My Biggest Epiphany in Chronic Pain Recovery
Chronic pain was a constant in my life, a relentless shadow I couldn’t shake. Like so many others struggling with conditions linked to TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome), I searched everywhere for answers.
Then, I had a breakthrough that changed everything:
“I get pain in my body because I’ve been unable to deal with the pain inside.”
This realisation was a game-changer.
It helped me connect the dots between emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health—and how neglecting these areas fuels pain.
Here’s how I broke free from chronic pain and how you can too.
What Is the Pain Inside?
When I started asking myself this question, I realised that chronic pain wasn’t just about my body. It was a signal, an alarm telling me to look deeper. Pain inside comes from: emotional struggles like unresolved anger or sadness, mental habits like ignoring your needs or unhealthy self-talk, physical imbalances in sleep, diet, or exercise, spiritual dissatisfaction like feeling unfulfilled in work or relationships, and a lack of flexibility in adapting to life’s changes.
Let’s break this down further.
Emotional Health
One of the biggest drivers of chronic pain is buried emotions. I had spent years suppressing anger, sadness, fear, and shame. These emotions didn’t just disappear—they showed up in my body as pain.
Healing began when I learned to sit with these emotions, to feel them fully without judgment. Tools like mindfulness meditation and journaling helped me process what I’d been burying for so long.
If you’ve been feeling stuck, ask yourself: What emotions am I avoiding?
Mental Health
I lacked boundaries and had no idea how to meet my own needs. Worse, I thought my self-talk had to be relentlessly positive.
But chronic pain isn’t healed by ignoring reality. Real progress came when I learned to speak honestly—to others and to myself. This included saying no, setting boundaries, and embracing compassionate but real self-talk.
Your mental habits shape your healing. Are you being honest with yourself about what you need?
Physical Health
We all know sleep, diet, and exercise are important, but I took these too far. I’d swing between overdoing and neglecting the basics of self-care.
Lasting pain relief required balance. I started prioritizing quality sleep, eating nourishing foods without being obsessive, and moving my body in ways that felt good—not punishing.
Are you finding balance in how you care for your body?
Spiritual Health
I wasn’t happy in my work, my relationships, or even how I spent my free time. Chronic pain thrives when your life feels unfulfilling.
I had to ask tough questions: Am I having fun? Do my relationships inspire me? Does my work feel meaningful? Then, I made the necessary changes to align my life with what truly mattered to me.
Are you living a life that fulfills you, or are you settling?
Adaptable Health
Once I started meeting my needs, I realized another critical factor: flexibility.
What works in one season may not work in another. What I need on a busy weekday might be different from what I need on a slow weekend. Life is always changing, and part of stress relief and trauma recovery is learning how to adjust.
Are you adapting your self-care to fit your current circumstances?
The Key to Lasting Pain Relief
The path to pain relief is simple, but it’s not always easy. It requires feeling your emotions instead of burying them, speaking your truth even when it’s hard, prioritizing your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, and staying flexible as life changes.
When I finally addressed all these areas, chronic pain became a thing of the past.
Ready to Take the First Step?
Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It takes a supportive community to guide you, help with the nuances, and keep you consistent.
If you’d like to dive deeper into these principles and assess where you need help most, join my FREE 1-hour pain relief course. You’ll learn practical tools for healing and take a quiz to uncover which area of your health needs attention.