Support for pain that has begun to reshape your life
Pain is real. So is the fear, exhaustion and anxiety that often build around it. STILL Method pain support is for adults and older teens living with ongoing pain or health conditions where ordinary life quietly changed.
This is not about pretending the pain is in your mind. It is about working with the nervous system side of pain, so your body does not have to stay in fight mode all the time.
I never know what kind of body I will wake up with.
I am tired of explaining myself and still feeling disbelieved.
I want a life that has more in it than pain management, but I do not know where to start.
Who this pain support is for
This page is for you if pain is no longer just a symptom. It shapes how you plan, how you rest and what you say yes to. You might have a clear diagnosis, several labels, or no definite answers at all.
You might recognise yourself in some of these descriptions.
- Pain is present most days and often grows louder when you are stressed or under pressure.
- You swing between pushing through everything and then crashing for days.
- You worry that other people see you as lazy, dramatic or unreliable.
- You cancel plans or hide how bad things are because you do not want to be a burden.
- Your sleep, mood and memory are different from before the pain began.
Many people we support have already seen doctors, specialists or clinics. STILL Method pain support does not replace that care. It gives you a place to work with the emotional and nervous system impact of pain, so you do not have to carry that part on your own.
When pain and anxiety get tangled together
Pain does not only hurt. It changes how safe your body feels. Over time fear and worry often begin to wrap around the pain.
- You dread flare ups that appear with no warning.
- You scan your body for new sensations and jump at every change.
- You feel defensive because you have been dismissed or not believed before.
- You panic when symptoms change and you do not know what they mean.
- You leave appointments feeling that nobody has joined up the whole picture.
None of this means you are weak or imagining things. It is how a human nervous system behaves when life has felt unpredictable for a long time. STILL Method pain support starts by acknowledging this. Your pain story and your anxiety story are treated as one connected experience.
What STILL Method pain support offers
STILL Method pain support is a structured coaching pathway. It is not medical treatment and it is not counselling, although it can sit alongside both. Sessions are delivered by trained STILL Method coaches who understand the link between pain, stress, trauma and the nervous system.
Across a series of sessions you can expect to work on things like:
- Understanding how the brain and nervous system create and amplify pain.
- Noticing patterns that make pain worse, such as constant alarm or over doing it on better days.
- Learning practical tools to calm the nervous system so your body is not braced for danger all the time.
- Exploring pacing and boundaries so you do not swing between pushing hard and complete collapse.
- Rebuilding a sense of identity and value that is not only defined by illness or injury.
You are treated as the expert in your own body. The coach brings education, tools and steady support so that any changes feel realistic and respectful of your limits.
How the STILL Method works with pain
The STILL Method was created as an anxiety framework. It has proved powerful for people living with long term pain because both experiences involve a nervous system that has been on alert for far too long.
Stop
Simple ways to bring your system down from alarm when pain spikes or fear takes over, so your body can pause rather than spiral.
Talk
Space to say what pain has taken from you, how you have coped so far and what you are frightened of, without pressure to stay positive.
Imagine
Gentle work around how life might look if pain is still present but not in charge of every decision. This is about believable changes, not false promises.
Listen
Learning to notice signals of overload and early warning signs, and to respond with pacing and care instead of frustration or push through at any cost.
Learn
Identifying patterns that help or harm, and building new habits that respect both your symptoms and your need for a fuller life.
The aim is not to deny the reality of pain. It is to reduce the extra suffering created by fear, isolation and constant fight mode, and to help you feel more able to shape your days.
Pain and long term health support for adults
As an adult you may be holding work, family or caring responsibilities while quietly reaching your limit. From the outside you might look capable and organised. Inside you may feel exhausted, frightened or worn down by constant pain.
Adult focused pain support can help you:
- Understand how years of pushing through have affected your body and nervous system.
- Recognise the difference between helpful movement and harmful over doing.
- Work with guilt, anger and grief about the life you expected to have.
- Find language to talk about pain with family, friends or employers.
- Notice and protect small pockets of ease, pleasure and connection that are still available.
Pain support for teens and young adults
Young people who live with long term pain or fatigue are often misunderstood. They may be called lazy or dramatic when they are managing more than most adults can see.
Support for young people focuses on:
- Giving them language for what is happening in their body.
- Helping them notice early signs of overload so they can plan school or college more safely.
- Normalising the anxiety and low mood that often arrive with long term pain.
- Using creative and practical tools so sessions do not feel like another medical appointment.
- Supporting parents and schools to respond with steadiness rather than frustration.
Working alongside medical and professional care
STILL Method pain support is non clinical and trauma informed. It does not offer diagnosis, prescribe medication or advise you to stop treatment.
Many people we support are:
- under a consultant, pain team or physiotherapist
- waiting for investigations or specialist review
- receiving mental health or counselling support
Coaching can sit alongside this care by helping you apply information from clinics in daily life, giving you a structured space to work on pacing and regulation, and offering emotional support around the impact of pain on work, education and relationships.
If a coach has concerns about safety or new symptoms they will always encourage you to seek appropriate medical advice.
Questions people often ask about pain support
Is this the same as physiotherapy or medical pain management
No. STILL Method pain support is coaching. It works with your understanding, emotions, behaviour and nervous system responses. It does not replace medical assessment or treatment. Many people choose to work with both medical teams and a pain coach.
Can coaching really help with pain that has been there for years
No approach can promise to remove long term pain. Research shows that understanding how pain is processed in the brain, learning to regulate stress and using mind body tools can reduce intensity and distress for many people. Coaching focuses on what is possible for you, not on quick fixes.
Do I need a diagnosis first
A diagnosis can be useful, especially for ruling out serious illness, but it is not required for coaching. Some people come with several labels, some with none. The work starts from your current experience of pain and how it affects your life.
Is STILL Method pain support suitable if there has been trauma
Many people with long term pain also have a history of trauma, including medical trauma. STILL Method coaches aim to work in a trauma informed way and to move carefully at a pace that feels safe for you. Where more specialist therapy is needed this can be discussed openly.
Your next step
You do not have to decide everything today. Often the first step is simply talking to someone who understands that pain is real and that the emotional impact is real as well.
If you are a practitioner who wants to specialise in this work, you can train as a STILL Method pain coach through our accredited pain course. Find out about pain coach training.