Emotions, Alexithymia and Chronic Pain

The underlying concept behind the SIRPA approach is that pain and many other persistent health conditions are often triggered, or perpetuate, as a result of the build-up of unresolved emotions related to past or current chronic stress or trauma. These symptoms are part of the brain’s primal protective/‘fight or flight’ response.  These days though ‘threats’ are generally more of the psychological kind, rather than potentially life-threatening situations, like facing a lion or a sabre-toothed tiger. For example, a result of how we react to what is going on in our lives (e.g. over-analysing, ruminating, worrying etc), rather than just what is actually happening........

​Georgie Oldfield is a physiotherapist in the UK who trains health care practitioners in Mind-Body medicine . Please read
her story.