Pain Psychotherapy Canada Inc.

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Pain Psychotherapy Canada Inc.

Pain Psychotherapy Canada’s mission is to support clients in greatly reducing their chronic pain.

Website and Social Media Disclaimer: https://www.painpsychotherapy.ca/disclaimer

Disclaimer: The information provided by Pain Psychotherapy Canada Inc., and its director Tanner Murtagh, on this page is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice, psychotherapy, or counselling. Please Read
If you are in immediate danger, please call a local emergency telephone number or go immediately to the nearest emergency room.

04/11/2026

You don’t need to obsess over your symptoms to heal… but avoiding them completely isn’t the answer either.

When pain or symptoms are neuroplastic, your brain is constantly scanning for danger. Indifference helps by showing your brain these sensations aren’t important. But mindful, safe attention teaches your brain something even more powerful: there’s no threat here.

It’s not about fixing, fighting, or analyzing. It’s about changing your relationship to what you feel.

Most of the day: shift your focus and starve the fear.
A few intentional moments: gently tune in with curiosity and calm.

Both approaches send the same message, you are safe.

And safety is what allows symptoms to fade.

You’ve got this 💚

04/10/2026

Widening your world is a necessary key to healing

When you experience chronic pain or symptoms, you naturally start avoiding things that make your symptoms worse.

But when symptoms are neuroplastic (caused by the brain, not the body) this avoidance reinforces danger in your brain and nervous system.

With avoidance, the brain says “I’m doing such a good job of protecting you - now you don’t do that thing at all! And if you do, we’ll feel in danger. I’ll make symptoms to protect you!”

If your symptoms are neuroplastic, breaking the rules and widening your world is how you heal.

Using graded exposure, you can go a bit further each day, consciously showing your brain you can do what it subconsciously thought you shouldn’t.

And as you widen your world, not only do symptoms reduce - life gets better!

What’s a small step you can take to widen your world today?

04/09/2026

Everyone’s talking about “releasing trauma”… but what does that actually mean?

Trauma isn’t about how big the event was, it’s about how your nervous system responded. When something overwhelms your system and can’t be processed, your body trauma becomes stuck in the nervous system…even long after the danger is gone.

When people hear “trauma is stored in the body,” the instinct is to force a big emotional release. But pushing yourself into intense states can actually reinforce the feeling of danger, not heal it.

Real healing is slower (and more powerful):
small, repeated moments of safety. That’s how your nervous system learns you’re okay again.

If you’re ready to start that process, we’re here to support you 🤍

Sign up for a free 20-minute consultation with one of our therapists (available in Canada).

OR Sign up for our digital course (available worldwide)

Links in bio!

04/08/2026

Stuck in fear-based, critical, or obsessive thoughts? That’s your brain trying to protect you, not harm you.

The A.D.D.S. skill helps you shift out of danger mode and back into safety:
✨ Ask why your thoughts are showing up (get curious)
✨ Drop in and Describe what you’re feeling (build awareness)
✨ Shift with somatic, behavioural, and cognitive safety signals

You don’t have to believe every thought. Notice it, understand it, and gently guide your nervous system back to safety.

04/06/2026

In this video, I explain the key sensitization factors that can dysregulate the nervous system and lead to chronic pain and persistent symptoms.

You’ll learn how prolonged stress states like fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or shutdown can make the body more sensitive over time. I also explore the impact of childhood adversity, trauma, and medical experiences on chronic symptoms.

I discuss how unprocessed trauma and ongoing social stress can keep symptoms active, along with how negative beliefs about the body can increase fear and worsen neuroplastic pain. This video helps you identify which factors may apply to you so you can better understand your symptoms and begin focusing on the healing work that truly matters.

04/05/2026

You’re not lazy. You’re dysregulated.

When your nervous system is chronically dysregulated, you can lose access to the sympathetic energy needed for motivation, creativity, and drive.

So what looks like “lack of discipline” is often your system trying to protect you.

The problem?
Shame makes it worse.

Shame → more dysregulation → less energy → more shame.

Instead of pushing harder, start supporting your nervous system.

Because motivation isn’t something you force… it’s something that returns when your system feels safe again.

Follow along for simple tools to help you feel more energized, alive, and like yourself again.

04/04/2026

How do we assess neuroplastic pain?

It starts with a thorough assessment.

We look for two things
• Symptoms that don’t fully make physical sense
• A sensitized nervous system

You don’t need to meet every criteria.

If your symptoms are neuroplastic that’s good news they’re treatable.

Healing starts with understanding what’s really going on.

Note: this is for educational purposes only not medical advice.

04/03/2026

When I had chronic pain, I was obsessed with my symptoms. Every morning I would wake up and intensely scan my body for pain sensations. I thought about my pain 80% of the day. I talked about it constantly with my partner. I’d spend hours on Google looking for causes and treatments.

All my behaviours during the day were focused on fixing and solving my symptoms. Maybe this sounds familiar to you?

If so, it is vital to understand that obsessing about your pain or symptoms will worsen the sensations over time. Obsessive thinking and compulsive actions increase fight-or-flight energy and repeatedly signal to the brain that your body must be broken or diseased. This sense of danger can maintain or even worsen your symptoms.

To heal pain and symptoms, we need to overcome our obsession with them.

A simple way to start reducing the obsession with your symptoms is to give your brain something else to think about or do. We need to shift our focus to something other than pain, symptoms, and body sensations.

For myself, I did this by:

* Starting to do artwork again
* Listening to my favorite bands from the past
* Taking cheap online courses on topics I was interested in
* Researching what career I would want to pursue once my pain reduced
* Talking to a friend on the phone each day

Make a list of all the things you could think about, focus on, or do instead of focusing on your symptoms. Then, each time you notice your brain becoming hyper-focused on your symptoms, practice intentionally shifting to something on that list. With repetition, this can retrain your brain out of the obsession.

04/01/2026

What if chronic pain and symptoms aren’t always caused by injury or damage?

Research shows many symptoms are *neuroplastic* — meaning they’re driven by the brain and nervous system, not structural issues in the body.

That doesn’t make them any less real.
It just means they can be *retrained*.

For the past 5 years, we’ve been helping clients shift how they understand and respond to their symptoms — using evidence-based approaches like Pain Reprocessing Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and more.

And we see it every day:
Symptoms go down. Ability goes up.

When you change your relationship with your symptoms, your nervous system can start to feel safe again.

Ready to try a different approach? Book a free 20-minute consult (link in bio).

03/31/2026

Your nervous system isn’t broken; it’s protecting you.

Chronic anxiety, pain, fatigue, and other symptoms are often signs of a sensitized nervous system, shaped by stress, trauma, or past experiences.

The good news? It can be retrained.

Healing starts with understanding your body, reducing fear, and sending consistent signals of safety.

Start small:
Consider a simple thing you can do, in this moment, to guide your nervous system to safety. 💚✨

03/30/2026

Stop trying to make symptoms disappear… that’s where real change begins.

Tools like somatic tracking, meditation, and calming techniques can help, but if you’re using them to fix symptoms in the moment, your brain may still read danger.

Healing happens when you shift from control → acceptance.

When you fully allow sensations, your brain learns: this is safe.

And when the brain feels safe… symptoms lose their power.

Comment HEAL NOW and I’ll send you a free meditation to help you practice this.

03/29/2026

Your brain runs on feedback loops and they can keep you stuck or help you heal.

Ask yourself:
What loops am I reinforcing right now?

Address

Suite 300, 160 Quarry Park Boulevard SE
Calgary, AB
T2C3G3

Telephone

+15874387082

Website

https://linktr.ee/painpsychotherapy

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