I live in South Gloucestershire in the UK. I’m a transgender man and have two young adult kids, two cats and a dog. Over the years I’ve been a teacher, a full-time parent, a small business owner, a community choir leader, and an author – and now I’m a life coach and SIRPA practitioner.  

The Journey

“I have a long history of unexplained pain symptoms, which gradually got more persistent and severe over the years. By the start of 2020 I was at a very low point in my life. I had widespread musculoskeletal pain, along with occasional nerve pain, numbness, and muscle weakness (particularly in my arms and hands).  

I discovered the mindbody approach after seeing an ad for Curable on Instagram in May 2020. I looked up the app, started listening to the information/education section and immediately knew this was relevant to me. 

Although I believed that some of my issues were due to training injuries, I didn’t understand why they were getting worse instead of better (nor did any of the physical practitioners I saw).  

I was already aware that my symptoms were at least partly stress related, and I already had an inkling that I was somehow reinforcing the pain by focusing on it I but didn’t know how to break that cycle. I also had no idea how much emotional stuff I was suppressing and wasn’t aware how trapped I was by negative thoughts and how my typical TMS personality traits were keeping me in patterns that were creating huge amounts of internal stress. 

I started using Curable, and from connecting with other people in their Facebook group, someone recommended Nicole Sachs’ work to me. JournalSpeak was a huge part of my recovery, opening the doors to self-awareness, emotional expression, and some much-needed self-compassion. 

It’s not been a fast process for me. I had a lot of changes that I wanted to make in my life as well as in my brain and nervous system, and the last eighteen months have been a rollercoaster of self-discovery alongside ending a relationship and starting a new career. But despite all of those additional stressors, I have made gradual but very significant improvements. I’m optimistic that my symptoms will continue to fade, but when I look back I can see how far I’ve come already.  

Discovering the mindbody connection helped me get my life back on track and massively reduce my symptoms. I decided to train as a life coach and SIRPA practitioner because I’m passionate about passing on the knowledge and techniques that helped me transform my own life.”

Phil kindly shared his story in a live Q&A on the SIRPA Facebook page and answered the viewers questions. You can watch the replay below.

Join people who have found relief through the SIRPA approach to chronic pain.