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Career Reshaped Episode 40: How To Recover From Chronic Pain
What if your chronic pain isn’t just in your body, but in the way your nervous system has learned to hold stress?
In this episode of Career Reshaped, Natasha and Pauline sit down with Marta Faria, a somatic symptom and chronic pain specialist. Marta reveals how stress responses like hyper-independence, perfectionism, or overworking aren’t fixed personality traits but coping strategies that eventually overload the body.
They uncover how flare-ups often connect to hidden emotions and past experiences, why the brain can “learn pain,” and how unprocessed stress can show up as IBS, migraines, fatigue, or tension that doctors can’t always explain. Marta also shares why some people collapse only when they finally stop “pushing through,” and how simple, science-backed practices can retrain both mind and body.
You’ll hear real stories—from breakthroughs after decades of pain to surprising examples of how belief itself can trigger illness or healing. Marta breaks down her multi-layered Revive and Thrive program, combining bodywork, energy medicine, and nervous system rewiring to accelerate recovery.
This episode is for anyone who feels stuck in cycles of stress or pain, or who wonders why traditional fixes haven’t worked. Natasha and Pauline guide an honest conversation about the invisible patterns holding us back—and how shifting them can restore energy, resilience, and joy.
🎧 Tune in to discover how to rewire your nervous system, release old stress, and create space for both healing and career growth
Discussion Overview
The mind can accelerate healing or intensify illness. Marta shares stories of a patient who passed away after believing he would die, even from a treatable cancer, and placebo surgeries where patients healed as well as those who had real procedures. These cases show the nocebo and placebo effects in action
It combines cognitive hypnotherapy, somatic practices, and energy medicine. This integrated approach addresses body, emotions, and mind all at once, creating faster, longer-lasting results compared to single-method therapies
Often during the very first session. By tracing pain patterns, clients uncover emotional triggers they hadn’t seen before. Marta describes working with a woman who had 20 years of chronic back pain. Once they connected her flare-ups to fears of abandonment from her childhood, the pain significantly reduced—she reported being 90% better
Because pain is never just physical. The brain can “learn pain,” replaying it even after an injury has healed. Somatic healing helps retrain the nervous system, unlearning these patterns and reducing chronic symptoms
By addressing the emotional and nervous system roots, not just physical symptoms. Chronic pain lasting more than a year is often somatic, meaning it’s tied to unprocessed stress or trauma
Beliefs shape how the body responds. If someone believes recovery isn’t possible, their symptoms may persist. But shifting limiting beliefs can unlock resilience and accelerate healing.
Each therapy targets different layers—mind, body, or energy. When used together, they complement each other and speed up recovery instead of stretching it out over years
Pain always has an emotional layer. By uncovering hidden patterns—like fear of abandonment or unresolved stress—clients can release the root cause rather than just managing the symptoms
Podcast Transcript:
| Time | Transcript |
|---|---|
| 00:05 | It's it's never about the little things. There are things underneath. It's often |
| 00:09 | because your cup is getting full and then you start getting you know like |
| 00:13 | that levels of irritability and you you just feel out of balance. For example, |
| 00:17 | there is the hyperindependence and that leads to that is people that oh no no no |
| 00:20 | I can handle I can handle but then again your cup is getting full and you are not |
| 00:24 | asking for help until the point that you collapse. There are so many techniques |
| 00:29 | and they are very helpful but ultimately you need to process your emotions |
| 00:33 | because the nervous system reacts simultaneously immediately. |
| 00:37 | Could you explain the connection between the nervous system and the chronic |
| 00:41 | symptoms that can come up stress has become such a normal part of |
| 00:44 | my life that I actually don't know what it would be like not to be stressed |
| 00:48 | anymore to be honest with you. We'll be back in 10 seconds to continue |
| 00:52 | our conversation with Marta, a chronic pain specialist from Brazil. This is a |
| 00:57 | part two of a part three series. So don't forget to subscribe and follow so |
| 01:02 | you never miss out on conversations just like this as well as our professional |
| 01:07 | insight in the employment market and support in career development in |
| 01:12 | Australia. Hi and welcome to another episode of Career Reshaped. I'm Natasha |
| 01:18 | and I'm Pauline and today we have Marta Faria with us. |
| 01:21 | She is a certified sematic symptom and chronic pain specialist and the creator |
| 01:26 | of the 12week revive and thrive program. A nervous system centered framework that |
| 01:31 | helps high achieving professionals resolve stress related symptoms like |
| 01:36 | burnout, IBS, fatigue, migraines, and chronic pain. Marta now supports clients |
| 01:42 | worldwide to rewire their nervous system, restore resilience, and reclaim |
| 01:47 | joy in their lives. something that you said about that it's the the mind though |
| 01:52 | like so you could with the raiki you know your body can feel great but then |
| 01:56 | the mind does eventually take over I think people underestimate how powerful |
| 02:01 | the mind actually is and I know quite a few different stories where the mind has |
| 02:07 | been able to kill people but also be other people's demise um where if they |
| 02:13 | believe something so strongly the mind literally makes it happen in their body. |
| 02:19 | There's one story where um a nurse was being interviewed and they asked her |
| 02:24 | What is your most like crazy sort of experience and she said well it's how |
| 02:30 | powerful the mind is. She said she had this patient come and he was a young man |
| 02:34 | like maybe in his 30s and he found out that he had cancer. just said, but it |
| 02:39 | was a really easy treatable cancer. Like he was going to be fine. Like they had a |
| 02:46 | procedure booked in for the following week. They're going to remove it. It was |
| 02:50 | not going to be a problem for him. But he started panicking and he turned to |
| 02:55 | his wife going to die. And she turned to him. She's like, "You're not going to |
| 02:59 | die. You caught him at the right time. Clean it many times before. You'll be |
| 03:03 | fine." Anyway, his appointment come and he doesn't show up. And she's like, |
| 03:07 | Where is he? like what happened? Did he reschedule? Said no, he passed away over |
| 03:12 | the weekend because he believed so much so that he was going to die that he died |
| 03:19 | and she was shocked and to her that was her confirmation about how powerful the |
| 03:25 | mind really is. Absolutely. In healing. Absolutely. Uh |
| 03:29 | yeah, we have the placebo to to prove that right the sugar pill that |
| 03:33 | does wonders and also what you what you're describing is what is called the |
| 03:38 | noibo when we start to believe so for example like some people might be living |
| 03:42 | with cancer for quite a while when they are not aware that they have cancer so |
| 03:46 | life goes on and and everything once there is a diagnose many people the |
| 03:50 | disease progresses so rapidly because you know we we've been told that |
| 03:55 | it's a terminal illness that is threatening So if you believe that |
| 03:59 | because you have cancer you are going to die, you will probably accelerate the |
| 04:03 | process which you know it's hard to say that to people because you know like |
| 04:08 | it's obviously it's not our fault. Yeah. But yeah, you know if you believe then |
| 04:13 | here we go. Yeah. You hear something you freak out. |
| 04:16 | But did you hear about the story about the the man that forgot to die? this um |
| 04:21 | not this one but like I've heard like similar stories to that you know like |
| 04:24 | someone that really believes in a medication and that works but then you |
| 04:29 | know like after a while it was in the newspaper that the medication was |
| 04:32 | actually not that effect and that completely reversed back into the |
| 04:37 | There's even a one that it was a surgery |
| 04:43 | that was a placebo, right? So they took uh four patients with a knee problem and |
| 04:48 | they performed surgery in all of them. But one of them without knowing had a |
| 04:53 | fake surgery. So what they did they you know cut the knee as if the the surgery |
| 04:59 | was being performed but nothing was done. And the result afterwards is that |
| 05:04 | all patients had the same results. you know, the patient who had the placebo |
| 05:10 | surgery recovered as well as the other ones who had the actual surgery. |
| 05:16 | Crazy. You mentioned a few of the things that you do already. You mentioned |
| 05:20 | hypnosis and the breathing and everything. So, what makes your 12week |
| 05:24 | program effective when all the other techniques separately don't go well or |
| 05:29 | not as effective? I said before, you know, I don't like to |
| 05:32 | say that all the techniques are less effective. I believe they all play a |
| 05:37 | role. What I did is that like you know I myself I had chronic IBS, chronic |
| 05:44 | interstitial cyides, I struggled with fibroids. So like I actually had a lot |
| 05:48 | of problems here in the in the in the pelvic floor. So I took the things that |
| 05:53 | helped me heal but it was a process that was in 5 years. So I was like okay how |
| 05:58 | can I make that shorter you know what what are the steps and that's when I |
| 06:03 | start to go okay different therapies they work in different aspects of our |
| 06:06 | being of our psych so I want to put them together so I remember when I trained as |
| 06:12 | a as a cognitive hypnotherapist I was like okay this is very effective and |
| 06:17 | this is brilliant but doesn't address the body doesn't address you know like |
| 06:21 | those emotions this tension that is in the body so that's when I I went to |
| 06:27 | study the somatic practices and learn more about the nervous system and |
| 06:32 | then I studied energy medicine which is you know like all rooted in Chinese |
| 06:37 | medicine. So here you work with the energies, you work with the meridians, |
| 06:40 | you restore balance to your organs. So I put a program that has like different |
| 06:45 | types of therapies and it's all customizable according to that person's |
| 06:50 | needs. So it kind of moves the needle a lot faster and I feel if within that |
| 06:56 | then there is always the therapist and you know if I would say something about |
| 07:00 | me I'm really good at spotting the you know the hidden patterns |
| 07:06 | and and that makes easy for you to to shift. So for example when you say oh |
| 07:10 | you know I'm very stressed I'm like okay let's investigate that. So instead of |
| 07:14 | you know doing talking therapy for a year you know quickly we get okay is it |
| 07:19 | coming from your parents it's coming from a trauma that you experienced you |
| 07:24 | know what what is going on there and once you realize what is going on then |
| 07:28 | you have this opportunity to process and let go so it's a combination of of |
| 07:33 | techniques that were designed to accelerate the healing journey. So with |
| 07:38 | your program, I guess when it probably is all different times, but when do you |
| 07:44 | usually see a breakthrough moment come through in a client? And can you tell us |
| 07:48 | a little bit of what that looks like? Uh I feel like on the first session when |
| 07:53 | we like when I really investigate and ask a lot of questions, sometimes the |
| 07:58 | person is like, "Wow, I hadn't realized that." So for example, very recently I |
| 08:03 | worked with a girl. So she was experiencing chronic pain for 20 years. |
| 08:08 | She had an accident when she was very young. So from time to time her back |
| 08:12 | would just lock, you know, and she would have to be taken to hospital and it was |
| 08:17 | horrible. And she was very self-aware. She had done quite a few therapies |
| 08:21 | before and it was great to work with her. And in fact, I prefer to work with |
| 08:25 | people that have done some therapy before because they are more self-aware |
| 08:29 | and it works better. So I was like, "Okay, let's trace back, you know, the |
| 08:34 | the the worst flares that you had." And then she hadn't realized, but she was |
| 08:39 | flaring, especially when she was dating and it was something signific. |
| 08:49 | So that was when she was dating, there was a fear of being abandoned that was |
| 08:55 | coming from her dad. not abandoning her, but you know, like they got divorced, |
| 09:01 | her parents got divorced, and her dad found a girlfriend who was Japanese, so |
| 09:06 | he started to go to Japan and spend a few months there. And that made her feel |
| 09:11 | like really lonely. And yeah, so we and and she never she would |
| 09:16 | never link the dots. And once there are those realizations often like, "Oh, |
| 09:21 | wow." You know, I never thought this was related. And as you begin to to release, |
| 09:26 | you know that like especially pain is a very subjective experience. There |
| 09:31 | is always an emotional component to pain and people don't know that because it |
| 09:35 | feels so physical but even when there is injury there is always an emotional |
| 09:40 | component and chronic pain if it's over a year it's somatic always when when |
| 09:46 | when you go like obviously you need to go to the doctor. Yeah. But if you go |
| 09:50 | and you have a clean exam and they go like listen there is nothing wrong with |
| 09:54 | you right but you keep experiencing pain that is a somatic process that comes |
| 10:01 | from your and and it's a so the brain learns pain as well. So for example, if |
| 10:06 | you if you learn that you know like making a certain movement causes you |
| 10:10 | pain because perhaps you had an injury and it was physical and that caused you |
| 10:15 | to feel pain but you got so used to expect that kind of pain that the |
| 10:21 | expectation of the pain creates the pain itself. So it's not to say that it's all |
| 10:25 | in your head because you are not consciously creating it, but it's it you |
| 10:30 | can also train your brain to unlearn that and then you can move out of pain. |
| 10:35 | I've I've had cases with pain that I doubted myself was like this girl was |
| 10:40 | one of them. I'm like 20 years of chronic pain post accident, you know. |
| 10:45 | I'm not sure about that. But it was amazing. In her words, she's like I'm |
| 10:50 | 90% better and I had tried so many things. She gave me a video testimonial. |
| 10:54 | She even cries. She's like, "It's great. I don't have pain anymore." |
| 10:58 | Wow. That's amazing cuz I know quite a few |
| 11:00 | people that have chronic pain and they're young. Like they I say in their |
| 11:05 | early 40s. That's young. Cuz if you think about it, they still got another |
| 11:09 | whole half or more of life to live. And they're in so much pain that it actually |
| 11:15 | is debilitating. They can't do things like everyday things. And I always |
| 11:21 | wonder for them because I'm thinking, well, you can't do everyday things now |
| 11:26 | at 40. What's going to happen when you're 60? It's concerning. And again, |
| 11:30 | with one person I know, they go to the doctors and they do like scans. Like, it |
| 11:34 | doesn't look that bad. There's actually nothing more we can do for you. There's |
| 11:39 | no more fixes to be done. Well, it's not just that. It's also when |
| 11:43 | you're in constant pain, you don't look at you don't look like you're in |
| 11:47 | constant pain anymore because you just are. and you learn to be with it. So |
| 11:52 | when you tell a doctor you're in pain and they say, "How painful is it?" And |
| 11:55 | you said, "Well, right now I want to like maybe I don't know, rip my spine |
| 11:59 | out of my back, but you don't look like it." So they just don't believe you or |
| 12:02 | they don't think much of it. When I was 12, I was told that I'll have chronic |
| 12:06 | tension in my back and that is it. You know, do some stretches. So I've had |
| 12:11 | pain since I can remember. and except for 3 days and it was only relevant |
| 12:16 | because when the pain came back is when I realized oh I hadn't been in pain for |
| 12:21 | 3 days and that was doing a lot of work I had osteo and I was doing um |
| 12:26 | acupuncture as well and I don't know then it just 3 days that was nice |
| 12:32 | yeah it's always good to try those techniques because sometimes you know |
| 12:36 | like yeah you just need to stretch your body you know people who do yoga who do |
| 12:41 | pilate it's very Good. And and that alone can can sort your problems. You |
| 12:45 | know, if you are in the computer all day and you are tensing, you know, like the |
| 12:49 | shoulders sometimes if you do yoga or physio, it's going to get or |
| 12:55 | acupuncture, it's going to get better. But when those things don't really work |
| 12:59 | anymore and you and you are still in pain and especially for pain that comes |
| 13:03 | and go. So for example, some days I don't feel but some days it returns. You |
| 13:08 | know that is a clear sign that it's it's now you have to |
| 13:12 | maybe you and I will have a little session after this and you can you can |
| 13:18 | cure me. Well, um so you mentioned about you know |
| 13:22 | you like oh 20 years I don't even know if this is going to work. So what |
| 13:26 | happens you know if you come across someone that doesn't believe it's going |
| 13:29 | to work but then it does. So like they don't because remember we were talking |
| 13:34 | about mind over matter like the belief the belief and they're working with you |
| 13:37 | like I don't think this is going to work but then it does. Has that ever |
| 13:40 | happened? No because the person who works with me |
| 13:44 | believes or is at least starting to believe. the person who doesn't believe |
| 13:48 | they don't get near me you know they are yeah they are the people who look nah |
| 13:52 | you know some people still perceive those things as a bit woo so now it's |
| 13:57 | you know I feel like everyone that works with somatic healing we are bringing the |
| 14:00 | science you know the neuroscience around it so I feel like the the very skeptical |
| 14:07 | people they they are not my people they don't come to work with me so what I'm |
| 14:12 | what I'm doing is also like educating people you know and and explaining those |
| 14:16 | concepts Because the the with the chronic pain, I remember when I did my |
| 14:20 | my course in in pain science, it blew my mind. I didn't know all of those things |
| 14:25 | and it's like, wow, people need to know that. Yeah. So, I feel sometimes the |
| 14:30 | doubt comes more from myself, you know, like some people sometimes I look at I'm |
| 14:35 | like, oo, I'm not sure what is going to happen here. But people do get better. |
| 14:42 | always happens or obviously some people improve more than others cuz again you |
| 14:47 | know it's a journey. I feel that the people who have the best results with me |
| 14:52 | are people who actually have done therapy before and again it's not |
| 14:57 | because the other therapies didn't work. On the contrary, they worked because now |
| 15:01 | they are ready for another layer. Yes. |
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