Episode 23: The truth about pelvic pain – Why the old model of care isn’t working
What if the way we’ve been treating pelvic pain is keeping women stuck in a cycle of suffering?
For too long, the standard approach to pelvic pain – whether it’s endometriosis, period pain, or persistent discomfort – has focused on managing symptoms rather than addressing the deeper causes.
Women are left feeling like their bodies are betraying them, caught in an endless loop of medications, surgeries, and frustration.
In this episode, Dr Peta and Dr Thea reveal a different way forward – one that helps you reclaim your body, rather than fight against it.
They share how nervous system regulation, mindset shifts, and body awareness can transform your relationship with pain and open the door to true healing.
🎙️ Listen now to find out:
🌿 The mind-body connection in chronic pelvic pain – why pain isn’t just physical.
🌿 How nervous system dysregulation and past experiences can amplify pain.
🌿 Why self-compassion and nervous system regulation are key to true healing.
🌿 The science behind pain, inflammation, and hormonal balance.
🌿 How you can reclaim agency over your body and move towards healing.
Struggling with period pain, endometriosis, or chronic pelvic discomfort?
The Heal Your Pelvic Pain program is designed to help you break free from the cycle of pain.
This 9-week program, led by Dr Peta Wright, Dr Thea Bowler, and physiotherapist Paula Hindle, gives you the tools to:
✨ Understand the root causes of pelvic pain.
✨ Rewire your nervous system for safety and ease.
✨ Reconnect with your body to feel empowered, not defeated.
📅 Course starts on Monday, 17 February 2025
🎟 Sign up by Friday 14 February to join this transformative program.
📢 Free Workshop – Monday, 10 February at 12pm AEST
Before the course begins, Paula Hindle will be hosting a free online workshop – open to everyone – to help you prepare for healing and set yourself up for success.
Join us for practical strategies and insights to start making shifts in your body and nervous system.
We would love to hear from you.
If you have any questions about you’d like us to answer on a future episode of the podcast, please email them to hello@verawellness.com.au or contact us on Instagram @verawellness.com.au.
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Episode transcript:
E23: The truth about pelvic pain – Why the old model of care isn’t working
Thea: [00:00:00] [00:01:00] Hi, Peta.
Peta: Hi, Thea.
Thea: Welcome to another episode of Women of the Well. Um, this is a special episode because today we want to talk to you about our upcoming Heal Your Pelvic Pain program, which is an online course that we'll be offering starting from next week.
Peta: Yes, from the 17th of February. And, uh, this is a program really aimed at anyone who's suffering from, persistent pelvic pain, period pain, any kind of pelvic pain that's interfering with their life, especially, as well as women who have been diagnosed with or are suffering with endometriosis. I think so many women. with pelvic pain either go into just hormonal therapy or surgery after surgery and there is a lot of feeling stuck in this endless cycle of Things being done to you and not feeling like you have any control over your body Some of the things that people tell me are that they feel like their bodies are betraying them.
They're at [00:02:00] war with their bodies And fundamentally when we're dealing with pain, that can never ever work to help heal us because healing is to make whole and to make whole we need to befriend our body. so I guess the difference with this course potentially compared to other, ways of going about healing or addressing pelvic pain or endometriosis is that it's about almost like turning it on its head.
Like you've got this It's very, at times, annoying, sometimes debilitating, message that's coming from your body. And we want you to be able to see it like that, like a message that's coming from your body to draw attention to something in your life, your body, your mind, your spirit that is out of alignment.
And then through the nine weeks, working to figure out what that is. So, we [00:03:00] go from learning that pelvic pain is not something to be afraid of to, understanding all of the components of pelvic pain and how our environment, our outer world all influence our inner world to amplify pain. And then from there, being able to alchemize that message following the signpost and get to a whole new place that is not just about living with, um, putting up with, managing, um, being powerless on this journey, but being a really active participant, almost like you're going on your own hero's journey.
Thea: Mmhm. Yep. And I think ultimately at the end of it, what we want people to feel is not that they're battling their body, not that their body is broken, but that their body is like a vital source of their power and a vital source of important messages that might tell [00:04:00] us where we're living out of alignment. And help guide us into living like a more fruitful, kind of flourishing, juicy existence.
Peta: Yes, exactly. And so I think that's where it really differs from just pain management or understanding pain. Although understanding pain is key and foundational to any of this. Absolutely.
Thea: And we do feel, certainly at Vera, that You know, the nervous system is the crux of, I guess what contributes to chronic pain. But, not only that it's the nervous system and the way that pain is signalled within the body, but the way that, You know, life events, past traumas, the way we're currently living, all contribute to a sense of danger and nervous system dysregulation or a system of safety within the body, and how that can actually play out into chronic pain conditions.
Peta: [00:05:00] Absolutely. by understanding that, then you understand that if we can have awareness, we can actually change our physiology, we can change our environment, purely through awareness at first, and then that can help to rewire and reshape our mind and our body to actually, Rewire differently and then, to decrease pain and to increase the health of our immune system to decrease inflammation, which can help with all of those physical problems, not just pain, but also, how we feel our mood, our outlook on life, which is intimately related. We know in all of the research to how much, someone is debilitated by pain. Absolutely. So I guess if we go through the weeks, how it will work. So it will be run by Thea and amazing Paula Hindle, who you would have heard from on the podcast last week, who is an incredible pelvic floor physiotherapist, yoga teacher, meditation teacher, exercise physiologist, and a coach, importantly. [00:06:00] Yes. At Vera.. So the three of us will be showing up every week for a live call. It's on a Monday at 12, aiming to fit in with people's lunch breaks. And there'll be a lot of different, materials, resources, workbooks and things to do in the interim.
Thea: And lots of sort of take home practices that, will really help people to connect to themselves and connect to their bodies and help to learn to kind of map and regulate their nervous system. To embody what we're actually trying to teach. That's right.
Peta: Yeah. So our first week we'll be talking about the physiology of pain and introducing the concept of our nervous system. So talking about endosrole and pelvic pain, all of the other things that can contribute to pain. So by the end of that week, you should be able to have a list of these are the potential causes of my pain, which is powerful because then you know you get an idea of where to go to address each of those things.
Week two is [00:07:00] mapping your own nervous system and that's more about building that inner awareness of where you are in your nervous system and giving you tools to return to a safe place in your nervous system where pain and disease is less likely.
Thea: Mmhm. Week three will be about pelvic floor awareness. We think this is one of the biggest drivers of pelvic pain is that, often. You know, if we've experienced pain for a very long time, and if we're bracing against a world that's quite stressful for us, most women with pelvic pain will have a degree of pelvic muscle tension, which can be a huge player. And so Paula will take you through lots of different strategies to become aware of the sort of degree of tension in the pelvic muscles and then look at strategies to help, reduce any tension that might be there.
Peta: Week four is about self compassion and rewiring our body for safety. So, we have to have self compassion to heal. We can't keep battling our self and [00:08:00] our, perceived illnesses because we're always, you know, fighting a part of ourselves. Is never a way that's going to bring true healing and so that's a really important week.
Thea: Yep And then week five is about reducing inflammation. So, thinking about all of the things that can drive up inflammation in the body, um, which can lead to pain. So, really looking in depth at things like, sleep, movement, diet, stress, and looking at how we can help to, reduce inflammation through those kind of really basic lifestyle changes, but they're so important. I think offered if you're not doing those things and nothing else really matters.
Peta: Mm hmm. Week six is about how we can work with hormone therapy and with the menstrual cycle and all menstrual cycle to help reduce inflammation increase ease and connection to ourselves, which is a really important thing vital and different concept. So we always talk about, that magic is a shift in perception.
And I think [00:09:00] sometimes, and particularly if you're a woman who is really suffering with really painful periods, you won't even be able to think about working with your menstrual cycle. And that can be part of the problem. So sometimes just that shift in perception of how going with the flow of the menstrual cycle might actually decrease pain and distress.
And if that's not, um, what you want, want to do, there are so many other options in terms of hormone therapy that can decrease inflammation.
Thea: Yeah. We'll obviously talk about all of those. Yeah. And then the last few weeks, the, the most exciting, I think.
Peta: They're the most alchemisey.
Thea: Yes. week seven is about discovering pleasure and connection. So really starting to take the focus. away from, our inner world and away from our body and actually looking out into the world and thinking what things bring us joy, what things bring us pleasure, what things make it wonderful to be alive, and how can we slowly start to recognize and fold those things [00:10:00] into our daily existence.
Because really, a life where we're not having to deal with and manage pain is a life where we have the bandwidth to focus on those things rather than to constantly be focusing on, pain and disease.
Peta: And there's a lot of, research that tells us that actually training our brain to look for those moments of beauty actually changes our brain away from chronic pain to feeling joy. Yep. Week eight is how we can cultivate meaning, joy and vision. I really like this quote that says the opposite of depression isn't happiness, it's meaning. And for many women who are really stuck in chronic pain, they may not have a vision for the future or have an idea of, a sense of meaning in their lives.
And without that, we don't have a, direction of where we want to go. And so I think that's also really important in cultivating the life that we want. Yeah. So we'll be, working [00:11:00] with visioning and, uh, a establishing meaning and, uh, I think that's a really key part of the alchemy journey from pain to whatever the next part of your journey is going to be.
Thea: Yep, absolutely. And then the last week in that same thing is thinking about the path forward. so really thinking about, you know, all the tools you've worked through the whole course. And how you can envisage your life moving forward. And, you know, a life without pain isn't possible. We all have pain. But it's about having enough joy and meaning and glimmers of beauty that mean pain is no longer the main focus.
Peta: And understanding our nervous system enough and understanding pain enough that we can feel safe in our body no matter what is happening. because if we can sit with whatever sensation is coming up, whether it's pain or discomfort or pleasure, all of those things will [00:12:00] pass, they're all transient. So it's about feeling safe enough in our bodies to just allow whatever comes up to come up.
Thea: And do you feel like we have the tools that, you know, if there are moments of pain, if there are flares of pain that we know that we can manage those.
Peta: Yeah. So you'll come away with, um, hopefully, all of the reasons for your pain, a toolkit or a menu of all of the, options for treatment, no matter whatever appeals to you, that you can take to a healthcare professional, especially if you're wanting things like hormone treatment or other medications, or referrals to allied health specialists like physiotherapists, dietitians, et cetera. and, um, We want you to go away with or come into this course with a sense of adventure of where can pain lead me? What is the opportunity in this, in this pain that has made me feel trapped, and not okay for a long time? Where are the hidden signposts?
How else can I get to you by [00:13:00] allowing myself to feel, allowing myself to feel it without pushing it away or overprotecting, which we know those two things are really associated with the perpetuation of pain. So it's kind of a really exciting opportunity to find out. Who you are and where you want to go next, and how to live a life that you really desire. It's less about pain, really, and more about that.
Thea: Yes, about feeling connected to yourself, and knowing yourself, and trusting yourself.
Peta: So, how can people find out about it, Thea?
Thea: Well you can go to the Vera Wellness website, www. verawellness. com. au, and if you, have a look there, there's a option to join the course.
You can also go to our Instagram account where there you can click on the link in the bio and and that will take you to the website. The other important thing to mention is that Paula is going to be holding a free webinar next Monday, so the week before the 10th of February at 12 o'clock in the lunch hour in the lunchtime as well, [00:14:00] which will really be all about setting up for success.
because I think, in order to make. These really, significant changes, we hope, that you will get out of the course. we certainly believe that you have to be invested, and also that we have to be prepared to have a daily practice, to really kind of, be able to fold a lot of the practices that you'll learn, in the course into your daily life. Because, I mean, lots of studies on neuroscience show that to alter, the pathways in the brain, we really need sort of at least two to three weeks of, of regular practice. And the more that we do that and the more that we're connecting with ourselves, the more likely we are to see these shifts.
Jessica Maguire talks about chronic pain and, the way that when we're rewiring our neural pathways, it's often like a path through the forest. And at first the path is really overgrown and we can't see where we need to go. But the [00:15:00] more we walk the path, the more we clear away all the grasses and the, and the shrubs, the easier The path becomes the easier it is to navigate. And so it's sort of about. Really, I guess, committing to yourself for the course. Um, and Paul is going to talk about, yeah, how we can really optimise that.
Peta: Yeah, and even if you don't know where that end point is, or what it is you really desire, or what you want your life to look like, that's okay. And that's very normal for people who are experiencing chronic pain and chronic nervous system dysregulation. And as Thea said, it's about taking each step every day and finally that path will become clear. And that's what we hope. you'll see at the end of this and hopefully what you see is a path right back to you without all of the, conditioning and the societal pressures and expectations and what you've been told, but it's coming right back to you so that you can then make whatever decisions you have to make for yourself and you'll have that [00:16:00] confidence.
I think that The reason why we're doing this, I think, is important to know. We see women who have complex pelvic pain every day. We spend an hour and a half, which is a lot, imperatively. But it's still, you still, we still feel like there's not enough time, right? And so what we really wanted to do was give women the opportunity to really deepen all of the aspects of the, um, contributors to pain and the ways that we can address it so that You know, you can really live it. You're just not being Bombarded with information in a one, in a single appointment and that you're actually able to experience with support over a, you know, reasonable length of time so that those changes can unfold within you.
Thea: Yes, I think that's the really important thing is that, you know, it's nine weeks of weekly meetings and weekly practices that will kind of touch base if you're on.
Because a lot of the time I think we see doctors and they say well you just need to exercise [00:17:00] or you just need to meditate or whatever and it's a bit nebulous but we really want it to be like we're giving you really simple, sort of strategies to connect with yourself that we can then support you all the way through.
Peta: And all you need to do is show up and say yes to yourself, really. so, yeah. If you wanna know more, jump off on onto our website. I think it, uh, registration's closed potentially on the 14th of February, so you've got a couple more weeks maybe by the time this comes out, perhaps only a few more days. but we would love to see you on the course.
Thea: And sign on for the, um, free webinar with Paula. Yes, I think that will be a really amazing taster of what it's all about.
Peta: Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thanks.. Bye. [00:18:00]
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This podcast is for information and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
