Make 2026 The Year You Heal Chronic Pain and Symptoms

Jan 1, 2026

Dive into the transformative journey toward healing chronic pain! Discover how reframing symptoms through a neuroplastic lens can empower your recovery. Learn why full commitment to brain-based approaches is crucial for real change. Explore the sensitization cycle and the importance of responding with safety. Uncover the hidden rules that limit your life and how graded exposure can help you reclaim movement and joy. Small, incremental wins are highlighted as essential steps toward symptom reduction.

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ADVICE

Fully Commit To A Brain-Based Approach

Commit fully to a brain-and-nervous-system approach when physical tests and treatments stop helping.
Shift focus from treating the body to retraining the brain with daily practices and routines.

INSIGHT

No Findings ≠ No Hope

Repeated normal tests plus ineffective physical treatments suggest symptoms may be neuroplastic.
Neuroplastic symptoms arise from a brain stuck in a heightened danger state, not structural damage.

ANECDOTE

Moment Of Commitment After Hopeless Diagnosis

Tanner describes a turning point when a doctor said he had hypersensitive nerves and would be in pain for life, which pushed him to commit to brain retraining.
That decision marked the start of his focused daily practices and recovery journey.

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Send your questions to be answered live on the podcast to: info@painpsychotherapy.ca

Ready to make 2026 the year you unlearn chronic pain or symptoms? We’re laying out 4 clear steps to heal.

We start by reframing chronic symptoms through a neuroplastic lens: when assessments are clear and physical fixes stall, it often means the body is capable but the brain’s danger system is overprotective.

From there, we dig into full commitment—trading treatment inconsistentcy for dedicated daily practices that teach safety. You’ll hear how small, measurable wins mark real change that leads to symptom reduction.

Next, we break down the sensitization cycle and how to respond to sensations with safety instead of danger. We discuss embodiment practices that help you approach pain with curiosity, pairing these practices with safety signals like slow breathing and grounded awareness.

Then we tackle the hidden rulebook—those “don’t bend, don’t eat, must stretch” rules that keep life small and fuel symptoms. We discuss how graded exposure can retrain the brain and reclaim movement, foods, places, and activities one small step at a time.

Along the way, we share real-world examples, mindset shifts, and function-first goals that make this work feel doable and meaningful.

If you’re ready to replace fear with skills and grow your world again, hit play, save this one, and share it with someone who needs hope.

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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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