Your Healing Isn’t a Fix

It’s a Process

We often treat healing like it’s a fix-it ticket. Something breaks. We patch it up. We get back to life.

But pain — especially persistent pain — doesn’t follow that kind of script.

True healing isn’t about undoing damage.

It’s about adapting to new realities, regaining trust, and learning how to move forward, even when things don’t go “back to normal.”

In fact, thinking of healing as “fixing” can trap us in a loop of frustration:

• If I’m not back to 100%, am I broken?

• If the scan looks fine, why do I still hurt?

• If the treatment didn’t work, is something wrong with me?

These questions aren’t signs of failure. They’re signs that the “fix-it model” of healing is incomplete.

Healing is an Adaptive Process

When your nervous system experiences pain, especially over time, it can become more protective, not because something is still broken, but because your system learned that certain movements, emotions, or memories might be dangerous.

This is called central sensitization, and it’s well-documented in chronic pain conditions (Woolf, 2011).

Healing, then, becomes a process of rewiring: slowly changing those learned danger signals into signals of safety.

Not through force.

Through curiosity.

Through context.

Through connection.

It’s Not Linear — and That’s Normal

Healing doesn’t follow a straight line.

There will be setbacks. Plateaus. Unexpected wins.

Think of it less like a staircase and more like a spiral: each loop bringing you back to familiar ground, but with a new perspective, a new capacity.

Just because pain flares doesn’t mean you’re back at zero.

Progress is about capacity, not perfection.

The Language of “Fixing” Is Part of the Problem

When clinicians talk in terms of “realignment,” “damage,” or “correction,” they often unintentionally reinforce fragility.

Instead, we can reframe:

• “Your spine is out of place.” ➤ “Your back is sensitive, not broken.”

• “We need to fix your posture.” ➤ “Let’s explore movements that feel strong and confident.”

Words shape beliefs. And beliefs shape healing.

Regenerative Healing Is Ongoing

Healing isn’t a return to who you were before pain.

It’s a transformation.

Not just of tissue.

Of trust.

Of agency.

Of identity.

And that kind of healing isn’t something someone does to you.

It’s something you do with your body, with your experiences, and with support.

What Can You Do Right Now?

Start small. Here’s what you can try:

• Gentle movement, even when it’s imperfect.

• Curious reflection: “What’s my body protecting me from?”

• Reframing setbacks as part of the process, not the end.

You’re not broken. You’re healing.

And that takes time, intention, and a little bit of wonder.

Reference:

Woolf, C. J. (2011). Central sensitization: implications for the diagnosis and treatment of pain. Pain, 152(3 Suppl), S2–S15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2010.09.030