Ready to Start Your Healing Journey? Try Curable for Free!
The program includes:
- Pain Science Education
- Guided Meditations
- Writing & Brain Training Exercises
1. Accept that Curable most likely applies to your situation.
If you’re like many new Curable users, you've probably wondered if Curable could apply to your particular situation. We recognize that everybody is different – and has a unique set of symptoms. While you can likely find Curable stories that are similar to yours, it is unlikely that you'll identify a 100 percent match. Because of this, you may have reservations. "Curable worked for this person with back pain, but I have hip pain...or migraines...so it doesn 't apply to me."
Or maybe you believe that your symptoms are primarily structural, and therefore your brain is not playing a role at all. Or you wonder "what percentage" are your symptoms structural vs. learned.
Or perhaps you’re thinking that you won’t use the app correctly, so there’s really no reason to try. It won’t work for you, right?
We understand these feelings. You’ve been told countless things throughout your journey with chronic pain, and many of them have been wrong. Why would you want to get your hopes up?
We’re here to ease your mind, literally. It's a neuroscience fact: all pain is rooted in the brain. Yes, you read that right – all pain. It's also scientifically proven that various types of chronic pain can have the same sources of origin, and the same reasons why the pain doesn't go away.
So when you ask yourself what percentage is structural and what percentage is not, you may be missing the point....as well as missing an opportunity. A focus on the mindbody aspects of pain can provide pain relief and life improvement for people with countless diagnoses and situations, all across the structural-brain spectrum.
Goal: If you’re looking for a reason to avoid diving in fully and getting invested, try to reframe doubtful thoughts. Instead of thinking “let me try to think of ways this does NOT apply to me,” say to yourself, “let’s think of ways this WILL help me...that this CAN apply to my life.”
Note: Always visit a doctor or medical professional to rule out any life-threatening illness before beginning Curable.
2. Treat Curable like a journey, not a destination… or worse yet, a pill.
If you’re using Curable, it’s likely that you’re someone who expresses your stress and emotions through the sensation of pain. You’re not alone.
Understand that integrating Curable’s mindbody methods is a life-long journey and that your healing will not happen overnight. You don't "get fixed" by Curable. Rather, you learn new methods that you will likely have to use well into the future. Once you embrace this understanding, you can put less pressure on yourself to “do it right” or “do it better.”
While you won’t master Curable, you will get more comfortable meditating, writing and using Curable’s techniques.
Remember that thinking of Curable as a quick fix is detrimental to your healing journey and will prevent you from being kind to yourself along the way.
Other tips –
- Do the exercises in whatever order makes sense for you, but be sure to do the writing exercises.
- Keep in mind that everybody heals on their own timeline.
3. Pace yourself.
The fastest way to get better is to move through the Curable program as quickly as possible, right? Not quite. We at Curable see many of our users flying through the program at light speed. This can cause them to get stressed and anxious, which does the opposite of calming their nervous systems.
We understand why people want to do things quickly: they've spent years in pain and they want to get out of pain ASAP! Unfortunately, this kind of haste can be counterproductive.
To help make a usage recommendation, we’ve looked at global Curable usage patterns and matched them up to our customer satisfaction surveys. Based on this information, we recommend tapping the “Choose What’s Next” button only two to three times a week to begin new exercises. In your spare time, we recommend committing to self-care or repeating your favorite meditation.
Your goal should be to find a nice, relaxing, happy medium that works for you.
Try to avoid –
- Doing too much all at once.
- Sticking to one category only (and avoiding the writing!)
- Doing it in bursts, then taking long stretches of time in between. Consistency is key.
- Failing to repeat exercises.
4. Repeat exercises, often.
Curable is a practice. And like any practice, repetition - and not novelty - is the key to success. Curable is designed for you to do exercises more than once. And it’s quite possible that the same exercise will change for you as your needs change. By repeating exercises, you’ll get profound revelations that will transform your healing journey.
So if it's novelty that you crave, don't look for novelty in a new exercise. Rather, seek novelty in having new things come up during an exercise you've already done. That's where the magic happens.
5. Do the hard work.
Are you someone who finds yourself preferring to listen to an educational lesson or podcast episode every time you open the Curable app? You know you should do the writing, but you’re avoiding it?
For most, the path to healing leads through doing the hard work. We find that often, Curable users either do too much or not enough. If you fall into the “not enough” category, then consider stepping it up! We know many people wish Curable was as easy as taking a pill. But at this point, you know it’s not that simple.
Digging deep and bringing up emotions can be draining for some. If this describes you, then you'll want to strike a healthy balance between committing to the work, on one hand, and taking needed breaks, on the other
But in general, doing the hard stuff can make all the difference.
6. Remember that healing is not a straight line.
Once you progress on your Curable journey, you’re likely to find yourself having pain-free days, followed by pain relapses. These relapses are completely normal, and should be expected – probably for the rest of your life!
Think of pain as an alarm system that alerts your body when the system believes you're in danger. This system can be set off when something is structurally wrong, or when you are going through a stressful or painful time. This is likely to happen time and again over the upcoming years. The good news? You now have the tools to stay calm and address some of the underlying issues.
Many Curable users also find that their pain symptoms are replaced with other symptoms, such as anxiety, grief, sadness and anger. All of this is normal. Stick with the program and you’ll be able to work through these other symptoms as well.
Note: If your Curable work has dredged up intense feelings, don't hesitate to consult with a professional to help you work through these feelings.
7. Try to remain positive & engaged.
Positivity is a key ingredient to the Curable formula, and it’s backed by science. Studies find that negative emotions can weaken immune responses, and a positive outlook can improve outcomes and life satisfaction across a spectrum of conditions. Remember that the bad days will pass, and staying positive will lead to more good days.
We also find that staying engaged in the Curable Community inspires users to stick with the exercises, remember that they too can get better, and connect with like-minded individuals. You don’t have to have a solo journey. The Community is here to pick you up when you need it, and it’s a great place to share your wins as well.
Curable is intended to be a new lifestyle for you - a new way of approaching your life, stress and pain. Remember to always be compassionate to yourself through your journey. You’re doing your best and you’re healing a little bit more every day. Celebrate your progress.