“Pain can be a gift – not all presents have pretty packaging.” Clare Benne

Pain is a great teacher.

When we feel it, our instinct is often to avoid it, to distract ourselves, to numb, to run.

But pain is a signal.

It’s telling us that something is out of alignment.

It’s an invitation to look within.

Where are we NOT living our own values?
Where are we pretending to be okay when we’re not?
What uncomfortable truths are we avoiding?

When pain shows up, it’s rarely random.

It’s calling us back to ourselves.

We often talk about anxiety instead of what it really is – fear.

“Anxiety” feels more acceptable, more medical, less vulnerable.

But underneath it, there is a part of us that is simply… afraid.

People feel more comfortable saying ‘I have anxiety’ rather than ‘I feel scared’

In the UK, just over 1 in 10 people live with an anxiety disorder at any given time – that’s more than 8 million people.

A 2023 survey found that 1 in 5 adults felt anxious most or all of the time in the previous two weeks.

It’s the most common mental health condition, especially among younger adults, women, and those with lower incomes.

But let’s be honest – it’s likely far more common than the statistics suggest.
Those numbers only count people who’ve been diagnosed.

Pain – emotional or physical – isn’t our enemy.

It’s a messenger, pointing us back to what needs healing.

When we stop running from it and start listening, we begin to grow.

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