I have such a similar story.. except instead of leaving tech and pursuing chronic pain, my chronic pain dragged me away from tech, while kicking and screaming :-D I have followed a very similar healing path as you (2 yrs of neuroscience backed brain retraining using the Gupta program, plus PRT and nervous system coaching) and I'm so glad you are writing about your experience! I'm in the same boat, feeling very passionate about what to do now.. what can I do now to help others avoid some of the pitfalls and get to a path of healing faster. Looking forward to reading more about your journey and would love to connect further too if you're interested!
Dan are you familiar with the work of Neil Pearson? He’s a Canadian practitioner who thinks along lines similar to yours: https://paincareaware.com and you might enjoy connecting with him.
Dr. John Sarno’s Mind Body Prescription (https://amzn.to/4nz6GnD) outlines these exact themes. I took years too read it after being recommended by a friend, and it completely changed by chronic pain, so much so that I’m sometimes hesitant to recommend it, else others feel it is as far fetched as I did.
High level: Chronic mental stress can produce chronic physical pain and thoughtful exercises in Sarno’s book and others can help alleviate it.
Worst case you spend a few days reading and trying out the exercises and it doesn’t work. Better case you help breakthrough something that’s severely limiting your life!
I have been through a similar journey man! I too tried every physical intervention seemingly possible. X rays, medications, physio, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, everything! This entire topic fascinates me. Perhaps most helpful was the intersection of non-duality and approaches from people like Dan Buglio and Sam Miller / Helmut on YouTube. Can’t wait to see what you get up to as I also said to myself that once I’m fully recovered I’m going to commit time to helping others in this area wherever I can! Well done 💪
I was also a big fan of Dan Buglio's daily videos during my recovery. They were simple, yet very helpful for keeping me on track and helping me become more at ease in my mind.
The Way Out by Alan Gordon + Alon Ziv is an excellent Primer on Chronic pain, and definitely made an impact on my life. Glad to see others are also disseminating the new findings.
The fact that the onset of these symptoms was immediately after moving houses suggests that there could be some environmental factor, with the two most likely being neurotoxic mold of EMF exposure.
Recommend getting professional mold testing and an EMF meter to check the levels in your house.
Other environmental factors could include paint or carpet VOC off-gassing.
So that was partially my thinking for about 9 months (after reading a provoking book called Toxicity - great read). However, after going through the recovery process for mold my pain levels were no better than before. This was the last "physical"/structural path I went down and is what led to me fully engaging the approach this blog series highlights (and which has been shown in literature + research to be highly effective for people with this category of chronic pain).
Additionally it's worth noting I had chronic pain while living in 4 different homes over the 4+ year period of symptoms - and my symptoms persisted still for over a year living in my last home (before they resolved while still living there for 4-5 more months as described in another comment on the home).
So beyond targeted environmental treatment seemingly doing nothing for my pain + living conditions varying notably over the years, I don't believe environmental factors were the cause of my chronic pain!
My home likely didn't contribute to my illness - at least from a mould perspective, and because I recovered 4-5 months before I left that location.
I went on a set of elimination diets and binding medications following some mould being detected in my body. However this did not lead to a change in symptoms. This was the final straw (after doing a laundry list of other root cause explores) which led me to invest in the approach this series is directed towards - and which will be walked through (in relation to other root causes) in the coming posts.
Below is a structured, non-exhaustive differential for a middle-aged adult who develops shifting, bilateral Achilles tendinopathy, shoulder pain, hand-forearm-elbow pain, and voice problems over four years, with no clear precipitating trauma and significant impact on function.
Neurologic deficits, progressive weakness, or bladder/bowel dysfunction
Rapidly escalating pain out of proportion to exam findings
Important: This list is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for a clinician’s evaluation. A thorough history, physical examination, and targeted investigations are needed to narrow the differential and guide management.
Very neat, this is pretty much everything I explored. At one point I even spent a ton of time and money on mould toxicity testing and reduction as IIRC some strains have been linked to pain/fatigue.
I'll be diving into this thoroughly in 2-3 weeks time.
I have such a similar story.. except instead of leaving tech and pursuing chronic pain, my chronic pain dragged me away from tech, while kicking and screaming :-D I have followed a very similar healing path as you (2 yrs of neuroscience backed brain retraining using the Gupta program, plus PRT and nervous system coaching) and I'm so glad you are writing about your experience! I'm in the same boat, feeling very passionate about what to do now.. what can I do now to help others avoid some of the pitfalls and get to a path of healing faster. Looking forward to reading more about your journey and would love to connect further too if you're interested!
I'm sorry to hear you had to go down this path as well.
I'll reach out!
Dan are you familiar with the work of Neil Pearson? He’s a Canadian practitioner who thinks along lines similar to yours: https://paincareaware.com and you might enjoy connecting with him.
Keen to take a look. Thanks!
I came here through word of mouth, after revealing I have left tech as well. Rock on
We need more published lived experiences in the world. I'm excited for this blog and for the people you can help :).
Thanks Clare 💙
Dr. John Sarno’s Mind Body Prescription (https://amzn.to/4nz6GnD) outlines these exact themes. I took years too read it after being recommended by a friend, and it completely changed by chronic pain, so much so that I’m sometimes hesitant to recommend it, else others feel it is as far fetched as I did.
High level: Chronic mental stress can produce chronic physical pain and thoughtful exercises in Sarno’s book and others can help alleviate it.
Worst case you spend a few days reading and trying out the exercises and it doesn’t work. Better case you help breakthrough something that’s severely limiting your life!
I have been through a similar journey man! I too tried every physical intervention seemingly possible. X rays, medications, physio, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, everything! This entire topic fascinates me. Perhaps most helpful was the intersection of non-duality and approaches from people like Dan Buglio and Sam Miller / Helmut on YouTube. Can’t wait to see what you get up to as I also said to myself that once I’m fully recovered I’m going to commit time to helping others in this area wherever I can! Well done 💪
Thanks David!
I was also a big fan of Dan Buglio's daily videos during my recovery. They were simple, yet very helpful for keeping me on track and helping me become more at ease in my mind.
Feel free to reach out if you ever want to chat.
So keen for this!
The Way Out by Alan Gordon + Alon Ziv is an excellent Primer on Chronic pain, and definitely made an impact on my life. Glad to see others are also disseminating the new findings.
The fact that the onset of these symptoms was immediately after moving houses suggests that there could be some environmental factor, with the two most likely being neurotoxic mold of EMF exposure.
Recommend getting professional mold testing and an EMF meter to check the levels in your house.
Other environmental factors could include paint or carpet VOC off-gassing.
Hey David!
So that was partially my thinking for about 9 months (after reading a provoking book called Toxicity - great read). However, after going through the recovery process for mold my pain levels were no better than before. This was the last "physical"/structural path I went down and is what led to me fully engaging the approach this blog series highlights (and which has been shown in literature + research to be highly effective for people with this category of chronic pain).
Additionally it's worth noting I had chronic pain while living in 4 different homes over the 4+ year period of symptoms - and my symptoms persisted still for over a year living in my last home (before they resolved while still living there for 4-5 more months as described in another comment on the home).
So beyond targeted environmental treatment seemingly doing nothing for my pain + living conditions varying notably over the years, I don't believe environmental factors were the cause of my chronic pain!
Dan
Was your new home, new as in brand new, like sick building syndrome?
My home likely didn't contribute to my illness - at least from a mould perspective, and because I recovered 4-5 months before I left that location.
I went on a set of elimination diets and binding medications following some mould being detected in my body. However this did not lead to a change in symptoms. This was the final straw (after doing a laundry list of other root cause explores) which led me to invest in the approach this series is directed towards - and which will be walked through (in relation to other root causes) in the coming posts.
The building itself was relatively new.
OpenAI o3 says:
Below is a structured, non-exhaustive differential for a middle-aged adult who develops shifting, bilateral Achilles tendinopathy, shoulder pain, hand-forearm-elbow pain, and voice problems over four years, with no clear precipitating trauma and significant impact on function.
1. Local or regional tissue disorders
Tendinopathies: bilateral mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy, rotator-cuff tendinosis, lateral epicondylitis, De Quervain tenosynovitis
Enthesitis related to seronegative spondyloarthropathies
Myofascial pain syndromes or trigger points
Laryngeal muscle-tension dysphonia for the voice symptoms
2. Systemic inflammatory and autoimmune
Seronegative spondyloarthritis (e.g., psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis)
Rheumatoid arthritis (seropositive or seronegative)
Polymyalgia rheumatica (if age >50 and proximal girdle involvement)
Systemic lupus erythematosus or mixed connective-tissue disease
Vasculitides such as polyarteritis nodosa or giant-cell arteritis (age dependent)
3. Endocrine-metabolic
Hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism causing diffuse myalgias and tendinous pain
Hyperparathyroidism or osteomalacia with bone pain mimicking tendon pain
Diabetes with early diabetic cheiroarthropathy or neuropathy presenting as limb pain
4. Infectious or post-infectious
Lyme disease with migratory arthralgias and tendinopathy
Viral arthritides (parvovirus B19, hepatitis B/C, Chikungunya)
Post-streptococcal reactive arthritis
5. Neuropathic and central pain amplification
Small-fiber neuropathy producing burning distal limb pain
Cervical or lumbar radiculopathy with referred limb pain
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS type I or II)
Central sensitisation syndromes including fibromyalgia spectrum disorders
6. Mechanical or structural
Haglund deformity with retro-Achilles bursitis
Degenerative rotator-cuff tear, acromial impingement
Median or ulnar entrapment neuropathies at the elbow or wrist
7. Hematologic or malignant
Monoclonal gammopathy or multiple myeloma with bone pain
Leukemia or lymphoma with musculoskeletal infiltration
8. Drug- or toxin-induced
Fluoroquinolone-associated tendinopathy
Statin-induced myalgia or tendinopathy
Aromatase inhibitors causing diffuse joint pain in breast cancer survivors
9. Psychologic and functional
Somatic symptom disorder
Pain disorder associated with anxiety, depression, PTSD, or high stress
Centralised pain from chronic pain neural circuitry changes (mind-body model)
Red-flag features that warrant urgent evaluation
Night pain that does not improve with position changes
Unintentional weight loss, fevers, drenching sweats
Neurologic deficits, progressive weakness, or bladder/bowel dysfunction
Rapidly escalating pain out of proportion to exam findings
Important: This list is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for a clinician’s evaluation. A thorough history, physical examination, and targeted investigations are needed to narrow the differential and guide management.
Very neat, this is pretty much everything I explored. At one point I even spent a ton of time and money on mould toxicity testing and reduction as IIRC some strains have been linked to pain/fatigue.
I'll be diving into this thoroughly in 2-3 weeks time.