The Mind-Body Couple

Tanner explains how danger self-talk can keep the nervous system dysregulated by continually reinforcing a sense of danger. When your nervous system is dysregulated, your brain naturally moves toward worry, negative biasing, and problems. This is reversible! But the intervention requires more than just targeting thoughts. We guide a simple practice to watch thoughts with distance, shift into the b...

We read out the kinds of comments so many listeners have heard:  “it’s all in your head,” “just push through,” “you look fine” We unpack why those words  spike fear, isolation when you're dealing with chronic pain and symptoms. We share a story from early in our relationship, when a vacation we hoped would reset everything turned into a painful turning point. It’s messy and honest. We talk ab...

In today's episode, Tanner and Anne provide ideas on how to get to the root cause of your chronic pain or symptoms. Neuroplastic pain/symptoms occur when there's a sense of danger and dysregulation in the brain and nervous system - not due to physical disease or damage. So it makes sense to ask - what's creating this sense of danger? You'll learn about pain/symptoms can be fuel...

Dr. Howard Schubiner just might be the most experienced and knowledgable physician on the planet, when it comes to the research and treatment of neuroplastic pain and symptoms. We're honoured to have him join us!  Howard sits down with Tanner to teach and share about his new book, Unlearn Your Pain. You'll hear about: • Howard's path into mind-body medicine and why this work challen...

Anxiety feels chronic for many of us, and it gets even harder when it increases due to chronic pain and symptoms. Tanner sits down with our producer and fellow therapist, Alex Klassen, to zoom in on neuroception : your body’s antenna that scans for danger before your thinking mind even has a chance to weigh in. When your neuroception is sensitized, it starts overreading threat in everyday moments....

The rules many women are handed... be agreeable, don’t be too much, handle everything... aren’t just exhausting. They reshape the nervous system’s sense of safety and can wire the body for neuroplastic pain and symptoms. We connect the dots between culture, trauma, medical minimization, and neuroplastic pain/symptoms, and consider how small steps can lead women to recover voice and rebuild fair sy...

If you're using a mind-body approach to heal your chronic pain/symptoms, the right therapist is a game-changer. Tanner sits down with fellow chronic pain psychotherapist, Paul LePointe, to discuss different therapy approaches and styles. Tanner and Paul discuss their practice, help you understand your options, and provide practical ideas on how to find the right therapist for you. Tanner and...

Tanner hosts a solo episode, sharing a free somatic tracking practice from the MBody Community digital course. Tanner first explains how chronic pain and symptoms can be neuroplastic (caused by the brain, not the body). He then breaks down the sensitization cycle - the feedback loop that makes symptoms sustain and worsen. Tanner provides practical instructions on the how to use somatic tracking to...

In this episode, we are joined by one of the world's leading expert physicians on neuroplastic pain and symptoms. Dr. Rebecca Kennedy sits down with Tanner, sharing science, personal stories, and practical ideas to get to the root of chronic symptoms - and heal! We discuss how chronic fatigue and long COVID are commonly neuroplastic - meaning they are generated by the brain and nervous system...

We answer a listener’s question about the freeze response, teaching a straightforward method to move from freeze to safety. We normalize triggers and provide practical ideas you can use to respond when your nervous system drops in to danger mode. • Learn the ADDS skill: ask why, drop in, describe, shift to safety • Hear Tanner's personal story of rejection and freeze, and how he got out For m...

In this special episode, where we're joined by our producer (and fellow psychotherapist) Alex Klassen. We each showed up - without any previous conversation -  ready to share our answer to the question: What is THE #1 Strategy to Cure Neuroplastic Pain or Symptoms? And as you might predict - we didn't all pick the same strategy! Join us as we discuss: Becoming informed about neuroplastic...

Ambition doesn’t have to cost your health. We start with the core problem: living neck up. Our culture rewards cognition—thinking, fixing, producing—while the body’s signals get ignored until they become symptoms. We dig into how to build a meaningful career without reigniting chronic pain/symptoms or overwhelming your nervous system. Tanner shares his personal experience, running two small busine...

We answer Joni’s question about healing medical trauma after a health scare and show how to restore nervous system regulation using embodiment, exposure, and personal safety signals. We break down therapy room steps and an at-home plan to reduce dysregulation following traumatic events. We explore: • Medical trauma as a driver of health anxiety and chronic symptoms • Why avoidance reinforces dange...

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...

Send your questions to be answered live on the podcast to: info@painpsychotherapy.ca The holidays can be filled with joy, but for many living with chronic pain or chronic illness, December brings spikes in symptoms, packed calendars, and pressure to perform happiness. We unpack why this happens through a brain and nervous system lens and share a realistic survival guide you can actually use, even...

What if the most powerful lever for chronic pain isn’t in your muscles or joints, but in your brain’s pain system? We sit down with Jim Prussack a physiotherapist who left a strictly structural model behind after diving deep into pain science, mentorship with John Sarno and Howard Schubiner, and years on the front lines of complex cases. The takeaway is both hopeful and concrete. We walk through h...

Send your questions to be answered live on the podcast to: info@painpsychotherapy.ca Love doesn’t disappear when chronic pain shows up, but it can get buried under appointments, bills, and long stretches of silence. We open up about the years when pain became the only topic in our home, the ways our roles warped into caregiver and patient, and the slow, deliberate choices that helped us find our w...

We unpack polyvagal theory, starting with neuroception, the body’s below-conscious radar that constantly scans for danger or safety. When that radar gets oversensitive after stress, adversity, or trauma, it misreads harmless cues as threats. The result is chronic dysregulation that fuels neuroplastic pain, fatigue, gut issues, and anxiety—even when your logical mind says, “I’m fine.” We walk throu...

PLEASE READ THE DISCLAIMER BELOW BEFORE BEGINNING THIS PROGRAM. If you live with chronic pain, fatigue, or illness, you’ve probably tried everything — medications, treatments, diets — and nothing seems to work long-term. That’s because for many people, the real root of chronic symptoms isn’t in the body… it’s in the brain and nervous system. This video introduces a free 30-day program designed to...

What if the aches, tension, and fatigue you’ve been fighting are your emotions asking to be felt? We unpack the research on emotional suppression and show how a nervous system stuck in “danger” can translate stress into very real pain/illness—without structural damage. Drawing on studies of suppression and stress reactivity and clinical insights from neuroplastic pain work, we make the science pra...

What if your most stubborn pain isn’t a broken body, but a brilliant brain trying to protect you? We open up about Tanner’s journey from spreading knee, shoulder, and back pain to a full recovery, and how the real turning point came when he reframed pain as a danger signal from the nervous system—not proof of damage. You’ll hear the messy middle too: fear, failed treatments, shrinking routines, an...

Your brain can learn safety, and that changes everything about chronic pain and illness. We’re pulling back the curtain on brain retraining—what it is, what it isn’t, and how to use it day to day without turning healing into a pressure-filled project. If you’ve ever tried a practice, felt your pain/symptom drop once, and then chased that result like a pain pill, this conversation will reset your a...

The body’s alarm system can get stuck on high when chronic pain and persistent symptoms take over, and we give that pattern a name: sensitization trauma. We unpack how symptoms, scary medical opinions, and hope-disappointment cycles teach the nervous system to brace, avoid, and shut down—and why recognizing this isn’t a setback, it’s a turning point. We start by defining sensitization trauma as th...

Fear quietly writes rules that shrink a life: no hard chairs, no long walks, no lifting, no plans. In this episode, we share a practical roadmap to go from bedbound and fearful to confident and moving, grounded in the science of neuroplastic pain/symptoms and the lived experience of rebuilding capacity step by step. We start with the real pivot points—those “open window” moments when symptoms ease...

Have you found yourself avoiding more and more activities as your pain or symptoms increase? Do you have an ever-growing list of movements, positions, or situations you need to avoid "or else"? You're not alone, and there's a fascinating explanation for why this happens. Tanner and Anne dive deep into how chronic pain creates a shrinking world through avoidance behaviors. Drawi...