Becky Curtis, Enneagram 7 & Pain Coach, Talks About Empathy & Helping People Overcome Chronic Pain

In this episode we feature Enneagram 7, Becky Curtis, who talks with us about empathy and overcoming chronic pain. We also end the episode with advice on how each of the 9 Enneagram types can be more empathetic.

In the summer of 2005, Becky Curtis was in a violent rollover car accident in the remote Big Hole Valley of Montana—just past the sign that read “Wisdom 14 miles.”

A C-4 spinal cord injury almost took her life—twice. She fought to stay alive and rehabilitate from the severe injuries. Months of therapy helped her relearn many of the motor skills I’d lost, until she became somewhat used to her physical limitations.

Then she encountered an even harder challenge: excruciating, burning, aching central nerve pain caused by a cyst on the spinal cord. It was inoperable. It seemed I faced a life of never-ending pain—so unbearable I didn’t know how I could go on.

Her doctors worked hard to help her find a solution, but the best medications for nerve pain didn’t help. Narcotics didn’t even touch the pain; they just made it harder for her to cope with her pain. She was trapped in her body and desperately wanted to get out.

She prayed for answers and for hope. Referral to a pain clinic gave her training in the science of pain, knowledge of the mind-body aspects of pain, and tools to make desired behavioral changes and reach measurable goals. she now had a way to decrease her pain.

She continued to research pain and to collaborate with medical specialists, but she recognized that a piece was missing for most people in pain: ongoing support, learning how to personally manage pain, and motivation to make lasting change. This sparked an idea that soon became her passion: helping others with chronic pain learn effective ways to decrease their pain experience and permanently manage their pain.

I recognized a piece that was missing for most people in pain: ongoing support and learning how to personally manage pain.

Becky Curtis founded Take Courage Coaching® with a vision to share what she was learning—how to manage my pain so it wasn’t the center of her universe. In time she gathered and trained a group of people who are equally passionate about making life less about pain and more about living. Through the contagious courage of our great team of NBCHWC coaches, others are finding their way back from the brink of despair. Her dream is to make pain management coaching the standard of care for everyone with chronic pain.

Pain no longer has control of her life. Every day she actively manages her pain under the backdrop of the towering mountains of Utah. And every day is filled with the joy of helping others learn and practice strategies that help free them from the tyranny of pain.

Wisdom is no longer just the name of a small town in the middle of Montana. Today it means the power to understand pain and send it back where it belongs.

https://takecouragecoaching.com