Pelvic Pain, Shame, and the Long Road to Freedom with Claire Birnie

Pelvic Pain, Shame, and the Long Road to Freedom with Claire Birnie

From The Cure for Chronic Pain with Nicole Sachs, LCSW by Nicole Sachs, LCSW

May 22, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

Claire Birnie shares her long journey with chronic pelvic pain and the healing process through JournalSpeak and self-acceptance.

Learn how to JournalSpeak ➡️ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.yourbreakawake.com/journalspeak⁠ In this episode, I’m joined by the wonderful Claire Birnie, whose story is such a powerful reminder that healing does not always arrive in one clean, linear, cinematic moment. Claire lived with chronic pelvic and vaginal pain for more than two decades. After years of medical searching, diagnoses that named the pain but did not resolve it, countless treatments, medications, physical therapies, and the deep loneliness that can come with symptoms people are afraid to talk about, Claire eventually found the work of Dr. Sarno, JournalSpeak, and our mindbody approach. What I love so much about this conversation is Claire’s honesty about the long way around. She talks about researching, resisting, comparing herself to other recovery stories, wondering if she was doing it wrong, and slowly learning that every part of her process belonged. We talk about good-girl conditioning, conflict avoidance, the fear of being seen, the shame of not knowing how to feel, and the way the nervous system can create symptoms in the very places we most want to hide. Claire’s recovery was not about doing this…

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