The holidays can be filled with joy, but for many living with chronic pain or chronic illness, December brings spikes in symptoms, packed calendars, and pressure to perform happiness. We unpack why this happens through a brain and nervous system lens and share a realistic survival guide you can actually use, even on your busiest days.

We break down how neuroplastic pain and illness amplifies under holiday “danger signals” such as: family conflict or distance, pressure, people pleasing, financial strain, and social or physical exposure. Then we get practical. You’ll learn how to stack safety signals—breathwork, present-moment sensing, qigong, visualization, safe self-talk—in ways that fit your style, whether you prefer scheduled 20-minute practices or quick five-minute resets during gatherings. We also walk through processing dysregulation without suppression, because resisting emotion reliably cranks up pain and symptom sensitivity, while gentle exposure paired with safety calms your system.

Finally, we tackle people pleasing with tools that protect your energy and your relationships. Set boundaries inside your healing window—limit events, simplify gifts, and skip conflict-heavy topics. Practice free expression that’s honest and kind, reducing resentment and easing your nervous system. Lower intensity on purpose: slow your pace, schedule non-negotiable regulation time, and choose fewer traditions to do.

If you’ve felt trapped between wanting a meaningful holiday season and managing symptoms, this conversation offers a clear route to both. Subscribe, share with someone who needs a calmer holiday, and leave a review to help others discover practical tools for neuroplastic pain and nervous system regulation.

Safety Signal Practice: https://youtu.be/gCMCfPZ7Qr0

Emotion & Dysregulation Practice: https://youtu.be/qJ-dZ1YRFYc

Tanner Murtagh and Anne Hampson are therapists who treat neuroplastic pain and mind-body symptoms. They are also married! In his 20s, Tanner overcame chronic pain and a fibromyalgia diagnosis by learning his symptoms were occurring due to learned brain pathways and nervous system dysregulation. Post-healing, Tanner and Anne have dedicated their lives to developing effective treatment and education for neuroplastic pain and symptoms. Listen and learn how to assess your own chronic pain and symptoms, gain tools to retrain the brain and nervous system, and make gradual changes in your life and health!

The Mind-Body Couple podcast is owned by Pain Psychotherapy Canada Inc. This podcast is produced by Alex Klassen, who is one of the wonderful therapists at our agency in Calgary, Alberta. https://www.painpsychotherapy.ca/

Tanner, Anne, and Alex also run the MBody Community, which is an in-depth online course that provides step-by-step guidance for assessing, treating, and resolving mind-body pain and symptoms. https://www.mbodycommunity.com

Also check out Tanner's YouTube channel for more free education and practices: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Fl6WaFHnh4ponuexaMbFQ

And follow us for daily education posts on Instagram: @painpsychotherapy

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What if the most powerful lever for chronic pain isn’t in your muscles or joints, but in your brain’s prediction system? We sit down with a veteran Jim Prussack, physiotherapist who left a strictly structural model behind after diving deep into pain science, mentorship with John Sarno and Howard Schubiner, and years on the front lines of complex cases. The takeaway is both hopeful and concrete.

We walk through how to tell if symptoms are neuroplastic—looking at timelines, flares tied to stress, inconsistency across activities, and the absence of clear tissue damage. From there, we show why acceptance of the diagnosis is the foundation for every tool that follows, whether it’s graded exposure, cognitive functional therapy, somatic tracking, breathing, or journaling. You’ll hear how reassurance and a trauma-informed approach outperform nocebo-laden scripts like “your core is weak,” and why the best PT sometimes looks like coaching confidence rather than chasing a tight muscle.

We also get specific about mixing psychotherapy and physical therapy without sending mixed signals. For some, active PT restores trust in movement; for others, psychological work on fear, grief, and old patterns unlocks the nervous system. The unifying thread is coherence: consistent, safety-first messaging that teaches the brain to downshift from threat.

If you’re navigating persistent pain, pelvic pain, back pain, or other functional symptoms, this conversation offers a practical roadmap built on pain neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and lived clinical wisdom. Subscribe, share with someone who needs a new lens on healing, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Connect with Jim here:

Website: https://www.thepainpt.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thepainpt

Tanner Murtagh and Anne Hampson are therapists who treat neuroplastic pain and mind-body symptoms. They are also married! In his 20s, Tanner overcame chronic pain and a fibromyalgia diagnosis by learning his symptoms were occurring due to learned brain pathways and nervous system dysregulation. Post-healing, Tanner and Anne have dedicated their lives to developing effective treatment and education for neuroplastic pain and symptoms. Listen and learn how to assess your own chronic pain and symptoms, gain tools to retrain the brain and nervous system, and make gradual changes in your life and health!

The Mind-Body Couple podcast is owned by Pain Psychotherapy Canada Inc. This podcast is produced by Alex Klassen, who is one of the wonderful therapists at our agency in Calgary, Alberta. https://www.painpsychotherapy.ca/

Tanner, Anne, and Alex also run the MBody Community, which is an in-depth online course that provides step-by-step guidance for assessing, treating, and resolving mind-body pain and symptoms. https://www.mbodycommunity.com

Also check out Tanner's YouTube channel for more free education and practices: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Fl6WaFHnh4ponuexaMbFQ

And follow us for daily education posts on Instagram: @painpsychotherapy

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Love doesn’t disappear when chronic pain shows up, but it can get buried under appointments, bills, and long stretches of silence. We open up about the years when pain became the only topic in our home, the ways our roles warped into caregiver and patient, and the slow, deliberate choices that helped us find our way back to closeness while symptoms were still present. This is a story about social safety—how relationships can signal danger or safety—and how changing that signal can reduce neuroplastic pain.

We break down the hidden traps couples fall into: letting pain consume every conversation, organizing the relationship around “fighting the system,” and staying too long in a caregiver role. Then we share what worked. Communication that aims at co‑regulation rather than debate. Partner involvement that supports, not polices. Shared learning about brain-based approaches so skepticism doesn’t sabotage progress. And boundaries that protect the supporter’s identity—because a regulated partner has more to give than a depleted one.

Expect concrete takeaways you can use right away: weekly “no symptom talk” windows to protect connection, small exposure steps that rebuild everyday life together, one‑sentence appreciations that melt shame, and a clear plan to shift roles back from caregiving to companionship. If chronic pain has narrowed your world, this conversation offers a map to widen it again—without waiting for perfect health to start living. If this resonates, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and tell us: which step will you try this week?

Tanner Murtagh and Anne Hampson are therapists who treat neuroplastic pain and mind-body symptoms. They are also married! In his 20s, Tanner overcame chronic pain and a fibromyalgia diagnosis by learning his symptoms were occurring due to learned brain pathways and nervous system dysregulation. Post-healing, Tanner and Anne have dedicated their lives to developing effective treatment and education for neuroplastic pain and symptoms. Listen and learn how to assess your own chronic pain and symptoms, gain tools to retrain the brain and nervous system, and make gradual changes in your life and health!

The Mind-Body Couple podcast is owned by Pain Psychotherapy Canada Inc. This podcast is produced by Alex Klassen, who is one of the wonderful therapists at our agency in Calgary, Alberta. https://www.painpsychotherapy.ca/

Tanner, Anne, and Alex also run the MBody Community, which is an in-depth online course that provides step-by-step guidance for assessing, treating, and resolving mind-body pain and symptoms. https://www.mbodycommunity.com

Also check out Tanner's YouTube channel for more free education and practices: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Fl6WaFHnh4ponuexaMbFQ

And follow us for daily education posts on Instagram: @painpsychotherapy

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