Living with chronic pain? This woman’s unexpected breakthrough might be worth trying
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Sometimes, your body tells a story that no scan or diagnosis can fully explain.
For years, a young woman battled relentless pain, searching for relief where medicine came up short.
What she found instead would change the course of her life—and challenge the very way we think about chronic illness.
It all started with a realization that the answer might not be in the body at all.
At 19, Nicole Sachs was told she’d likely spend her adult life in a wheelchair.
Doctors warned her that her spine was deteriorating and her best hope was risky fusion surgery.
Even then, they couldn’t promise it would stop the searing pain that defined her daily life.
She was terrified—but something didn’t sit right.
Before committing to surgery, she began exploring the connection between her emotions and her symptoms.
She found herself drawn to mind-body medicine, a field that suggests suppressed trauma can manifest as physical pain.
Through her research, Nicole came to believe her back wasn’t broken—her nervous system was. That belief didn’t just comfort her; it changed her health entirely.
Today, Nicole is a mother of three who lives pain-free—without surgery, opioids, or invasive treatments. In her book Mind Your Body, she explains how unresolved emotional pain rewires the brain and body.
Also read: Nature’s way, so no prescription is needed: How diet can mimic the effects of Ozempic
Her method, called JournalSpeak, encourages people to release repressed feelings in order to quiet the nervous system’s pain signals.
It's an approach that has helped thousands, and it all starts with a notebook and 20 minutes.
For Nicole, healing began when she understood that pain can be real without being rooted in structural damage.
Many people with chronic illness are told it’s all in your head, but she says that’s the wrong message entirely.
Instead, pain can be the body’s way of coping with emotional overload, a survival response gone haywire. The solution, then, is not to silence the pain—but to listen to it.
Ancient medicine long acknowledged the mind-body connection, but modern healthcare has largely separated the two.
Nicole believes this divide has left millions suffering needlessly, stuck in cycles of pills, surgeries, and hopelessness.
By reconnecting to her inner world and processing unspoken emotions, she learned to regulate her pain at its source. The body, she says, can heal when the mind feels safe.
Also read: Are you missing this 30-minute daily habit that could cut your risk of sudden cardiac death in half?
Nicole's JournalSpeak method is simple but powerful. Each day, you write unfiltered thoughts about a triggering emotion—anger, grief, fear, or shame.
After 20 minutes, the entry is discarded, never reread, to symbolically release the emotional weight. Then, you follow it with a short meditation or calming breathwork to ground your system.
This routine tells the brain it's safe to stop sending pain signals.
In chronic pain, the brain often gets stuck in "fight or flight" mode, flooding the body with stress hormones.
That state, if sustained, can lead to conditions like fibromyalgia, IBS, and unexplained back pain. But when trauma is safely expressed, the body no longer needs to scream.
Science is catching up to Nicole’s discovery. Studies have shown that chronic pain and PTSD share neurological patterns, especially in the amygdala.
Repressed anger and stress can activate these circuits, keeping the body in a loop of suffering. Mind-body practices like JournalSpeak are proving to be a way out.
Nicole's recovery wasn’t a miracle—it was a shift in perspective. By treating her emotions with the same seriousness as her physical symptoms, she found lasting relief. She’s now dedicated her life to helping others do the same. Her message is simple: you are not broken — you are burdened.
Read next: This low-effort habit could help clear your mind and lift your mood
Have you battled chronic pain? Tried journaling, meditation, or breathwork? We’d love to hear your story. Share your experience in the comments. You never know who you might inspire.
For years, a young woman battled relentless pain, searching for relief where medicine came up short.
What she found instead would change the course of her life—and challenge the very way we think about chronic illness.
It all started with a realization that the answer might not be in the body at all.
At 19, Nicole Sachs was told she’d likely spend her adult life in a wheelchair.
Doctors warned her that her spine was deteriorating and her best hope was risky fusion surgery.
Even then, they couldn’t promise it would stop the searing pain that defined her daily life.
She was terrified—but something didn’t sit right.
Sometimes, your body tells a story that no scan or diagnosis can fully explain. Image source: Nicole J. Sachs / YouTube
Before committing to surgery, she began exploring the connection between her emotions and her symptoms.
She found herself drawn to mind-body medicine, a field that suggests suppressed trauma can manifest as physical pain.
Through her research, Nicole came to believe her back wasn’t broken—her nervous system was. That belief didn’t just comfort her; it changed her health entirely.
Today, Nicole is a mother of three who lives pain-free—without surgery, opioids, or invasive treatments. In her book Mind Your Body, she explains how unresolved emotional pain rewires the brain and body.
Also read: Nature’s way, so no prescription is needed: How diet can mimic the effects of Ozempic
Her method, called JournalSpeak, encourages people to release repressed feelings in order to quiet the nervous system’s pain signals.
It's an approach that has helped thousands, and it all starts with a notebook and 20 minutes.
For Nicole, healing began when she understood that pain can be real without being rooted in structural damage.
Many people with chronic illness are told it’s all in your head, but she says that’s the wrong message entirely.
Instead, pain can be the body’s way of coping with emotional overload, a survival response gone haywire. The solution, then, is not to silence the pain—but to listen to it.
Ancient medicine long acknowledged the mind-body connection, but modern healthcare has largely separated the two.
Nicole believes this divide has left millions suffering needlessly, stuck in cycles of pills, surgeries, and hopelessness.
By reconnecting to her inner world and processing unspoken emotions, she learned to regulate her pain at its source. The body, she says, can heal when the mind feels safe.
Also read: Are you missing this 30-minute daily habit that could cut your risk of sudden cardiac death in half?
Nicole's JournalSpeak method is simple but powerful. Each day, you write unfiltered thoughts about a triggering emotion—anger, grief, fear, or shame.
After 20 minutes, the entry is discarded, never reread, to symbolically release the emotional weight. Then, you follow it with a short meditation or calming breathwork to ground your system.
This routine tells the brain it's safe to stop sending pain signals.
In chronic pain, the brain often gets stuck in "fight or flight" mode, flooding the body with stress hormones.
That state, if sustained, can lead to conditions like fibromyalgia, IBS, and unexplained back pain. But when trauma is safely expressed, the body no longer needs to scream.
Science is catching up to Nicole’s discovery. Studies have shown that chronic pain and PTSD share neurological patterns, especially in the amygdala.
Repressed anger and stress can activate these circuits, keeping the body in a loop of suffering. Mind-body practices like JournalSpeak are proving to be a way out.
Nicole's recovery wasn’t a miracle—it was a shift in perspective. By treating her emotions with the same seriousness as her physical symptoms, she found lasting relief. She’s now dedicated her life to helping others do the same. Her message is simple: you are not broken — you are burdened.
Read next: This low-effort habit could help clear your mind and lift your mood
Have you battled chronic pain? Tried journaling, meditation, or breathwork? We’d love to hear your story. Share your experience in the comments. You never know who you might inspire.
