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© 2026 The Mind-Body Couple
Description
Tanner Murtagh and Anne Hampson are therapists who treat neuroplastic pain and mind-body symptoms. They are also married! In his 20s, Tanner overcame chronic pain and a fibromyalgia diagnosis by learning his symptoms were occurring due to learned brain pathways and nervous system dysregulation. Post-healing, Tanner and Anne have dedicated their lives to developing effective treatment and education for neuroplastic pain and symptoms. Listen and learn how to assess your own chronic pain and symptoms, gain tools to retrain the brain and nervous system, and make gradual changes in your life and health!
The Mind-Body Couple podcast is owned by Pain Psychotherapy Canada Inc. This podcast is produced by Alex Klassen, who is one of the wonderful therapists at our agency in Calgary, Alberta. https://www.painpsychotherapy.ca/
Tanner, Anne, and Alex also run the MBody Community, which is an in-depth online course that provides step-by-step guidance for assessing, treating, and resolving mind-body pain and symptoms. https://www.mbodycommunity.com
Also check out Tanner's YouTube channel for more free education and practices: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Fl6WaFHnh4ponuexaMbFQ
And follow us for daily education posts on Instagram: @painpsychotherapy
Disclaimer: The information provided on this podcast is for general informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional advice, psychotherapy, or counselling. If you choose to utilize any of the education, strategies, or techniques in this podcast you are doing so at your own risk.
99 Episodes
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Ambition doesn’t have to cost your health. We start with the core problem: living neck up. Our culture rewards cognition—thinking, fixing, producing—while the body’s signals get ignored until they become symptoms. We dig into how to build a meaningful career without reigniting chronic pain/symptoms or overwhelming your nervous system. Tanner shares his personal experience, running two small businesses and staying healthy. We share a simple, fast tool called drop-in and describe: a 30–60 secon...
We answer Joni’s question about healing medical trauma after a health scare and show how to restore nervous system regulation using embodiment, exposure, and personal safety signals. We break down therapy room steps and an at-home plan to reduce dysregulation following traumatic events. We explore: • Medical trauma as a driver of health anxiety and chronic symptoms • Why avoidance reinforces danger • Embodiment defined and made practical • Building personalized safety signals before process...
Send your questions to be answered live on the podcast to: info@painpsychotherapy.ca Ready to make 2026 the year you unlearn chronic pain or symptoms? We’re laying out 4 clear steps to heal. We start by reframing chronic symptoms through a neuroplastic lens: when assessments are clear and physical fixes stall, it often means the body is capable but the brain’s danger system is overprotective. From there, we dig into full commitment—trading treatment inconsistentcy for dedicated daily practic...
Send your questions to be answered live on the podcast to: info@painpsychotherapy.ca The holidays can be filled with joy, but for many living with chronic pain or chronic illness, December brings spikes in symptoms, packed calendars, and pressure to perform happiness. We unpack why this happens through a brain and nervous system lens and share a realistic survival guide you can actually use, even on your busiest days. We break down how neuroplastic pain and illness amplifies under holiday “d...
What if the most powerful lever for chronic pain isn’t in your muscles or joints, but in your brain’s pain system? We sit down with Jim Prussack a physiotherapist who left a strictly structural model behind after diving deep into pain science, mentorship with John Sarno and Howard Schubiner, and years on the front lines of complex cases. The takeaway is both hopeful and concrete. We walk through how to tell if symptoms are neuroplastic—looking at timelines, flares tied to stress, inconsisten...
Send your questions to be answered live on the podcast to: info@painpsychotherapy.ca Love doesn’t disappear when chronic pain shows up, but it can get buried under appointments, bills, and long stretches of silence. We open up about the years when pain became the only topic in our home, the ways our roles warped into caregiver and patient, and the slow, deliberate choices that helped us find our way back to closeness while symptoms were still present. This is a story about social safety—how...
We unpack polyvagal theory, starting with neuroception, the body’s below-conscious radar that constantly scans for danger or safety. When that radar gets oversensitive after stress, adversity, or trauma, it misreads harmless cues as threats. The result is chronic dysregulation that fuels neuroplastic pain, fatigue, gut issues, and anxiety—even when your logical mind says, “I’m fine.” We walk through the four core states—ventral vagal (safe and social), sympathetic (fight or flight), fawn (pe...
PLEASE READ THE DISCLAIMER BELOW BEFORE BEGINNING THIS PROGRAM. If you live with chronic pain, fatigue, or illness, you’ve probably tried everything — medications, treatments, diets — and nothing seems to work long-term. That’s because for many people, the real root of chronic symptoms isn’t in the body… it’s in the brain and nervous system. This video introduces a free 30-day program designed to help you retrain your brain, calm your nervous system, and begin healing from chronic pain and ...
What if the aches, tension, and fatigue you’ve been fighting are your emotions asking to be felt? We unpack the research on emotional suppression and show how a nervous system stuck in “danger” can translate stress into very real pain/illness—without structural damage. Drawing on studies of suppression and stress reactivity and clinical insights from neuroplastic pain work, we make the science practical, humane, and doable in everyday life. We walk through four patterns that keep feelings tr...
What if your most stubborn pain isn’t a broken body, but a brilliant brain trying to protect you? We open up about Tanner’s journey from spreading knee, shoulder, and back pain to a full recovery, and how the real turning point came when he reframed pain as a danger signal from the nervous system—not proof of damage. You’ll hear the messy middle too: fear, failed treatments, shrinking routines, and the isolation that follows when life gets small. We break down the five pillars that changed e...
Your brain can learn safety, and that changes everything about chronic pain and illness. We’re pulling back the curtain on brain retraining—what it is, what it isn’t, and how to use it day to day without turning healing into a pressure-filled project. If you’ve ever tried a practice, felt your pain/symptom drop once, and then chased that result like a pain pill, this conversation will reset your approach in the most helpful way. We start by defining brain retraining in clear terms and ground...
The body’s alarm system can get stuck on high when chronic pain and persistent symptoms take over, and we give that pattern a name: sensitization trauma. We unpack how symptoms, scary medical opinions, and hope-disappointment cycles teach the nervous system to brace, avoid, and shut down—and why recognizing this isn’t a setback, it’s a turning point. We start by defining sensitization trauma as the trauma caused by the onset, progression, and life impacts of chronic symptoms, then walk throu...
Fear quietly writes rules that shrink a life: no hard chairs, no long walks, no lifting, no plans. In this episode, we share a practical roadmap to go from bedbound and fearful to confident and moving, grounded in the science of neuroplastic pain/symptoms and the lived experience of rebuilding capacity step by step. We start with the real pivot points—those “open window” moments when symptoms ease or stamina returns and the brain shows its hand. From there, we layer in safe self-talk that ac...
Have you found yourself avoiding more and more activities as your pain or symptoms increase? Do you have an ever-growing list of movements, positions, or situations you need to avoid "or else"? You're not alone, and there's a fascinating explanation for why this happens. Tanner and Anne dive deep into how chronic pain creates a shrinking world through avoidance behaviors. Drawing from Tanner's personal journey from being nearly bed-bound to fully active again, they explain the neurological m...
Could your morning routine be secretly sabotaging your chronic pain and illness recovery? In this illuminating episode, we explore how those critical first moments after waking profoundly impact your nervous system's regulation and pain processing throughout the entire day. When you first open your eyes, your brain is in a uniquely vulnerable state—actively scanning your environment and asking: "Am I safe today, or am I in danger?" The signals you send during this transition period can eithe...
Ever wondered why, despite trying countless treatments, your chronic pain and illness persists? The answer might be hiding in your daily habits. Tanner and Anne reveal how our lifestyle patterns can keep us trapped in cycles of pain and symptoms—even when we're doing everything else "right." The MindBodyCouple hosts dive deep into three critical habits that maintain chronic pain. First, they explore high-intensity living—that relentless cycle of overworking, perfectionism, and ignoring basic...
Have you ever felt stuck in anxiety, shutdown, or constant stress despite your best efforts to feel better? Your nervous system may need manual intervention—and waiting for automatic regulation might not be enough. In this deeply insightful episode, Tanner and Anne tackle the crucial concept of manually regulating your nervous system when it's not naturally returning to states of safety and connection. They begin by contrasting the ideal—a flexible nervous system that moves easily between hi...
Ever wondered why changing your thoughts isn't enough to heal chronic pain? Somatic therapy might be the missing piece of your healing puzzle. We dive deep into the crucial distinction between top-down approaches (like CBT and traditional talk therapy) that focus on changing thoughts, and bottom-up approaches that work directly with body sensations and nervous system regulation. While cognitive work has value, when it comes to chronic pain, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation, you simpl...
Ever find yourself trapped in a cycle of obsessing over every twinge, googling symptoms endlessly, or talking about your pain nonstop? That mental fixation isn't just a reaction to your chronic pain and illness—it might actually be the force keeping it alive. In this transformative episode, we unveil our powerful "Go From T to S" brain retraining technique for breaking free from chronic pain and illness patterns. This simple yet profound approach helps you identify when you're feeding sympto...
Ever notice how your thoughts about pain or symptoms seem to make it worse? You're not imagining things—negative thinking patterns actually trigger and intensify chronic pain and symptoms by dysregulating your nervous system. In this revealing episode, we dive deep into the powerful connection between your thoughts and physical symptoms. Drawing from both professional expertise and personal experience, we share our own recent struggles with anxiety spirals—Anne's obsessive worrying about her...
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