The Body in Pain — A Mind-Body Approach to Chronic Conditions
When you've tried everything.
Many people living with chronic pain, fatigue or persistent physical symptoms have tried everything: multiple doctors, treatments, supplements, protocols and lifestyle changes, and yet still find themselves stuck. Many times, people remain stuck because part of what’s driving their symptoms is emotional rather than purely physical.
Here's something you should know: the part of the brain that processes physical pain and the part that processes emotional pain are the same. This is the anatomy. Pain isn't just a physical sensation, it also carries emotional weight.
Research in neuroscience and mind-body medicine increasingly shows that unprocessed stress, emotional experience and nervous system dysregulation play a significant role in chronic conditions. This workshop serves as an accessible, grounded introduction to that connection.
About this workshop
In this 75-minute online interactive workshop, Integrative Trauma Therapist and Neurosomatic Practitioner Julia Hassall explores how chronic stress, trauma and emotional suppression can shape the nervous system over time. And why getting to the emotional root of our system and making lasting change often requires working with the body and emotions.
Drawing on the work of Bessel van der Kolk, John Sarno and David Grand, this workshop offers a coherent framework for understanding symptoms through a mind-body lens, and an introduction to what healing can look like beyond conventional approaches.
We'll explore:
How chronic stress and unprocessed emotion can drive and maintain physical symptoms
How the brain's pain and emotional processing centres share the same brain circuitry, and what that means for chronic conditions
Why the nervous system's survival responses, fight, flight, freeze, can persist long after the original stress has passed
Why emotional suppression directly affects how pain is processed and amplified in the brain
Why understanding alone rarely creates lasting change - and what else is needed
An introduction to somatic awareness and nervous system regulation, including exercises
Trauma and somatic approaches, EMDR, Brainspotting and SE
What a mind-body approach to healing looks like in practice
This workshop is for people living with:
Chronic pain
Persistent fatigue or ME/CFS
Endometriosis
Ovarian cysts / PCOS
Autoimmune and inflammatory conditions
Fibromyalgia
Anxiety or burnout with physical symptoms
Conditions that haven't fully responded to conventional treatment
What to expect
A 75-minute online session combining accessible neuroscience, guided somatic practice and reflection. There is no prior knowledge required, just a curiosity and a willingness to explore a different way of understanding your experience.
This workshop is educational in nature and does not constitute therapy or medical advice.
About Julia
Julia Hassall is an Integrative Trauma Therapist and Neurosomatic Practitioner based in Manhattan Beach, California. She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in the Neuroscience of Mental Health from King's College London and a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University. She specialises in complex trauma, chronic conditions and nervous system healing — working at the intersection of neuroscience, somatic therapy and brainspotting.
www.juliahassall.com @juliahassall_
Any questions? Feel free to reach out to [email protected].