Imagine you’re on the edge of a very tall cliff. How far back would you stand to make sure you’re safe? Whatever distance you decide on is the safety buffer that feels right for you. That buffer can vary depending on many things. If the wind is blowing. What mood you’re in. Previous experience of being up high.
The cliff-edge scenario is a useful way to look at long-term, persistent pain. Being in pain will discourage you from stepping forward and encourage you to step back. We can end up protecting ourselves so much, we become fearful and cautious of movement itself. Over time, we forget how much we used to move without even thinking about it. We develop new habits that aren’t helpful. New habits where our protective pain buffer is a constant reminder of our fragility. All this can be reinforced by the comments of other people. “Avoid anything strenuous, it will only make things worse.” “You must be careful – take it easy.” “It’s really bad, isn’t it?” We end up believing we are fragile and easily damaged.
Your protective buffer keeps increasing and you keep stepping further back from the edge. The result is you end up being less and less active. Your joints become stiffer because you’re not moving very much. Your muscles grow weaker. You may gain weight. Socialise less. All these changes affect your relationships. Eventually, it’s difficult to even remember how you got to this point. It’s now your new normal.
However, evidence shows that you can rewire your brain to actually produce less pain. It takes effort, understanding and challenging your beliefs – but it is possible. To achieve it, we’ll need to learn all about what you feel needs to be protected and if you are being overprotective about it. Working with me also involves learning how to regulate your nervous system.
By addressing how you are thinking and feeling, I’ll help you develop an awareness of how, in the body, psychological events and physical sensations are closely connected. Without this awareness, we can get stuck in a vicious loop which I call ‘the cycle of suffering’.
As The Mind & Body Guide, my aim is to explore these connections to help you gain insight into yourself. This could be looking at present problems or those that are more deeply seated: things you’ve been told or events you’ve experienced which have shaped who you are now.
I have decades of experience in health care. Years spent working as a senior physiotherapist in the NHS. I’ve taught Pilates to hundreds of people. And I’m a qualified psychotherapist with a suite of therapy skills to draw on.
My approach to therapy is to help you to understand yourself mentally and physically. Then, working together, we can plot your pathway to a healthier, happier life.
The Mind & Body Guide.
Therapy for the whole of you.
