In a previous blog, I explored a holistic approach to curing chronic pain inspired by a friend who found relief using the Curable Health app. This app emphasizes the body-mind connection, leveraging meditation, brain training, education, and writing exercises to harness the body's natural healing abilities. I interviewed this friend to delve into her journey, free from medical intervention.
If you seek holistic solutions for curing chronic pain, this article is for you.
FYI: ‘Chronic pain’ can also be read as ongoing symptoms that are not classically described as ‘pain’. This method can benefit people with all sorts of symptoms and pains, such as joint, muscle and nerve pains, tendonitis, IBS, migraines and other headaches, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease, and many more physical symptoms and illnesses.
(If you haven’t read the previous blog and want to know more about TMS, read the blog here).
When did your pain symptoms start? What did your chronic pain symptoms used to look like?
I've had digestive issues as a part of my chronic pain symptoms since I was around 10, presenting discomforts like diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, gas, inflammation, reflux, and other intense abdominal sensations.
Additionally, for nearly 9 years, I've experienced consistent joint pain that shifted from the right shoulder to the left, eventually affecting both shoulders, neck, upper back, wrists, and hands. Despite numerous analyses, the pain's origin or why it moved never became clear nor did it lessen, until I began working with the brain and the mind-body connection.
How did the chronic pain symptoms impact your daily life?
Initially, my joint pain limited mostly my ability to work out, but later, it impacted everyday activities like carrying groceries, wearing a backpack, sitting at my desk, typing, and eventually also sleeping. In the latest phase, even holding a coffee mug became painful.
The gut issues were constant and not necessarily linked to specific activities. The ongoing pain, pressure, and discomfort made daily tasks challenging, as they were affecting sitting, sleeping positions, and movement. So it was basically present in everything I did. It often felt like carrying a balloon with concrete in my belly or as if my intestine was a thick snake with its skin on fire, making even simple actions uncomfortable.
How did your chronic pain symptoms develop over time? Were they always the same?
Initially, cutting out wheat and gluten seemed to have an effect on the chronic pain symptoms. It brought relief for the first 3–4 months, and I experienced much more energy and better sleep as great side effects. However, by the 6th month, the symptoms returned. All diets I’ve ever followed since then had at best some mild and short-term results, but more typically, they would worsen the symptoms or show no change at all.
Concerning the joint pain, no approach, including movement, training, or lifestyle changes, has provided any relief. Not even temporarily.
That sounds like a lot of physical discomfort. Did it have an effect on you mentally or emotionally, too?
It very much did. Now, reflecting back on the times when the pain symptoms were part of daily life, I realise that the stress surrounding it was sometimes more burdensome than the pain itself. The endless search for a solution, trying various therapies, treatments, and diets, and all of it without the desired outcome, was possibly more challenging than the pain itself.
The gut issues had another strong emotional aspect, as it left me feeling insecure about my appearance. The bloated, pregnant-looking belly affected how I dressed, moved, and engaged in personal relationships, and often limited my capacity to feel joy for life and engage in social activities.
What did you try before finding out about TMS/ Curable?
An endless amount of things! For the joints, it ranges from physiotherapy, acupuncture, orthopaedic doctors, massages, yoga and other exercises and resting strategies. For the IBS and gut symptoms, I went from regular physicians to intestinal specialists, and then I moved to see various experts in the alternative field, such as naturopaths, osteopaths and orthomolecular specialists, all the way to dietitians specialized in the gut which advised me numerous diets that I followed for over 12 years. On top of that, I’ve tried intestinal cleanses, organ massages, and many other remedies, therapies, herbs, etc. in the spiritually inclined healing realm.
What was the most painful part about living with ongoing chronic pain?
The stress about it and the emotional part. Even now, I sometimes feel sad for the 'lost' years—13+ years seeking a gut issue solution and 9 years for joint pain. The persistent hopelessness and despair often overshadowed everyday life. It's a lonely, constant ache that affects many aspects of life, but I think the hopelessness and emotional factor is possibly the most painful. Invisible pain makes it hard for others to empathize, and most people don't grasp its impact. It's disheartening when all the hard work to find a solution gets you nowhere.
How did you hear about Curable and TMS, etc?
It was Instagram that first introduced me to Curable :). The overwhelmingly positive reviews intrigued me, and especially its scientific and evidence-based approach made me want to give it a try. As I had experienced temporary success with a specific type of meditation before, I had gained some belief in the brain being a possible route out of pain. But, unlike that and many other methods with a more spiritual approach, Curable showed brain-related changes and explanations, and this is what stood out for me most. The solid backing from medical professionals and science motivated me to try it, and the affordable price in comparison to anything else I’ve ever done pushed me over the edge.
I feel we’re getting to the sunny side of this story! Please tell us how it worked out for you.
Yes, we are! Through Curable, I learned how pain works in and with the brain. It showed me that most chronic pain isn't necessarily from bodily issues but originates in the brain itself and what it had started to believe. I understood how my fear and stress about the pain and trying to solve it made it only worse. Even though I may have had an initial injury, the brain's fear kept the pain alive long after the injury healed.
Learning this, I began to perceive my pain differently, calming my brain's response. By telling, reassuring, and over time showing my brain that the pain wasn't structural and nothing was actually damaged, I reduced my fear and experienced less pain.
Curable's brain training exercises offered practical tricks. To use a hair tie on my wrist to snap out of negative thoughts was one of my favourite and most effective ones. It would redirect my mind to more positive stories, or at least not follow the negative, unhelpful story it had been running until then, which helped to lessen the stress and ease the pain.
The meditations of various and choosable lengths allowed flexibility, and the writing exercises, although emotionally hard at times, brought significant breakthroughs. Despite, or maybe because of, being challenging, they resulted in noticeable positive changes. And that, in the end, is what I really needed to see: that putting all this effort was worthwhile after all!
That sounds amazing. How often did you have to use the app? When did you start to notice results?
In the first weeks, I engaged in the offered guided meditations and education lessons daily and did the writing exercises once per week, leaving time in between for the actual integration, which is crucial for progress. I was eager and absorbed the lessons rapidly, completing most of them in a month, except for the writing exercises, for which I took my time and spread them out. I started to see improvement already when I was two weeks in. After a month, I lowered the frequency but continued seeing positive results and less and less pain. I couldn’t be happier.
Can you give a specific example of how you saw change happening?
Sure thing. I remember, after having studied and worked through some exercises through the app, I deliberately tried out certain positions or movements that were most often painful. I told my brain and body, sometimes out loud, that there was no reason to fear that the pain had to do with actual damage, so I could stay with the brain-induced pain a little longer. Or I would already envision myself doing the exercise I would otherwise fear, based on another exercise. With this, I created relaxation around the pain I thought I had, and as I took away the stress, the pain gradually became less and less each time. Up until the moment that I forgot that I used to have pain in that position or movement.
Do you believe the results are forever?
Now, nine months into it, I occasionally use the app for maintenance and reminders of what I've learned. It's easy to slip into old habits and doubts after decades of having these issues, and it’s easy for my brain to go into ‘old belief mode’. If I now sense any recurring symptoms, I use the app again, listen to relevant podcasts, and reassure my brain that nothing is inherently wrong. And any pain I think I’m experiencing disappears rapidly after.
Do you think this type of method of curing chronic pain is for everyone?
I think it may require a specific mindset to work with an app, but there are several alternatives to work on TMS. An app like Curable can be valuable for those who are self-motivated and who are good at working with mobile devices and programs. Some may work better with or prefer books, podcasts, videos, or personal coaching for this type of work. However, for actual, new injuries or severe illnesses, consulting a doctor first is always the first step before doing anything like this. But for long-term, non-disappearing, chronic symptoms, this proved to be my solution.
Is there anything else you want to say about TMS, Curable or this type of work that the world should know?
Yes! Apart from being free from pain, the biggest thing I gained from this process is that it liberated me from not just physical pain, but also from a lot of other stress that I had unknowingly accumulated. And that is a huge bonus. To feel this free physically, but also as I got to know more about myself, how all these things work, and now having more tools to live lighter and happier is a tremendous gift.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!
*DISCLAIMER:
I have not received any payment or other reward for mentioning anyone, any service, etc. mentioned in this article. It is purely based on the personal experience of my friend, her recommendations, and my own reading into it.
Also, I am not a doctor, physician, or specialist. Although the options are risk-free and are by no means a physical diagnosis, I always recommend first making sure there is no structural/ tissue damage that is at the cause of your pain. If in doubt or when in treatment/ therapy with a specialist, please always consult your doctor before making any changes.