Client Recovery Story: That feeling when you can leave your house for the first time in forever

This is a feather my client collected on Sunday when she took her first walk in over a year in a nearby park. 

It wasn't a very long walk. Yet it felt empowering and very meaningful to her. 

In August, when we started working together she had been housebound and pretty much bedridden for 14 months, crippled by low back pain and burning, tingling pain down her legs. She had stopped working because she was unable to sit for a prolonged period of time. She was a shell of her former self.

She had consulted with not one, not two, but with three neurologists and all of them (luckily) stated that the amount of her pain was disproportionate to the findings of the degenerative changes in her spine. 

But because it was called 'degenerative disc disease' she was sure that there had to be structural damage that caused her symptoms. She was very afraid about the future, and her fear got even worse when the pain spread further down her leg and intensified over time.

In our work together, she learned about how the human pain system works and that ALL pain is generated by the brain depending on perceived threat. 

After all, pain is a protective mechanism. The brain produces a pain signal so we get alerted to a dangerous situation and can act, e.g. by withdrawing our hand from a hot stove before the skin actually burns. 

But the brain makes mistakes. It can misinterpret safe signals from the body as dangerous and generate pain when there is actually no danger. It's like a fire alarm that goes off by mistake. The alarm is just as loud, but there is no fire!

She learned tools to soothe her brain and her body, and to regulate her nervous system. She developed awareness when automatic negative and often catastrophizing thoughts took over her thinking. And she learned how to interrupt these thoughts and defuse the threat they posed to her nervous system. 

By practicing these mindbody techniques she gradually increased the sense of safety in her body, and as she did, her symptoms started disappearing. One after the other.

"Simone, I'm still a bit stunned by how quickly things have improved and so incredibly grateful."

Days like this one are just as rewarding for a chronic pain coach like me as for the client. I am honored to guide them through their recovery, but it's all their own doing.

The feather is a trophy, a symbol of hope and excitement for what the future has to offer. 

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If YOU suffer from chronic symptoms that haven't responded to traditional medical care and would like help, please reach out and I'd be happy to discuss if the mindbody approach could be a good fit for you - and if it wouldn't be (I have a 'no bullshit' agreement with all of my clients 😀). 

To schedule a FREE initial consulation, simply click here.