Have you been trying all the strategies and methods; therapy, journaling, meditation, supplements and yet your symptoms still aren’t improving. If so, you’re not alone. And there’s a surprising reason why this happens.
Sometimes the more we TRY to heal, the more our body stays stuck in stress mode. And that chronic stress can actually slow down your recovery from TMS or neuroplastic pain.
Sometimes doing less can actually help your body heal faster.
The Busy Mindset That Keeps Us Stuck
We live in a world that often glorifies productivity, hustle, and constant self-improvement. Because of this, I used to feel uncomfortable if I had a quiet weekend planned. Part of me wondered if I wasn’t doing enough, achieving enough, or being social enough.
While we all have commitments and things we want to do and have to do, many people who struggle with TMS, IBS, chronic pain, or neuroplastic symptoms sometimes approach healing with perfectionism, high achievement, or over-responsibility can also show up, causing a sense of trying and controlling when it comes in healing.
It becomes another job, another thing that keeps them busy, to tick off the ‘to do’ list.
When Healing Becomes Another Task, the Body Can’t Relax
When you’re constantly working on yourself; reading books, journaling daily, trying new modalities your body never gets the message that it’s safe.
And a body that doesn’t feel safe can’t enter the calm, restorative state required for neuroplastic change.
You’ve probably heard of the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the rest and digest system. The phrase itself says so much:
We need to rest in order to digest—food, emotions, and life.
Why Doing Less Helps the Nervous System Feel Safe
When you stop pushing, you give your emotions time to rise naturally instead of being forced out or pushed down.
It can be tempting to keep trying new things because the last one didn’t “work fast enough” but what if slowing down was actually the most effective path?
I understand that slowing down can feel uncomfortable. I’m impatient by nature too. But urgency is one of the biggest triggers that keeps neuroplastic pain in place.
Think of healing like climbing a steep mountain.
You could:
- Take one step at a time, rest, then take another.
Or - Sprint to the top, exhausted, overwhelmed, and out of breath.
The person who rested along the way arrives calm, grounded, and regulated.
That’s exactly how the nervous system heals….slowly, gently, with space.
What Doing Less Looks Like in Real Life
Here are some simple ways you can support healing by easing off the pressure:
1. Reduce the frequency of your healing activities
- Journaling every other day instead of daily.
- Yoga twice a week instead of three times.
- Skipping a week of “inner work” when you’re emotionally tired.
Still do the things that help just without forcing them.
2. Simplify your healing routine
Choose one or two modalities you genuinely enjoy.
Let go of the things you’re doing out of guilt or “shoulds.”
3. Practice tiny moments of present-moment awareness
- A deep breath.
- Feeling your feet on the floor
- A 5-second somatic tracking moment: “I notice this sensation. It feels like (fill in the blank).”
- Then move on.
4. Rest without guilt
Rest because it feels good—not because you’ve earned it.
Rest can be a nap, reading, watching a movie, sitting outside, or doing absolutely nothing.
5. Spend time in nature with no agenda
A slow walk, sitting on the grass, watching the clouds drift by.
No timer. No steps to hit.
Just being.
6. Add something purely fun into your week
This is one of the most powerful things you can do. Pleasure tells the brain: “I am safe.”
For people who put others first most of the time, this may feel uncomfortable at first. But it’s one of the kindest things you can do for your nervous system.
The Surprising Thing I See in My Clients
I see this often: clients who are doing so much come to me feeling overwhelmed.
They’re reading every TMS book, journaling every night, practicing yoga, seeing their psychologist, and doing hypnotherapy with me.
Sometimes I suggest they do a little less. And almost every time, they come back saying:
“I feel so much better.”
It’s like turning down the intensity allows their whole system to breathe again.
Letting Go of Pressure Isn’t Giving Up—It’s Healing
Doing less isn’t avoidance. It isn’t giving up. It’s shifting from force to ease, from urgency to safety, from pressure to presence.
Your symptoms may simply be your body telling you:
“I need a break. I need rest. I need joy.”
In my on personal healing and in my work with clients, I see over and over again that when we soften our approach, add pleasure, and stop overworking the healing process, symptoms reduce, pain decreases, and the nervous system recalibrates.
Personal Support on Your Healing Journey
If you’d like personalised support, I offer 1:1 sessions (online or face to face in Essendon, Australia). Through hypnosis and coaching, I help people work with neuroplastic pain, stress, and gut health so they can live with more ease and freedom.
🔗 Book your free 20-minute session here
