Dr Anna Redmond

Most people are taught that flare-ups mean damage, regression, or failure.

So when symptoms spike, the interpretation becomes:
“I overdid it.”
“I set myself back.”
“I’m broken again.”

But clinically, that is often not what is happening.

In persistent pain, a flare-up is usually a protection response, not a damage report.

The nervous system increases output when it detects threat, overload, unpredictability, or pressure. That can happen even when tissues are stable and nothing new is injured.

Two people can do the same activity:
Same walk. Same workout. Same chore list.

One nervous system reads it as safe and tolerable.
The other reads it as threat and goes protective.

Different output. Same input.

In my coaching work, one of the first shifts we build is this:
We stop treating flare-ups as proof of harm and start reading them as data.

When the interpretation changes, behavior changes.
When behavior changes, the system settles faster.

If you want the structured training where I break down how to decode and reduce flare-ups step by step, DM me the word TRAINING and I will send over the details!




sensitization

persistentpain
mindbodypain
neuroplasticity
paineducation
womenwithchronicpain
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biopsychosocialmodel

Recovery is rhythmic, not forceful.

Most people with persistent pain try to improve the same way they’ve succeeded in other parts of life: more effort, more intensity, more discipline.

That works for skill building.

It often fails for nervous system-driven pain.

Because the pain system is not trained by force.

It is trained by repeated signals of safety and predictability.

This is why I often see this pattern:

Someone has a “good day” and does extra - longer walk, full workout, catches up on everything.

The next day they flare and assume they set themselves back.

It’s not weakness.

It’s a system that reads spikes in demand as threat and turns protection back up.

Research in pain neuroscience, central sensitization, and graded exposure shows that tolerance improves most reliably through gradual, repeatable, low-threat exposure, not intensity bursts.

In real life that looks like:

• stopping before overload instead of after
• repeating doable amounts instead of testing limits
• building routine before increasing challenge
• valuing steadiness over hero days

Force teaches the system to guard.

Rhythm teaches the system it’s safe.

If you want the step-by-step framework I use with clients to build this, start with the free guide and video linked in my bio.






pacingforpain
neuroplasticity
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persistentpain
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womenwithchronicpain
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Most people learn about chronic pain through a biomedical lens:

injury → damage → fix the tissue.

The biopsychosocial model expands this.

Pain is influenced by biology, psychology, and social context.

But here is the part most explanations stop short of:

Your nervous system is constantly asking one question:

“Am I safe?”

When stress, pressure, perfectionism, trauma, unpredictability, or high expectations are present, the system interprets them as threat.

Threat increases sensitivity.
Sensitivity increases pain persistence.

This is why someone can have a clear MRI and still experience severe pain.

This is why pushing harder often backfires.

This is why rest alone is not enough.

In practice, with clients, this looks like:

• Reducing unpredictable demands
• Building consistent rhythms in movement and work
• Shifting internal pressure and self-talk
• Increasing signals of safety through pacing, support, and meaning

Not less life.
Not more meds, appointments, and procedures with nothing else.

More sustainable life.

If you want a deeper walkthrough of how this model applies to recovery (and what to do next), my guide is linked in bio.






neuroplasticity
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womenwithchronicpain
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Pacing is often misunderstood as doing less, pulling back, or restricting your life.

It seems like it’s not doable for anyone trying to get through the things they need to do.

And that framing completely misses the point.

Pacing is actually about aligning activity with how the nervous system actually adapts.

Not through intensity or short bursts of effort, but through predictable, sustainable patterns the system can trust.

When pacing is treated as restriction, people tend to:
• underdo on hard days
• overdo on better ones
• monitor constantly
• swing between hope and frustration

That pattern keeps the nervous system in a state of vigilance.

Effective pacing looks different:
• activity is consistent rather than heroic
• rest is planned instead of reactive
• decisions are guided by capacity, not pressure
• the body receives steady signals instead of mixed ones

Over time, that predictability reduces threat.
Reduced threat allows the system to stand down.

That is when pain patterns often begin to change.

This is the framework I walk clients through when “doing less” hasn’t helped and “pushing through” has backfired.

If you want a clearer explanation of how this works and how I apply it in practice, you can start with my free guide - comment “guide” or the link is in my bio.






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In pain science and behavior change research, the nervous system does not recalibrate through intensity or willpower.
�It changes through repeated, predictable signals of safety.

Pressure based approaches like pushing harder, being stricter, or trying to do it right this time often increase vigilance in the nervous system. That vigilance can amplify pain, fatigue, and symptom flares, even when tissue has healed or stabilized.

This is what I see in my sessions with clients.

When people rely on pressure, their days often look like:
• overdoing on good days
• crashing on harder ones
• constantly monitoring symptoms
• feeling behind or frustrated when the body does not cooperate.

When we shift toward rhythm, the work changes:
• movement becomes regular instead of heroic
• rest is planned instead of reactive
• expectations match capacity rather than ideals
• the nervous system receives steady signals instead of mixed ones.

Over time, reduced threat allows the system to stand down.
�That is often when pain patterns begin to change.

This is not about doing less forever.�It is about doing things in a way the nervous system can actually integrate, day after day.

This is the lens I use with clients who feel stuck despite trying everything.
�Not more pressure.�Better signals.

If this reframes how you think about effort or pain, save this post!

And if someone you care about keeps pushing through symptoms, share it with them❤️.

Thank you for showing up here today!






chronicpainrecovery
somatichealing
stressandpain
psychologyofpain
neuroplasticity
healingwithoutforcing

Understanding a diagnosis can be validating.

It can explain structure, injury, or disease.

And damn, sometimes it feels really good to just get one after years of searching.

But it doesn’t always explain why pain continues long after healing.

.Or why symptoms feel disproportionate, unpredictable, or overwhelming.

Pain is shaped by both the body and the nervous system.

This is why two people with the same diagnosis can have very different pain experiences.

Think about the things that can fall in the “threat” (vs. Safety) category when it comes to chronic pain...

- fear of activity
- fear of flare-ups
- language from your doctor
- the findings on your imaging
- past experience with movement
- worries about your future
- guilt about letting people down
- grief about what you’ve lost along the way

Addressing the nervous system doesn’t replace medical care.
It explains what medical care alone often can’t.

The guide in my bio walks through this framework carefully and leaves you with actionable steps.

This approach works best for people who are ready to slow down and understand their pain, not rush to fix it.

I know as women that we are always telling ourselves that we just need to:

- try harder
- be more disciplined
- just manage better

And if you’re doing this AND living with chronic pain, I think you should know that chronic pain isn’t a personal failure.

But this internal voice that drives us to be better, also keeps pain active.

The nervous system doesn’t respond to effort the way muscles do.

It responds to perceived danger.

For many capable, responsible women, pressure becomes the signal.

Trying harder = staying on high alert.

This is why pain can escalate even when you’re doing everything “right.”

And why rest, pacing, and symptom management only help up to a point.

Sustainable change starts when the threat response is reduced (not when effort increases).

The guide in my bio explains this framework in depth.

This is not for people looking for quick relief, reassurance, or another strategy to push through.

This work is for people ready to understand why their pain persists and change their relationship with their body- long term.