How I Overcame My Chronic Pain Using the Mind Body Approach

For almost a decade I lived with chronic pain. Most of it showed up as back pain, but the symptoms moved over time. I had stomach issues. I had tightness in my chest. I had flare ups that looked and felt like anxiety. I would feel exhausted for no reason. I would feel wired and tense when nothing stressful was happening. I did not know it at the time, but all of this was connected to the mind body system and to patterns that fit with what many people call TMS.

When you are in long term pain it is easy to assume there must be something physically wrong. I thought that too. I blamed everything from my mattress to my posture to my scoliosis to my old gym habits. I convinced myself I had damaged something. I was young and confused and I had no guidance. I had no idea that chronic pain can be driven by emotional pressure, stress patterns and internal conflict.

If you are dealing with chronic pain of any kind, whether it is back pain, migraines, pelvic pain, stomach issues, anxiety symptoms or anything that keeps returning, this story will probably feel familiar.

The beginning of the pain

My pain started in my late teens. I was training in the gym a lot. One day my back felt tight and sore and I assumed I had pulled something. I did what everyone does. I rested. I stretched. I took painkillers. I told myself it would pass.

It never did.

Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. I lived around the pain. I avoided the gym. I avoided football. I avoided anything that might “trigger it.” I became scared of movement without even realising it.

This is something I see every day now in my work. Chronic pain slowly trains you to live smaller. You do not notice it at the start. Then one day you look around and realise you have built your whole life around avoiding discomfort.

The long search for answers

Like most people, I tried everything. Physios. Chiropractors. Osteopaths. Sports massage. Acupuncture. Pilates. Hot packs. Cold packs. Strengthening. Stretching. New mattresses. New shoes. Foam rollers. Pilates balls. Yoga blocks. I tried anything that looked even slightly promising.

Some things helped for a moment but nothing changed the long term pattern. I would feel hopeful after a treatment. I would feel a bit looser. Then the pain would return and I would be back to square one.

If you are going through this right now, you know how frustrating that cycle is. It feels like your body is working against you. It feels like everyone else is getting better and you are stuck in the same place.

The moment things stopped adding up

The turning point for me was simple. One day I realised something very obvious. If this pain was caused by an injury, it should have healed. Not improved temporarily. Actually healed.

Muscles heal. Tendons heal. Even spinal injuries heal. The body is designed to repair itself. So why was I still in pain almost ten years later

That question created a crack in the old narrative. Once there was a crack, the whole story slowly began to fall apart.

I also began to notice that the pain moved. Some days it was lower. Sometimes it was higher. Sometimes it was one side. Sometimes it was the other. Injuries do not behave like that. Stress driven symptoms do.

Discovering TMS and the mind body approach

During this time I was doing yoga and spending more time in the wellness world. I started hearing about emotions affecting the body. I did not understand it. I honestly thought it sounded strange. But I kept coming across the idea that the body holds on to emotional energy and that repression can create physical symptoms.

Eventually I stumbled into TMS work and mind body education. Everything clicked. The whole puzzle finally made sense.

I learned that the nervous system reacts to stress, fear and internal pressure by tightening muscles and creating real physical sensations. I learned that pain can be a protective strategy. The brain thinks it is keeping you safe. It is trying to protect you from emotions that feel overwhelming or unacceptable.

This does not mean the pain is imaginary. It means the cause is different from what you think.

Emotional repression and chronic pain

The biggest piece for me was understanding emotional repression. I had grown up being calm, polite, respectful and responsible. I did not express anger. I did not express frustration. I did not express sadness. I always kept the peace. I always wanted to be in control.

None of these qualities are bad. They just come at a cost when they are extreme.

What I eventually learned is that the body feels emotions even when you decide not to. The body does not lose that energy. It stores it. And if the emotional pressure becomes too high, the body speaks through symptoms. That can be chronic pain, migraines, pelvic pain, IBS, anxiety, tightness, fatigue, or any physical expression of emotional strain.

This is one of the reasons the mind body approach helps so many people with so many different symptoms. The expression is different, but the mechanism is the same.

What actually helped me change my pain

There were a few key things that made the biggest difference in my recovery.

• I stopped obsessing about the body and started understanding the emotions underneath
• I realised I was living in fear of the pain and I learned to reduce that fear
• I spent time each day connecting with emotions I had ignored for years
• I learned to sit with frustration, sadness, anger and tension without pushing them away
• I worked with the parts of me that were sceptical and scared
• I slowly created more safety in my nervous system

This was not dramatic work. No shouting. No intense catharsis. No complicated tools. Mostly it was just honesty. Presence. Space. And the willingness to feel what I had been avoiding.

And something began to change.

My back pain softened. My anxiety eased. My stress symptoms lowered. My stomach issues calmed. The entire system settled.

How this applies to any type of pain

One thing I emphasise all the time is that chronic pain is not limited to the back. When the nervous system is overloaded, symptoms can appear anywhere. Back pain. Pelvic pain. Migraines. IBS. Neck pain. Shoulder pain. Chest tightness. Exhaustion. Anxiety symptoms. It is all part of the same pattern.

People often tell me that their symptom must be different. They say things like I do not think this applies to me or My pain feels too physical. That is exactly what I said. The mind body system is incredibly good at making symptoms feel structural even when they are not.

If your symptoms have lasted a long time, move around, flare with stress, or do not respond to physical treatments, the mind body approach is worth exploring.

If you want help with this work you can join my Pain Relief Community.

Inside the community you will find a full three stage pain relief course, guided tools, resources, live calls and a supportive space to talk through the emotional side of healing.

You are not broken

If you are reading this because you are in pain I want you to know this. Chronic pain does not mean your body is damaged. It does not mean you have failed. It does not mean you have missed your chance at recovery.

Your body responds to stress. Your nervous system responds to pressure. Your mind responds to emotions in ways you may not even realise. And all of that can change.

I spent years feeling stuck and confused. I felt frustrated and scared. I felt like this would be my life forever.

It was not.

The mind body approach helped me get my life back. It can help you too.

If you want to start this journey with guidance you can join my Pain Relief Community here

I hope this gives you hope. I hope it gives you clarity. And I hope it reminds you that chronic pain is not the end of your story.