Chronic Pain in Australia: A Growing Concern
So many people in our lives live with pain on a regular basis—and the numbers reflect this reality.
According to Pain Australia, chronic pain is a significant health issue, affecting around 3.37 million Australians in 2020. Of these, 53.8% were women, and 68.3% were of working age. Sadly, the number of people experiencing chronic pain is expected to grow in coming years.
A Mindbody Approach to Healing
In recent years, there’s been a growing shift toward managing chronic pain using mindbody approaches—including therapies that address the emotional and neurological roots of pain. This shift is supported by our expanding understanding of Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) or Mindbody Syndrome, a term that refers to chronic symptoms driven by a dysregulated nervous system.
Evidence-based therapies like Pain Reprocessing Therapy, somatic therapies, and hypnosis are now being used more regularly to help people reduce or even eliminate chronic pain.
How Trauma and Stress Create Physical Symptoms
As Dr. Howard Schubiner explains, stress can trigger real physical symptoms—like pain or discomfort—but these are natural, reversible responses from the body. They’re not imaginary, and they’re not permanent.
TMS is often a sign that the brain and nervous system have become overprotective or hypervigilant—a response to unresolved trauma (whether big or small). But importantly, the body is not malfunctioning. It’s trying to protect us.
Parts Therapy & Pain: Understanding the Inner System
One powerful addition to chronic pain treatment is Parts Therapy—also known in some forms as Internal Family Systems (IFS). This approach recognises that we’re made up of many inner “parts,” each with its own voice, emotion, and function.
In response to pain or trauma, we may develop protective parts that try to help us stay safe, even if their methods cause more stress or limit our lives. As described in The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook by Vaness Blackstone and Olivia Sinaiko, common protective parts include:
- a perfectionist part that strives for prefect health
- a people-pleasing part that focuses on the needs of others
- a ruminating part that plays worrying thoughts on a loop
- an avoidant part that tries to steer clear of anything that might cause discomfort.
My Own Experience with Parts in Conflict
Personally, I’ve found parts work to be incredibly helpful in understanding and easing my own symptoms. For a long time, I noticed two strong internal parts related to pain that seemed to be pulling me in opposite directions.
One is a ruminating part—a part of me that constantly monitored my body for symptoms. It would fixate on any discomfort, replay it in my mind, and try to figure out what was wrong. It believed that if it could just solve the problem or predict the next flare-up, I’d be safe.
The other is an avoidant part. This part wanted to steer clear of anything that might cause pain or discomfort, even if that meant missing out on things I enjoy. For example, it would avoid certain foods, social events, or new experiences—anything that might challenge the delicate balance it was trying to maintain. It believed that limiting my life was the safest way to keep me well.
These two parts were in constant conflict: one obsessively trying to fix the pain, the other doing everything it could to avoid anything that might trigger it. The result? Stress, confusion, and more symptoms.
The Solution
But through parts therapy, I began to slow down and listen. Instead of seeing these parts as problems, I started seeing them as protectors—each doing their best to help me feel safe and secure.
By using tools from Parts therapy and the Pain Reprocessing approach, I helped these parts communicate with each other, and more importantly, I connected with them from my grounded, compassionate Self. I acknowledged their concerns, validated their intentions, and reassured them that I now had the capacity to navigate life safely.
Once these parts felt heard and supported, they began to relax. The ruminating part didn’t need to scan my body as intensely, and the avoidant part started letting me try things that once felt too risky—like eating cheese or bread that wasn’t gluten-free or saying yes to a spontaneous invitation.
And as a result my symptoms eased. My nervous system felt safer, more balanced. Life became a little freer and more relaxed.
An Example of Inner Dialogue
Parts therapy doesn’t just help us identify these inner protectors—it helps us communicate with them. When we engage with our parts from a compassionate, grounded state (what IFS calls the “Self”), these parts often soften. Here’s a simple example of how that might sound:
Self: “I see you’re scared the pain means I’m damaged. I want to understand.”
Protective Part: “I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”
Self: “Thank you for protecting me. But we’re safe now. The pain is being triggered by the brain, not an injury/structural problem.”
Result: The part feels heard and begins to relax—and often, the pain follows.
Recap
Chronic pain affects millions of Australians—and for many, it’s linked not just to the body, but to emotional stress, protective parts, and past trauma. The good news is: this pain is real, but it is also reversible.
If you’re curious about exploring parts therapy to help with chronic pain, relationship struggles, or other concerns, I’d love to support you. I offer hypnosis and coaching sessions online or in person in Essendon, with a focus on healing from the inside out.
Book a free consultation or contact me to ask any questions about how this approach might support you.
Awesome https://is.gd/tpjNyL