What if everything we thought we knew about pain was incomplete?
In this episode of Healthily, I'm joined by GP, pain specialist and educator, Dr Barbara Phipps, to explore the fascinating and hopeful science behind chronic pain.
Barbara specialises in helping people living with long-term pain, including conditions such as fibromyalgia, using an evidence-based approach that combines pain neuroscience, lifestyle medicine and nervous system regulation.
We discuss why pain is always generated by the brain, how our brains can become overprotective, and why factors such as stress, poor sleep, social isolation and past experiences can all influence our pain experience.
Most importantly, we explore why chronic pain is real, why it's not your fault, and why improvement is absolutely possible.
This is a compassionate and empowering conversation that offers a very different way of thinking about pain.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why pain is always created by the brain
The difference between acute and chronic pain
Fibromyalgia, neuroplastic pain and chronic primary pain explained
Why chronic pain is not "all in your head"
How stress, sleep and lifestyle factors influence pain
The role of fight, flight and freeze in persistent pain
Somatic tracking and calming the central nervous system
How changing your relationship with pain can be transformative
Why movement, nature and social connection are so important
Pain, fatigue, brain fog and other seemingly unrelated symptoms
Practical tools that can help people begin to feel better
A final message from this episode:
💛 Your pain is real.
💛 It's not your fault.
💛 And it can improve.
Visit Dr Phipps's YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@bphipps576
This episode of Healthily is kindly sponsored by Revive Active, the original super supplement: 26 active ingredients to support your energy, immunity and heart health in one convenient sachet. Simple. Effective. Delicious. Their range is available at Boots, Holland & Barrett, Wholefoods, and independent pharmacies and health stores nationwide, as well as online at: https://reviveactive.com/
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