Blue Elephants & Being Pain Free

Blue Elephant - Do Not Think About Me!

FOCUS OF ATTENTION

Take a moment to think about the things you’d like or the changes you want to experience in 2017.

  • If you imagined you had the life you wanted - how would you know?
  • What are the things you might see, feel or experience that would be different?

It’s always key to start with the end in mind – to focus your mind on what it is you really want. Ultimately, focus attention on those specifics and it can direct your mind and bring you closer to realising it.

Of course, let’s be sensible here. I don’t mean imagine you’ll be running a marathon every day for the rest of your life with ease. Make it realistic and perhaps a little bit of a stretch too. Take a moment now to note down what you want either as bullet points or an over-arching theme.

Then come back and read on. So what have you come up with I wonder?

THE BLUE ELEPHANT

If I were to ask you not to think of a blue elephant what happens? Even if you can see a blue elephant on the screen, just close your eyes and try not to think of it or any other type of blue elephant. So what happened? I imagine that wasn’t easy – that however you tried to avoid that blue elephant its blue trunk or body just got in the way!

Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear, and you will see that the cursed thing will come to mind every minute

This predicament is called the White Bear Problem or Ironic Process Theory. The very act of trying to suppress something makes the likelihood of it popping up even greater.

BUILDING A HEALTHIER FOCUS

So if you look now at what you noted down – the things you want this year – are there any blue elephants or white bears? If you’ve been experiencing chronic pain, then I wonder if you’ve jotted down things like “I want to be pain-free” or “I don’t want to be in pain”..?

From now, you might also start becoming more aware of blue elephants in your day – whether it’s things you hear yourself saying or thoughts you might be having (or messages from outside too). We can be so socially conditioned to voice what we don’t want that it can tend to crop up, even when we’re trying to voice what we DO want. And becoming aware of unhelpful blue elephants can be a good thing – that awareness is a key step of making lasting changes. I’m not saying it’ll be easy but you could start now..

So let’s tune your mind and focus attention in a better way. If you do have some blue elephants in what you wrote down, just go ahead and start changing the wording to what you DO want.

If there are no blue elephants or once they’ve been shooed away, then go onto the next bit and focus attention even better: continue building, creating or imagining this compelling vision of how you want to experience life – the things you’ll be doing and enjoying, that will let you know things are better for you. Jot down as many of the sensory details – what you’ll see, hear, feel and experience – as well as what you might be thinking or believing that will let you know you are living that better quality of life.

If you have any questions about this or anything else chronic pain related, feel free to get in touch and ask me hereI’m been interviewed live online next Tuesday 10th January – so do send your questions in and I’ll see if I can answer them for you live on the free webinar!

Or, if you’d like to speak with me one-to-one and see if the Break Through Pain Programme might be right for you, you can book a free consultation ???here.

’tis the Season to be Grateful

Season's Greetings from Sheren, Santa & Reindeer (© image OSIPOVDIM/depositphotos.com)

As we roll up to the holiday season….You might reflect upon back upon 2016:

Your Successes & the things that have gone your way

Your Learnings – whether it’s from:

  • achieving goals that you’d set
  • discovering a new or better way of doing something
  • a realisation that is helping you grow in new ways
  • things that haven’t gone your way but you’ve learnt something
  • adventures that have taken you in directions you might not have imagined!

Your Gratitude for those things that are most important to you in life. These can be:

  • people you’ve had in your life or spent time with
  • places you’ve been
  • things you’ve experienced
  • anything that has had you connecting with what you value most 

And Gratitude is so powerful because it can keep you focused and get you more motivated. (And it can also help ease pain).

Knowing those things you value most in your life can really connect you to what you’d like more of in 2017.

So imagine peeking into your ideal 2017 and start imagining what experiences or wonders you might like to live or delight in, and of course the people you might like to spend time with too…whether they be friends, family or welcoming new connections that can help you become more appreciative for a life you can enjoy even better.

And perhaps we'll get a chance to connect too..

If you're suffering with chronic pain

Chronic Pain – How to Get on the Road to Freedom

Pain Relief This Way Sign (© image kikkerdirk/depositphotos.com)

Chronic Pain

How to Get on the Road to Freedom

I’ve just caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror – eyes red and puffy, face a bit blotchy - I’ve had a bit of a cry. Now for anyone who knows me, that’s pretty unusual – I don’t overtly display my emotions like that! But you see I just found a diary I wrote some years ago and read some of my scrawled entries:

“I just want to curl up and die”

“Why is this happening to me – will I ever be able live my life normally like everyone else…I’m such a failure”

“Here we go again – I can’t do this anymore, my life is over”

On and on go the pages of despair written in red ink.

I’m crying because the suffering went on needlessly for almost 10 years of my life…

If you’re suffering with chronic pain, then you’ll probably be familiar with what I was going through - the feelings of sheer hopelessness, the worrying about the future, the frustration that you can’t enjoy your life like others around you, fear of doing things as it might worsen the pain, the exhaustion or just feeling weak, fed up with trying one medication or treatment after another with little or no relief. Oh, and the anger! Anger at those who just don’t get it and people who say “Oh you look great though”, and maybe at times anger at yourself for not doing better… 

FAST FORWARD 9 YEARS: That’s how long it’s been since I got on the road to freedom – leaving the debilitating pain that left my life on hold for almost a decade, behind me. 2017 is going to be my 10 year anniversary of freedom! Yay!

But that’s not the end of the story. Because you know what, all that suffering back then – it didn’t need to take a decade for me to get better, if only I knew then what I know now.

And recently I had an unexpected opportunity to test out how quickly change is possible…

I’ve been working one-to-one and helping people break free from the shackles of persistent pain for a good few years now. The more I worked with people, other specialists and pain research scientists, the more I saw an even more effective way of helping others live again, even better. I put everything I knew into creating what I called THE BREAK THROUGH PAIN PROGRAMME. It was set to launch earlier this year. But then…

I had to step back from work for a good chunk of time due to a prolonged and massively challenging family emergency. In the midst of it all something happened that completely knocked me..

EVERY PAIN I’d ever experienced returned AT ONCE with an intensity that meant I could barely move, apart from breathe, without painful feedback.

I had been expecting that all the stress might take its toll but this: I had sciatica down my legs, sudden electric nerve firing sensations in my lower and middle back, pelvic and abdominal burning, inflamed knuckles, toe joints, ankles, knees and spine. To top it off I also had a migraine. Yikes!

But this was different from all those years ago when I felt helpless. This time I had the power - I had the unshakeable belief I would get better. I put myself through the Break Through Pain Programme that I’d created and been set to launch earlier in the year. Now of course I’m really familiar with all the stuff that’s in there so I was able to fast-track myself through! With everything I already knew about pain biology, I allowed myself to believe that I’d probably get better sooner than I might think.

What happened next however, was simply astounding..


24 HOURS LATER I was able to walk fine. 48 hours later, everything had eased and I was able to RUN (for a bus)!

Ok so I’ve come a long way…from suffering all that time ago for almost 10 years, to using what I know now to help myself within 2 DAYS. This recent episode left me with the certainty that I need to share my knowledge with those that need it most. Anyone suffering with pain deserves the freedom and peace, and multitude of beautiful emotions I’m feeling right now writing this.


So my Break Through Pain Programme starts in January 2017. (I am really excited)!! It’s not for everyone and I have limited places available, which means I can only take people on that are absolutely ready.

IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU? From what you've read so far, I reckon you might have some questions! So if you'd like to:

  • find out more and have your questions answered
  • see whether the Programme can help you get on the route to freedom from suffering, or freedom to start doing more of the things you want
  • start to understand some of the things that worsen your pain and other things that can ease your symptoms safely

Book your complimentary 40 minute consultation with me

Just click the button below which will take you to my diary

If you can't find an available time that works for you, you can either CONTACT ME HERE or feel free to phone me on 020 8798 3571. I look forward to hearing from you!

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