From Chronic Pain to Passion

Welcome back, dear listener. In today’s episode, I got to chat with someone I’ve admired from afar for a long time, Whitney Rydman.

I first came across Whitney some years ago, when

But she didn’t start out in the mind-body world. Whitney

Whitney also winds up coaching her design clients on what has become my favorite topic lately: How the entrepreneurship journey totally mirrors the mind-body healing journey, with all of its ups and downs, leaps forward and setbacks, and I can’t wait to share with you our conversation about it!

You can find Whitney at:

Website: https://thedesignremedy.com/

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠

Journaling Course: www.annaholtzman.com/writingtorelease

Welcome back, dear listener. In today’s episode, I got to chat about the intersection between nervous system regulation and sex with my wonderful guest Vanessa Blackstone.

Vanessa is a therapist, a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and she is the Executive Director of the Pain Psychology Center as well as a co-author of The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook, which is available for pre-order now and comes out on November 1st, so I definitely recommend you grab a copy.

Vanessa earned her M.S. in Social Work from the University of Southern California and, following her own personal recovery from chronic pain, Vanessa began her career as a therapist in 2018. In addition to chronic pain treatment, she specializes in sex therapy, substance use and recovery, and mindfulness based relapse prevention, and she also works on film sets as an On-set Wellness Professional.

Outside of her professional roles, Vanessa is a former foster youth who advocates for current and former foster youth by sharing her personal experiences in public speaking events.

I have wanted to meet Vanessa for a while, but I was especially grateful to have a conversation with her about sex. Even in the year 2024, sex is STILL a taboo topic and it’s hard to find useful information that centers our human experience around sex, which includes our emotions, our beliefs, and our nervous systems as well as our physical sensations. Sex is an area where many folks with chronic pain struggle and feel isolated in that struggle. So, I am honored to share this conversation with Vanessa, who brings such compassion and humanity to the subject of sex.

You can find Vanessa at:

Book: https://www.newharbinger.com/9781648483769/the-pain-reprocessing-therapy-workbook/

The Pain Psychology Center: https://www.painpsychologycenter.com/our-team/

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠
Journaling Course: www.annaholtzman.com/writingtorelease

Welcome back, dear listener. In today’s episode, I got to have a very interesting conversation with my colleague Katie LaCelle. We talked about using Internal Family Systems Therapy to recover from insomnia, we talked about detoxing from early childhood survival habits of urgency and overwork, we talked about so many nuances of the mind-body process that I’m almost sure you’ll see yourself in at least some part of our chat.

Katie is a somatic IFS practitioner & leadership coach. She is passionate about helping her clients uncover their own internal wise leaders and reconnect with their deepest embodied intuition. IFS, or internal family systems, is a trauma-informed modality that can help you get present, rewire your brain, and regulate your nervous system. Katie regularly assists the IFS Institute in training therapists and practitioners, and she is currently pursuing her somatic experiencing practitioner certification. Fun fact: Katie has worked part time in the circus for 8 years, coaching and performing on the flying trapeze. I hope that’s got you curious. Now, here’s our

You can find Katie at:
Website: https://www.cressanallc.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cressanallc/

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠

Welcome back, dear listener. In today's episode, I got to chat with another dear friend and colleague, Petra Schmider. And I'm so excited to have Petra on the podcast to talk about a condition that is getting a lot more attention lately, but that is also surrounded by a lot of confusion and conflicting information.

Petra has a deep body of knowledge and understanding about Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, or EDS, because she herself was diagnosed with EDS. She's also a mind-body practitioner who has used mind-body techniques to recover from debilitating pain associated with EDS. And she's going to take us deeply into the complexities of how a genetic and incurable condition like EDS can be intertwined with neuroplastic pain, which very much can be reduced or even eliminated through the use of mind-body techniques. It's a fascinating conversation that can be applied to many other conditions as well, not just EDS, and I can't wait for you to hear this.

You can find Petra at:
Website: https://www.painawaycoach.com/our-story

Email: [email protected]

Petra’s recovery story on The Curiosity Cure podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2e29-petras-pain-recovery-dream-life/id1595415545?i=1000661834736

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠
Journaling Course: www.annaholtzman.com/writingtorelease

Welcome back dear listeners. Today, I have no guest because I’m going to share another talk that I gave recently. Using my voice is something that I’ve discovered I love to do. And something I’m particularly passionate about is breaking down the concepts of chronic pain recovery into very simple language. There are lots of different ways to communicate these concepts, and there are many very eloquent practitioners and researchers out there who use neuroscience terminology, facts and figures from research studies, and other lofty sounding language to communicate these ideas. And that is fantastic! That kind of language really speaks to people in a particular way and it serves a specific purpose in our society. And, my contribution to this conversation about mind-body healing comes in a very different type of language from that. Because my personal mission is really about encouraging people, like you, the listener, to develop trust in your own inner wisdom and your own innate understanding of your own lived experience.

And to encourage that, I make it a point whenever I can to use everyday language. And instead of using a lot of scientific jargon — not that it doesn’t have its place — I prefer to use everyday metaphors to help you understand that, just by being alive, you already have all the tools you need to understand what’s going on in your mind and body. It’s really just about tuning in and paying attention, and leaning into what you already know about life based on other experiences that we can use as metaphors.

And now, I hope you’ll enjoy this talk in which I’ll break down the process of chronic pain recovery into three simple concepts. Fair warning, this talk does include some mild bathroom humor.

You can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠

Welcome back, dear listener. In today’s episode, I got to chat with a dear friend and colleague, Phil de la Haye.

Phil is an Internal Family Systems (IFS) practitioner and mind-body coach based near Bristol in the UK. He has his own history of chronic pain, so he has a personal interest in this work and a great passion for supporting other people who are in recovery from chronic symptoms. 

I personally find the IFS framework to be incredibly helpful with chronic symptom recovery and Phil did an amazing job of explaining that framework in our conversation, so I know you’ll get a lot out of this episode.

Phil and I met about three years ago through some Facebook group I think — probably a group for mind-body practitioners, but I was already familiar with Phil’s story after hearing him interviewed on a podcast called The Cure for Chronic Pain with Nicole Sachs. Anyway, somehow, we connected, and we’ve been meeting on Zoom together about once a month off and on.

In theory we meet to talk about client work and offer each other support with that. But quite often we wind up sharing our own personal experiences, how stress shows up in our bodies as we continue to be human beings, and just to generally connect. And I’m sharing this because developing friendships and connections with other people who “get it” has been such an important and enjoyable part of my own recovery from chronic pain — and my development as a person.

It's a big part of the reason that I created my monthly membership group, the Mind-Body Support Circle. We meet up twice a month on Zoom to talk about chronic symptom recovery, to journal together, and most importantly to share honestly and vulnerably with each other and give and receive support! It’s such a simple, beautiful thing. I remember one group member recently saying, “we are changing the world by doing this together.” And I totally agree with that.

If you would like to join us, you can do so by signing up for my signature journaling course, Writing to Release Chronic Pain. When you sign up, you’ll be invited to two months of complementary membership in the Support Circle so that you can experience it and see if it’s for you. I’d love to get to know you there. To learn more, visit my website, annaholtzman.com/writingtorelease

And now, without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Phil de la Haye.

You can find Phil at:

Website: www.phildelahaye.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/phildelahayeifs/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/phildelahayeifs

FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/901827657282916

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠

Welcome back, dear listener. Today’s episode is a little bit

I am such a strong believer in group coaching, because it has helped me overcome so many different fears, and it has helped me to step forward into my passions in life in so many different ways.

And that’s also the reason why, this year, I have launched my own group coaching program to support people — perhaps like you — to heal from chronic pain so you can pursue your own passion. My group meets twice per month on Zoom and it is just the most wonderfully supportive, loving, kind, wise group of people. We come together, we talk about different topics in chronic pain recovery. We share struggles and triumphs. And we support each other. And if this sounds like something you’d like to experience, I would love to have you join us. And you can do that now, simply by enrolling in my signature journaling course, Writing to Release Chronic Pain, which you’ll find on my website, www.annaholtzman.com/writingtorelease .

And when you enroll in the course, you’ll be invited to join us for two months of group coaching to test it out, and see if you’d like to become an ongoing monthly member. I would love to see you there, and if you have questions about the program, you can email me at [email protected]

You can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠

Welcome back, dear listeners. In this episode, it was so fun to meet a kindred spirit who, like me, used to work in television and is now a mind-body practitioner. And also like me, this guest is a big proponent of self-compassion and self-trust.

Rebecca Tolin is a mind-body coach, educator and writer who comes to this field through a 13-year saga with chronic fatigue syndrome. After seeing 50 practitioners, Rebecca finally recovered through the mind-body model. This experience was so profound that she’s devoted her work to helping people with chronic fatigue, long COVID and other neuroplastic symptoms. Rebecca is the creator of the Be Your Own Medicine course, which blends mind-body education with somatic meditation, emotional awareness, exposure therapy and nervous system regulation. She spreads science and story through her blog and YouTube channel. And prior to this career, Rebecca worked as a broadcast journalist for ABC, NBC and PBS affiliates. 

You can find Rebecca at:

Website: https://www.rebeccatolin.com/

Free somatic meditation: https://www.rebeccatolin.com/newsletter

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠

Welcome back, dear listeners. I’m so glad to bring you this conversation with my guest Amy Corfeli, about living with endometriosis and using mind-body tools to manage the symptoms of a physical, biological condition.

Amy, whose pronouns are she/her, is an endometriosis advocate who was diagnosed with endo at thirty-three, sixteen years after her symptoms began. She’s the host of the podcast In Sixteen Years of Endometriosis, which explores endometriosis with a multidisciplinary focus, including interviews with excision surgeons, discussions on mental health, and more.

Amy is also the author of Finding Peace with a Devastating Disease. It's a beautifully raw and honest collection of seventy-six reflections on acceptance, meaning, and self-compassion. Amy’s advocacy goals are to help empower patients to make informed decisions about their care, and to open discussions on how to improve our quality of life on both a physical and emotional level.

I think this conversation is important for so many reasons. There’s far too little understanding and knowledge about endometriosis, and I personally learned a ton about it from Amy. But beyond this specific condition, we spoke about the limitations of black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking when it comes to distinctions and intersections between our physical and our emotional experiences, which is something that I think every listener will relate to in some way.

You can find Amy at:

Instagram: @in16yearsofendo 

En español: @endo.en.lo.profundo

Website: www.insixteenyears.com

Podcast: In Sixteen Years of Endometriosis 

Spotify podcast link: https://open.spotify.com/show/5t49D3WuwGZjON2secRNAK

Book: Finding Peace with a Devastating Disease (available on Amazon worldwide)

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: [email protected]

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠

Welcome back, dear listeners. I’m excited to share with you a raw and unfiltered conversation I had with my friend and colleague Deb Malkin, all about the beautifully messy reality of being a human being who is evolving and growing while also helping others to heal and grow.

Deb, whose pronouns are she/they, is a feminist, master certified mind-body pain recovery coach, specializing in using the tools of neuro + bioplasticity and consciously curious hypno-coaching to help people unlearn pain and emotional stress symptoms in order to feel better and pursue their amazing lives. Deb has helped clients recover from back pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, GI pain and more.

Deb and I are also part of a cohort of mind-body coaches who get together about twice a month and let it all hang out together, which has been so instrumental for my growth. And as we’ll talk about, it’s not always easy letting yourself be vulnerable, even in the most supportive of spaces. But what I find over and over again is that it’s so worth it, because the healing and growth that comes from allowing ourselves to connect with one another through our vulnerability and honesty is really the only gateway to joy in life, as far as I can tell.

So, here’s me and Deb getting real with each other — and with you — about what it’s like to be a beautifully messy human being who helps other beautifully messy human beings. And I hope this conversation serves as a permission slip to let your own beautiful messiness shine through.

You can find Deb at:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/curiositycure.coach/

Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-curiosity-cure-mindbody-wellness/id1595415545

And you can find me at:

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@anna_holtzman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email:

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.annaholtzman.com⁠