The Power of Pain: Transforming Suffering into Growth

In this episode, Katie Wrigley discusses the power of pain and how it can be a catalyst for personal growth and empowerment. She shares her own experiences with emotional and physical pain and emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and understanding the lessons that pain can teach us. Katie provides practical steps for tapping into the body, exploring the opportunities that pain presents, and practicing self-compassion. She encourages listeners to believe in themselves and their ability to overcome challenges.

Takeaways

• Pain, whether emotional or physical, can be a powerful catalyst for personal growth and empowerment.
• By acknowledging and understanding the lessons that pain can teach us, we can transform our experiences and find meaning in our suffering.
• Tapping into the body, exploring the opportunities that pain presents, and practicing self-compassion are key steps in harnessing the power of pain.
• Believing in oneself and maintaining a positive mindset are essential for overcoming challenges and reaching one's full potential.

Resources

• Website
• Free Mini Cogno Mondays
• Learn more about Cognomovement
• Try Cognomovement for yourself!
• Book a call with Katie

Credit: Tom Giovingo, Intro & Outro, Random Voice Guy, Professional ‘Cat‘ Herder

Mixed & Managed: JohnRavenscraft.com

Disclaimer: Katie is not a medical professional and she is not qualified to diagnose any conditions. The advice and information she gives is based on her own experience and research. It does not take the place of medical advice. Always consult a medical professional first before you try anything new.

Transcript

Katie Wrigley (00:01.208)
Welcome back to the Catapult Effect Podcast. I am your host, Katie Wrigley. I like to pay attention to the different themes that are going on in people's lives.

and I had this idea come in, it kind of came in from a few different avenues at once, including what's going on in my own life. So today we're going to talk about what pain gives us. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic way. I mean that in a very serious way and as a way that you can start to empower yourself if you're dealing with emotional and or physical pain. I'm including all types of pain in this emotional pain has and continues

to be some of the most excruciating pain that I've ever felt in my body in my life and I have had high levels of physical pain so I feel like I have a leg to stand on to say

that statement emotional pain is just as painful if not more painful than physical pain and the brain is what is creating both of it and it is real. We're going to talk have other conversations about pain other times but today I really want to focus on what this can give you. So for the past few weeks I have been in some shit and it is impacting my mindset. It's impacting sleep and very few things impact sleep at this point on my journey other than me getting

in my own way and not wanting to shut down when I say. When I, and by the way, since I did the last episode, I have been so much better about shutting off my phone at the deadline that I've given myself and it is helping myself to continue to trust myself and build on that. So I want to talk about what you can do to start to look at the pain in your life and what it is giving you. So...

Katie Wrigley (01:49.92)
As I mentioned, this thing that is happening, there's a few things that are happening all at once that are kind of culminating. And it's one of those times where it feels like the shit is just piling on top of each other with just...

bad news after bad news after bad news and I know that that's not really it. It's just a period in my life that I'm choosing to look at as an opportunity. One of the coaches and someone who's still a good friend of mine, Melanie Curtis, she gave fantastic advice that she still lives by and I live by as well and that is to share from the scar not from the open wound. So I'm not yet ready to give details as far as what I'm going through right now but suffice it to say if it's impacting my sleep

it has a very high emotional charge. I have been in tears repeatedly recently, doubled over sobbing, the ugly crying, you name it, I am in it, in the wringer. And instead of staying quiet like I usually do and like my instinct does, I really wanted to take this opportunity and share with you so that you can take the tools that are helping me and implement them in your life to help yourself as well.

So as I had mentioned, I look at different themes and I was listening to the books Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls by Michael Newton. He was a doctor who and he was a hypnotherapist and I believe he's actually the one that created the life between lives protocol. I'm not trying to dig on anybody's belief system here. I tend to believe that we have more than one life. We're not aware of it for lot of reasons. This goes with my belief practice. I'm not trying to push that on you.

feel that we get multiple lives that's okay.

Katie Wrigley (03:36.152)
But it is empowering to me to believe that my soul chose this life for the lessons that I'm going to learn and for the growth that I'm going to have as a result of this life. And that's what a lot of people, his clients, his patients found when they came into him as well. And there was one that really stood out to me. There were a lot of stories that he shared that stood out, but this one really stood out because pain is one of the areas that I focus in with my clients. And it's one of my specialties is changing it, shifting it, alchemizing it and turning it into growth.

So this character, this client patient, not character since it's a real book, it's not fiction.

So she actually had chosen a life with a high level of pain. She had severe fibromyalgia. And when she came to this doctor, Michael Newton, for hypnosis, I don't recall whether she was suicidal or not, but she was in a lot of pain and was really struggling and suffering. And what she found in that session was the things that she had chosen to do with the pain. She had created an art class for herself and for others so that they had a creative outlet. And art therapy is one of the better things

you can do for yourself to improve your mental wellness resilience and help your body and nervous system calm down.

She also mentioned that it got her to slow down and to really listen to people. Because when she wasn't going 10 miles an hour, 10 million miles an hour every day of the week, she had a chance to slow down, listen and really connect to people. And that is what life is about. I truly believe all of us are here to be of service to everybody else in the ways that are unique to us while we also value ourselves. We get really thrown off of that mission. But I do believe deeply

Katie Wrigley (05:21.536)
that's what we're here for and it's up to each of us to figure out what our purpose is. And so this woman had found that she had intentionally, willingly chosen this life because of the lessons it was giving her. It was teaching her compassion. It was teaching her empathy. It was teaching her how to slow down and how to be patient. And I was listening to this and I reflected on my own journey.

I've always been a softy, but my empathy and compassion since being disabled six years ago has gone through the roof. It has grown exponentially. My ability to hold space and allow someone to be in whatever they are in has also grown exponentially. And like the person in the book, it also forced me to slow down and my listening skills have greatly improved.

There is so much growth that can start to come out of these painful points. And as I reflect on that and I look at the current pain that I'm dealing with, it has upended every area of my life. I haven't been as consistent posting content because what I tend to do when I'm feeling really sad is I withdraw so that people can't see it. And this was a big shift for me to take my sadness, come on here. You may be able to see the sadness in my eyes if you're watching this, but.

I have a smile on my face because I'm connected to the growth. The pain is still there to be clear and I am still fully feeling it. It is very important that you do that as well. But this was impacting every area of my life. My relationships, I was withdrawing more. I had some people check in to do mental health checks on me, which I appreciated and also got irritated at. But I appreciated the sentiment and the love that came from it.

And I just haven't been myself and I'm giving myself grace instead of trying to push through it and setting boundaries and hoping that people can hear them with love and know that it's not personal during this time. It is giving me the opportunity to stand more firmly in my boundaries and really listen to what I need for myself. And this is important to prioritize yourself no matter what you were doing in your day to day life with your parent, a teacher, whatever job you are first responder.

Katie Wrigley (07:37.412)
You've got to put yourself first to have the maximum available for everybody else that you want to be able to give to in a day. If you do not include yourself in this, you are not going to have as much to give, period. So what are the action steps that you can start to take?

If you're struggling with pain right now, emotional or physical. If you're at the brink where I was, ugly crying every day, gut wrenching sobs, bawling at the drop of a hat, like I can almost even cry now, just thinking of all the emotion that I've been going through and yep, tears are trying to come. And that's okay.

So the first step you want to take if you're dealing with pain is tap into your body. Take some time meditating. Scan your body from head to toe. A beautiful way to start to get in harmony with your body is to do a gratitude meditation. Doesn't take very long. You could start at your head or your toes, whichever way and just every body part. Just give thanks to it and you can have some fun, you know, with some of the body parts in there. So the body parts we use for pleasure by all means have gratitude for that.

I certainly do when I get around my boobs and you know other areas. It's like Thank you for the pleasure you have given me because our body can give us pleasure So even if it's giving us pain signals acknowledge all of those places where it's giving you pleasure to whether it's male female Non -binary whatever however you refer to your body give him her them so much love and gratitude and start to tap into it

if you're willing.

Katie Wrigley (09:16.044)
You can also journal as part of this. And I like to tie in journaling and meditation sometimes it can be more powerful and really sit there and think what has this given you? And I want you to name three things that your pain has given you. So I named a few. You can take mine if it's true for you as well. It's helping with growth. It's definitely building my resilience and my confidence. It's allowing me an opportunity to teach and share what's helping me with the rest of you. It's giving me an opportunity to connect.

and let you see me more authentically versus those times where I am feeling really amazing. I'm not feeling amazing as I'm doing this episode. And I'm still here because I am attached to the idea that this is an opportunity and I feel strongly that this is an opportunity. So what opportunities is your pain giving you right now? And really look at that and see and list it and feel it. Really feel into that.

Like when I look at the painful pieces and what it's taking from me and the unknowns that are still out there, it is very easy for me to go spiraling down a rabbit hole. But when I shift 180 degrees in the other direction of what may be possible, what if the worst thing doesn't happen?

What if the best things happen? What if this change is what I needed to finally fully step into my full potential? What if what you are going through right now is your opportunity to fully step into your full potential and go balls to the walls, no apologies, going exactly for what you want? What if that is what can come out of what you're going through right now? Isn't it worth it to continue to endure?

if this is what can come from it. This is how you get away from suffering. This is how you start to have a human experience that may contain pain, but has zero suffering. It all starts in your mind. The same place where pain is created. Doesn't mean it's not real. It is real. It is created here and the perception can be changed in the brain as well. And that is incredibly empowering.

Katie Wrigley (11:29.526)
The other thing, the last thing that I want you to do if you are dealing with pain is include yourself in your compassion and your self love.

So a dear friend of mine who I interviewed recently, Coral Buchanan on here. Thank you, Coral. I love you. So she helped me with a Cognitive Movement session yesterday because I was just gutted. Like I was crying in public. Like the change in 24 hours is incredible. But again, I didn't get on film yesterday to do that. But what she did, so Cognitive Movement, we can remove negative feelings and we can also make positive ones bigger. And so in this session,

really fully truly deeply saw all the potential and it really excited me it lit me up and it's continuing to light me up today and then she re -encouraged reinforced

the mantras that I have behind me on the wall. So I want you to do this with me. So if you're listening right now, state your name out loud, whatever it is. So I'm going to do it here. You state your name along with mine. I, Katie Wrigley, I believe in myself. I am going to be amazing today. Anything is possible. And I am never going to give up.

And want you to keep repeating that. Let's go through it a couple more times. Saying your name, repeating it out loud with me. I state your name, Katie Wrigley, believe in myself. I am going to be amazing today. Anything is possible and I am never going to give up. One last time. I state your name, Katie Wrigley, believe in myself.

Katie Wrigley (13:25.182)
Anything is possible. I am going to be amazing today and I am never going to give up. And continue to repeat that and feel what changes to your state as you're doing that. Notice any upticks in energy. Notice what starts to shift in your body. Please.

Please include yourself and the compassion and love that you have for others. So just to recap those three steps. First pause, tap into your body, give it some gratitude for everything that it's given you. Check in with it. Maybe it some messages for you as well, but start to really look at what is it giving you?

All of these things that are happening in your body, what is this pain giving you? What are the opportunities? Look deeply, step two, look deeply at the opportunities it's giving you. Is there someone that you can connect to due to this pain? What can potentially come out of this pain? What is the potential for growth? What is the potential to build your confidence, to help you move to higher levels of resilience and even reach anti -fragility? What becomes possible for you?

And third, include yourself in the compassion and love you give others. Because I believe in you. But in order for you to reach your goals, you need to believe in yourself. The same way I need to believe in myself to get through the things that I'm going through. You need to do the same for yourself too. Thank you so much for joining me today.

If you want to have a deeper chat about this and talk about how I may be able to help you get through some of the challenges that you're working on now, whether it's physical or emotional pain, or maybe you're trying to build something amazing and you just feel like you're stuck, grab a 30 minute call with me. I'm going to go ahead and link to that in the show notes as well. So please make sure to check them out after you finish this episode. The show notes are going to contain both the link to the call with me as well as another link.

Katie Wrigley (15:29.646)
over to my pain changer group on Facebook so you can come join us over there. And again, I go live every Wednesday at 3 .30 p So I hope you'll come join us over there. It's growing, it's getting a lot more fun, getting a lot more people that are participating in there and adding to it and bringing in their own wellness tips. Thank you again for joining me and for making the choice to listen to this podcast when there are so many others out there. I'm so grateful for you. Thank you so much. And until next time, please be well.