Episode

Bedbound with Chronic Head Pain: JournalSpeak Saved Bethany's Life

Podcast
The Cure for Chronic Pain with Nicole Sachs, LCSW
Published
May 1, 2026
Duration seconds
2354
Processing state
not_requested
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https://tracking.swap.fm/track/JhoQDAATtO1l0y8tdKNa/traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL8921235052.mp3?updated=1777573004
Audio
https://tracking.swap.fm/track/JhoQDAATtO1l0y8tdKNa/traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL8921235052.mp3?updated=1777573004
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Markdown
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Summary

Learn how to JournalSpeak ➡️ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.yourbreakawake.com/journalspeak⁠ In this moving conversation, I sit down with Bethany Williams, whose journey through chronic pain will stop you in your tracks. More importantly, it will remind you what is truly possible. After being diagnosed with New Daily Persistent Headache in her early 20s, Bethany experienced a devastating relapse that left her in unimaginable, 11-out-of-10 pain. Bedbound for a year and a half, unable to tolerate light, sound, or even basic daily life, she reached a point where her future felt completely uncertain. And yet, what unfolds from there is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the profound capacity for healing when we begin to understand the mind-body connection. Bethany shares the turning point that shifted everything - when, after exhausting every medical avenue, she reluctantly explored MindBody work and began to see change. Using JournalSpeak alongside EMDR, nervous system regulation, and radical acceptance, she slowly moved out of survival mode and into a life that once again felt possible. We talk about the real resistance people feel when first introduced to this work (and why that resistance makes perfect sense), the role of trauma and the nervous system in chronic symptoms, and what it actually looks like to reclaim your agency when you’ve spent so long feeling powerless. What makes this conversation so powerful is not just that Bethany got her life back - it’s how her entire relationship to herself transformed along the way. We explore the concept of the “last 10%” of symptoms, why letting go of the need to be symptom-free is often the final key, and how radical acceptance creates the space for true healing. If you’ve…