I met Lucy recently – our first call was in December 2020. She had been experiencing chronic pain for five years, but it was only in the last year that she had come to characterise it as “chronic pain”, rather than isolated issues which needed individual attention. I find this a common experience with many people, as generally we are conditioned to think of pain as acute and our first reaction is to think about it in terms of the site where it manifests. Lucy had been experiencing lower back pain and leg pain over the years, which she now describes as “a wave that would come over my body… a general discomfort, not feeling at home in my body”.
We had a few sessions and began to work together. Lucy welcomed the opportunity to delve into some of the difficult situations she has navigated – she has overcome some exceptional challenges. This led to the realisation that her personality traits are part of who she is, something which we have celebrated. She is now an artist with a distinctive style, based in County Wicklow.
Lucy realised that she had previously been “blinded” by her supposedly acute pain. Reading about TMS/PPD allowed her to consider what might be causing the pain in a broader sense. She is now aware that chronic pain is distinct from acute pain, and should be approached in a different way, using PPD principles. Lucy has read the textbook twice!
She has particularly enjoyed being left to her own devices as part of her recovery – Resolving Chronic Pain is very much about facilitating you to resolve your own pain. I am here to guide you, but ultimately the process is led by you.
By Christmas, Lucy was without pain. She still has “flare ups”, but as she says: “Flare ups just remind me that it’s a work in progress, and that I’ve had my pains for nearly five years and that to get rid of them I’m going to have to work longer than a month to unlearn the patterns that might have caused my chronic pains.”
Lucy and I are continuing to work together, and I’m really pleased to see the progress she has made. She is now able to do more of what she loves, growing her business as an artist and walking in nature in her spare time.
To hear more about Lucy’s story, watch her video here.