Chronic Conditions & Diseases
Do you recognize any of the symptoms or conditions listed below? Read more to see how Grounded & Growing can help.
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)
Fibromyalgia
Rheumatoid arthritis
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
Long standing neck and back pain
Concussions
Degenerative Disc Disease
Migraine/Headaches
Long COVID
Any lasting pain, diagnosis, or disease
These are just a few big ones but chronic pain means anything more than 6 weeks with no improvement.
Why does my last bullet point say “any”? Because EVERY medical condition comes with an emotional attachment. Fear, anxiety, worry, curiosity, and the list goes on and on. The tools of NLP and brainspotting get to the root of that emotion through the Limbic System allowing you to live with, and decrease, if not even eliminate symptoms with certain situations. For some, it will come down to understanding a new reality that a level of pain may be a permanent structure in their body due to physical changes or injury. So the question becomes, how do you live without letting it decide how you live?
Reading the list at the top of this page, it’s easy to identify a common denominator. They are all exhausting!
Often we start by taking a look at this in 2 ways:
(1) What is physically happening in the body, and I’d like to refer you to my page on ‘why I have pain in my body‘ for a deeper explanation of what is happening when you experience ANY kind of pain no matter what. This is important, because pain is created in the brain 100% of the time, no exceptions, EVER!
(2) The other view we can take is to consider the mental toll it takes living day in and day out with your pain. It’s become part of your every waking thought from the moment your feet hit the ground in the morning. I’ve been there many times over. It takes away from your sleep, your family, your work….LIFE! And darn it…it’s so maddening and frustrating that there is “nothing” anyone can do for you! Hold that thought, because the medical world is changing and information is getting out there but ever so slowly. Keep reading. In 2020 the ISAP redefined the definition of pain for the first time since the 1970’s. Why is this important? Because the carries the understanding that science is showing us a deeper meaning of pain. It has be redefined as a physical or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. It goes on to further define this in 6 key points. It is now recognized that we can have physical pain in our body due to an emotional experience. How? Because what’s in the brain is in the body, and what’s in the body is in the brain. You cannot separate the 2.
Due to the complexity of chronic pain, there are a whole host of practitioners listed below that I suggest can be very effective in helping you manage your pain. Some will fit better at different times. The human body is highly complex and it can take a village to work through all of the avenues of chronic pain itself. Finding the right provider is key!
If you have a provider who promises to fix all of your problems and will cure your pain….run!
Anyone who claims to be the one-stop shop is not a provider I would ever recommend my clients to. There will always be a degree of relief, and yes they may actually provide a huge degree of relief, but when you are dealing with chronic conditions there are many factors in play. It takes a humble and knowledgeable provider to let you know they are only a piece of the puzzle to your healing, not the one-stop shop. A provider, who truly has your best interest in mind, to have a network of other providers to refer you to as you address this obstacle of yours.
Who are these providers?
Medical Doctor, Physician’s Assistant Nurse Practitioner or Naturopath
Physical/Occupational Therapist
Chiropractor
Massage Therapist
Acupuncturist or a PT certified in Dry Needling
Health Coach, dietitian or extensive knowledge from your doctor or naturopath on how your body responds to food and what foods make inflammation in your body worse.
Any host of specialists such as an internist, neurologist or orthopedic surgeon if needed depending on your diagnosis or condition.
Mental health practitioner or a Life Coach (preferably one who is knowledgeable in the brain/body connection) However, just being able to express how you feel in a safe setting will be healing with any mental health provider or coach.
Personal Trainer/Coach
Clinical Hypnotist
Genetic testing, this is helping us understand so much more about why some bodies respond to certain supplements or medications differently than others.
Keep in mind you can have all of these people on your team but you still need to make a choice day to day to exercise, eat right, be fully hydrated and be rested to help your body heal. You cannot rely solely on others to make you well. You may have heard it said, “DNA loads the gun but environment pulls the trigger”. This was stated in Newton, P.A: Handbooks in healthcare in 1998 and made famous by many since then as the knowledge and understanding of our physical and emotional world is rapidly growing and being understood. So what does that mean? We now have a full understanding that we can be born with a predisposed structure in our cell bodies but they may lay dormant, so to speak, if we choose to keep them that way. In other words, they can be “turned or switched on” if we choose to each poorly, not sleep, never exercise and are exposed to extreme or chronic stress in our life on any level either physically or emotionally. Some of these things are in your control, and some things just happen. Accidents, death of loved ones, toxic work in environment, abuse in the home, bullies in school etc…. If these are obstacles or weaknesses in your world right now, I can help you navigate that with the tools of NLP and Brainspotting. Even if things have been switched on we can still do the work to understand what’s happening and how to make changes. And you CAN make the changes. If you feel stuck and unable to put one foot in front of the other, this is where you start. We discuss this at length in your first session and develop a plan.
Now, all of that being said, I am not suggesting that you need to run out tomorrow and find all of these providers, however, I am suggesting that you begin to research who has experience in chronic pain and have them available to give a try when you need. I’d be very happy to visit with you about what types of pain benefit from which provider and oftentimes we will discuss this in my office during your sessions. Again, chronic pain is not only the world I work in, it’s the body I used to live in too. I have worked with every one of these types of providers over the last 30 years.
So what part of the team am I? I have thousands and thousands of hours of treating chronic pain in physical therapy. In my extensive personal and professional journey I have found brainspotting and NLP to be THE most powerful tools to combat the mental side of any chronic pain or condition which is a very big piece of the puzzle. Pain creates physical changes in the brain. Again, I want to refer you to my page on “pain” to read more about how pain relates to the brain. I have found over the years that the mental and emotional toll chronic pain takes on an individual is a huge hurdle that keeps most individuals from complete healing.
Behind ALL pain is emotion. Fear, anxiety, curiosity, frustration, and the list goes on and on. These emotions can run away with your pain in a quick hurry and actually amplify your pain to a debilitating degree. Those who struggle need no further explanation because this is your world, and you get it. Brainspotting gets to the root cause of these emotions in the limbic system. I am here to help. Reach out so I can help you understand how this applies to you.
Ready to get started?
Let’s talk. You only have pain to lose.