my healing journey for a long time: I was ashamed of the fact that I — a therapist and coach who helps people heal from chronic pain — was still getting headaches. I had this idea stuck in my head that, in…
From Chronic Pain to Passion 