Anna Holtzman: From reality tv video editor to chronic pain recovery therapist and coach

Her Path to Purpose

Anna's journey is unlike any featured on this podcast and is an example of how one's healing can play such an integral role in their own path of purpose. Binge the entire episode in one sitting or use the minute markers below to listen to the parts that jump out to you now. Whichever approach you take, you will come away with a deeper understanding of what chronic pain is and how it might be impacting you and your family members in ways you never expected.
You can take the free quiz Anna mentions on her website here and connect with her on Instagram here.
Let's get social! Follow Her Path to Purpose and Rosanna on social media at the links below:
Instagram: @herpathtopurposepod and @rosanna.e.gill
Facebook: Her Path to Purpose private Facebook group
Minute markers:

3:45: What is chronic pain

4:50: How Anna’s search to understand and deal with her chronic migraines intertwined with her eventual departure from her job as a video editor for reality tv and her decision to become a therapist.

10:15 How Anna became an editor for reality tv

13:50 Which came first, working through the migraines or becoming a therapist?

15:00 The reality show Anna pitched before ultimately leaving reality tv behind

17:30 Why Rosanna applied for a reality tv show

22:30 The politics and coercive practices of reality tv that drove Anna away

28:55 Workplace cultures that are cult-like in nature

29:55 The rise of reality tv after a writer’s strike

31:50 How and why Grad school amplified Anna’s migraines

39:22 When Anna started searching for healing from chronic pain

42:15 The turning point in Anna’s chronic pain recovery journey
44:40 How pain is a protective response from your body

45:15 How pain can manifest to protect you from a family event

45:45 Rosanna’s bout with chronic stomach pains during one summer

46:45 How your nervous system will create a physical pain that is easier to communicate about than emotional distress

49:20 The tie between debilitating period cramps and cultural conditioning around menstruation

51:30 Why some people are not open to the discussion of chronic pain

53:30 Why some people are uncomfortable discussing therapy

54:50 When Anna shifted her therapy focus from sexual trauma to chronic pain recovery

57:20 The program that Anna and a colleague created that helps people process pain from sexual trauma and incest through expressive writing

59:45 Using expressive writing as relationship repair between your emotions and thoughts

1:02:00 The conflict between your thoughts and emotions that can lead to chronic pain

1:05:00 How Anna deals with the conditioning she has around emotions and what she does with them

1:12:00 Rosanna and Anna open up about their own difficultiesmaintaining the practices of acknowledging their feelings

1:16:00 Why you are not equipped to handle your partner’s or family member’s feelings

1:18:00 Why Anna is a therapist AND coach

1:19:25 Why Anna doesn’t only work with licensed therapists in her own healing

1:22:55 Anna’s advice for people at the beginning of their chronic pain recovery journey

1:24:15 Anna’s advice for someone who knows they want to do something different but aren’t sure what

1:27:20 When the pain starts to fall away in your chronic pain recovery journey