Gripped by Chronic Pain? Change your life, not just your symptoms.
Is Chronic Pain Limiting Your Life in Ways That Are Troubling, Disempowering, and Exhausting?
Are you or someone you know struggling to recover after a car crash, recreational injury, illness, or the onset of chronic neck or back pain, and just know that there must be a better answer? Do you find yourself feeling easily exhausted, overwhelmed, and hopeless? Perhaps you are experiencing persistent pain, weakness, and feelings of anxiety that weren’t there before. Or, you might feel like you’re “beside yourself” and finding it difficult to focus. Maybe you have a sense that there is a connection between your emotional state and your physical symptoms, with one making the other worse, and vice versa. You are right and this connection is called The Mindbody connection. Contact Jeri Innis, Innis Integrative Therapy to learn more about the current treatment approaches for resolution to Mindbody chronic pain. Email jeri@innisintegrativetherapy.com for more information regarding the Mindbody connection with chronic pain.
You may have noticed a loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy, such as sex, socializing with friends and family, or just spending quality time alone in natural settings. Maybe you sometimes wonder if you are losing your grip on your life or struggle with feelings of shame, low self-esteem, and regret or even suicidal thoughts. Do you wish you could feel understood and supported and find a way to live your life with greater ease, freedom, and connection to your body?
Living with chronic pain can be a frustrating, isolating, and distressing experience. You might sometimes feel like you are at your wit’s end in dealing with your pain, loss of function, or confusion about your identity in your body. You may be trying to just “get over it” and feel as though no one, not even your closest loved ones, understands what you are going through, which might be causing strain and conflict in your relationships.
Perhaps you can’t help noticing that when you are feeling exhausted or overwhelmed, your pain seems to start screaming at you, often taking you over the edge and making you feel as though you are out of control.
Or, maybe you have recovered 85% and have been able to return to your prior life, but continue to have periodic flare-ups for no apparent reason. You might have a nagging sensation that the stress in your life is triggering the recurrence of symptoms, but feel overwhelmed by the knowledge that you need your job, your kids need your help, and your partner has already picked up a lion’s share of your household responsibilities. It may seem as though there must be a way to get a handle on your suffering, but you just don’t know where to get help coping with chronic pain.
If You Are Dealing With Chronic Pain, You Are Not Alone
Chronic pain is a complex multi-sensory experience and a pervasive medical problem. It affects over 100 million Americans, according to the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Chronic pain accounts for more than 80% of all physician visits.
There is scientific evidence that emotional, psychological, and physical pain share similar neural pathways in their perception and experience, supporting the notion that one might affect the other neurologically. The affect chronic conditions can have on a person’s life can seem devastating, leading to feelings of despair and hopelessness. Trauma and PTSD are closely linked with chronic pain. And, because the body and mind are deeply connected, it is possible the physical distress you are experiencing may be related to the after-affects of trauma.
With the help of an experienced chronic pain therapist and a unique integration of proven physical therapy skills, body-centered psychotherapy techniques, and trauma resolution modalities, you can transform your experience of pain by taking charge of your symptoms and reuniting your body and mind.
Understand Chronic Pain, Transform the Chaos into Calm
I have been working with people coping with chronic pain for over 30 years. My unique approach to chronic pain counseling is distilled from my expertise as a physical therapist, a body-centered somatic psychotherapist, and a trauma expert. Through a mind-body approach that combines all of these specialties, you can transform trauma, pain, and loss of function into fertile ground for personal growth, relational development, and professional expansion.
I utilize evidence-based scientific findings from the fields of neuroscience, trauma resolution therapy, mindfulness and meditation practices, cognitive behavioral modalities, and general psychotherapy approaches. Physical and emotional pain are deeply intertwined. My experience is that by diminishing one, the other will diminish as well.
In chronic pain therapy sessions, I will provide education about how the typical nervous system works, how chronic pain alters that relationship, and how you can begin to restore the desired balance in your nervous system. Together, we will develop an individualized program that includes natural ways to improve your health, mobility, flexibility, strength, and functional activities, all of which will facilitate a decrease in your painful symptoms. This is a solution-focused, psycho-educational approach, during which we will decrease the grip chronic pain has on your life and begin replacing it with a more expansive version of who you really are. You are so much more than your pain.
You can transform your suffering using some of these powerful chronic pain management tools. You can learn to trust your body more and control the fear and anxiety related to your suffering. I draw from a deep knowing that your body has a wisdom of it’s own, which, when tapped into, will guide your healing process. It is possible for you to reclaim you life and discover hope for the future.
You may believe that counseling for chronic pain can help you feel empowered in your life, but still have questions or concerns...
I’ve already been to so many professionals, doctors, and therapists. I don’t want to invest any more time, money, or energy in chronic pain management.
The frustration and concern you are feeling is real. I understand completely how challenging, time consuming, and expensive it is to live with chronic pain. If you have tried therapy and experienced limited success, it may be that you were engaged in therapy that was talk-based. Pain is a body-based experience and responds best to body-centered interventions. I invite you to invest in yourself, learn new ways to perceive and respond to your pain, and gain better control over your suffering.
Others have told me that I’m imagining my pain, and I’m embarrassed to talk about it.
Unfortunately, when people don’t understand something, they tend to judge, dismiss, minimize, or avoid the subject altogether. You will never hear me use that kind of language because I know that it is not true. One of the best reasons to come in and work with me is to give yourself an opportunity to talk to a caring and knowledgeable person about the stresses, sense of loss, and challenges you are facing. I approach each session with compassion, warmth, and understanding. You can feel safe to speak without any fear of judgment.
I’m broken and can’t be fixed. Therapy will just open old wounds.
As challenging as this can be, it may be helpful to know that you are not alone. And, there is an abundance of scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of therapy for chronic pain. In sessions, I will be there to offer guidance and support, without judgment. With the help of chronic pain management, you can move beyond your limits by using mindfulness to change meaning of your suffering and begin living a more fulfilling life, rich with new possibilities beyond pain.
A Mind-Body Approach to Chronic Pain Therapy Can Help You Reconnect With Yourself and Your Life
You don’t have to feel held back or defined by pain anymore. I invite you to contact me here and learn ways to change your relationship with pain and to experience recovery; of yourself, your life, and your new future.
