CONTENTS

Introduction: The Importance of Yellow Flags
Language and Posture: How We Speak About the Body
Understanding Pain: Rewiring the Brain
Pain, Awareness, and Movement Patterns
Pain Education: Learning to Retrain Your Brain
Building Your Toolkit for Pain Recovery
Self-Measurements for Pain Recovery
The Power of Expressive Writing

Psychological interventions like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) help you reframe negative thoughts and shift how you experience pain. These approaches don’t always require months of therapy—simple tools and techniques can lead to meaningful change in a single session.

CBT helps break unhelpful thought patterns, IFS addresses the root of critical attitudes toward pain by exploring your internal dialogue, and ACT encourages accepting pain without judgment while focusing on values-driven action. Techniques like visualisation, mindfulness, and writing further strengthen your ability to calm your nervous system and manage pain.

Building your own toolkit of strategies is key to successfully managing pain day-to-day. This toolkit empowers you to reduce pain and stay in control.

Free Panoramic Awareness Meditation
A free 2 minute meditation to create space between you and pain

This approach shifts the focus to noticing meaningful changes and insights. It’s not about repeating the same functional metrics but recognising how your body and mind feel in the moment. These simple self-measurements help you identify where attention is needed, allowing you to observe small but impactful shifts in your recovery journey. Start by choosing areas where you feel blind spots may exist and track subtle changes to guide your healing.

1. Unusual Experiences in Body or Mind:

• What felt unusual in your body or mindset today? Did these experiences move you toward or away from healing and joy in motion? Were there specific stressors or insights related to your pain?

2. Routine (Rest and Breaks):

• How well did you pace your day in terms of recognising when to rest and take breaks? Did you maintain a balanced routine of activity and rest?

• For example, if you’re on a phased return to work, did you follow a structured schedule such as working 25 hours/week, sitting ≤ 3 hours, standing ≤ 1.5 hours, lying down ≤ 2 hours, and taking frequent breaks?

3. Task Prioritisation:

• How well did you prioritise your tasks today? Were you able to focus on routine work and avoid stressful tasks dominating your day?

• For example, did you maintain 90% break compliance, limit stressful work to ≤ 10%, and ensure that a stressful day occurred no more than once every two weeks?

4. Movement Time:

• How much time did you spend moving today? Did your movement feel aligned with your goals and contribute to your overall well-being?

5. Quality of Movement:

• How would you describe the quality of your movement today? Did it feel light, smooth, or easeful? Did your movement reflect what’s important to you?

• Self-Reflection Questions:

• Can you recollect the last time you didn’t have any pain at all anywhere? What age were you?

• What was happening when this pain started? What were you doing?

• What types of things relieve your pain? What worsens it?

• What have you stopped doing because of the pain? What would you want to go back to if the pain was gone?

Getting Started on Your Recovery Journey

If all of the above seems too overwhelming We are not motivated or confident enough to take So next steps, that might serve you to get help on your recovery journey. You can see how I can help with a personalised Pain Recovery Plan and ongoing support. You can get in touch with me by email to discuss or book a free 15-minute consultation.