Decoding the Emotional Roots of Pain: Journaling Prompts to Support Healing
What Is Neuroplastic Pain?
Chronic pain isn’t always the result of ongoing injury or structural damage. In many cases, it’s what researchers call neuroplastic pain — pain driven by changes in the brain and nervous system.
When your nervous system stays stuck in danger mode, your brain can misinterpret safe signals as painful. The hopeful truth? If the brain can learn pain, it can also unlearn it. This is the foundation of mind-body healing and nervous system retraining.
Why Tracking Emotional Triggers Matters
Most people living with persistent pain are used to tracking mechanical triggers:
“My back hurts when I sit too long.”
“My pelvic pain flares when I walk uphill.”
But here’s what often gets overlooked: pain is not just mechanical, it’s also emotional. Stress, anger, fear, or even unprocessed grief can trigger a pain response.
That’s why it’s important to notice emotional triggers alongside physical ones. By tracking these patterns, you can begin to understand how your feelings influence your pain, and take steps to regulate your nervous system.
Journaling Exercise: Connecting Emotions and Symptoms
This practice, adapted from the work I do with clients inside the Pelvic Healing Circle guides you through five simple steps. Set aside 10 minutes a day to reflect on your answers to the following questions.
1. Start with the Present
Think about your most recent pain flare-up.
What was happening when it began?
Were there stresses, changes, or even “positive” life events adding pressure?
2. Look at Past Pain Symptom Flare-Ups
Go back to an earlier time you experienced symptoms.
What was happening then?
Were there familiar stressors or situations?
3. Explore Childhood Dynamics
Reflect on your early relationships and home environment.
Mom: Did you feel loved, safe, accepted? Were some emotions not allowed?
Dad: Did you feel loved, safe, accepted? Were some emotions not okay?
Home: Was it calm, tense, supportive, or judgmental?
4. Connect the Dots
Now look at what you wrote.
Do childhood dynamics feel similar to what was happening when your symptoms flared?
Are there echoes of old feelings, for example, not being safe, not being heard, needing to please, being judged?
5. Move Toward Soothing
If you noticed a connection, pause and acknowledge:
“This makes sense. My body was responding to old patterns.”
Spend time with the feelings that arise. Place a hand on your heart or belly, breathe slowly, and reassure yourself:
“I see you. I’m with you. You’re safe now.”
If you didn’t find a clear connection, that’s okay. Healing isn’t linear but curiosity itself is healing.
Hi, I’m Laura Haraka, Founder of Feel to Heal Wellness
I know how frustrating it feels to “try everything” and still be left searching for answers.
When I discovered the mind-body connection, I realized how much of my own pain was tied to emotions I hadn’t yet acknowledged.
That’s why I share exercises like this, not to suggest that pain is “all in your head,” but to empower you with tools to retrain your nervous system and help you experience long-lasting relief.
Ready for More Support?
If you’d like guided practices, live sessions, and a community of women who get it, join me inside the Pelvic Healing Circle. You’ll gain access to somatic tools, breathwork, and gentle support to help you reconnect with your body and create a path toward healing.
