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03/18/2026

Let’s talk about the chronic pain overactivity cycle.

It often looks like this:
1️⃣ You have a “good” or tolerable pain day.
2️⃣ You do as much as possible — cleaning, errands, yard work.
3️⃣ Pain increases.
4️⃣ You’re out for the count for days.
5️⃣ You fall behind… and push hard again when you feel a little better.

Round and round it goes.

This isn’t laziness. It’s a predictable pattern in chronic pain.

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP), we work to interrupt this cycle using pacing and graded activity.

The goal is consistency — not heroic productivity followed by collapse.

📖 Read more about breaking the overactivity cycle here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for the pacing strategy breakdown next

03/17/2026

Growing up, you may have heard, “Pace yourself.”

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP), we mean that literally.

Most of us are wired to push through. Finish the list. Get it done. Rest later.

But even people without chronic pain feel the impact of doing too much without breaks.

With chronic pain, pushing through often leads to:
✔ Increased pain
✔ Forced rest
✔ Falling behind
✔ Repeating the cycle

This is called the overactivity cycle.

Pacing helps break that pattern by balancing activity and rest intentionally — not reactively.

📖 Learn more about pacing in CBT-CP here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for the full breakdown of the overactivity cycle

03/13/2026

When we talk about exercise in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP), we are not talking about boot camps or marathons.

We’re talking about:
✔ Gentle stretching
✔ Brief walks (yes, even one minute)
✔ A pedaler while sitting
✔ Swimming or water movement

One minute is better than zero minutes.

If your goal is walking to the mailbox without flaring up, that counts. If your goal is around the block, that counts too.

Muscles are “use ‘em or lose ‘em.” Gradual movement keeps them active and helps rebuild strength and tolerance over time.

This is about finding the right movement for YOU.

📖 Read the full breakdown of exercise and pacing in CBT-CP here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for more chronic pain education

03/12/2026

One of the most important concepts in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP) is this:

Hurt does not equal harm.

When you’ve been underactive for months (or years), reintroducing movement is going to feel uncomfortable.

Think about it this way:
If you’ve taken the elevator to the 4th floor every day for a year, your legs are going to feel sore when you start taking the stairs.

Soreness ≠ injury.
Discomfort ≠ damage.

Often, it simply means your muscles and nervous system are adjusting to change.

In chronic pain, the system is more sensitive. That sensitivity doesn’t automatically mean new harm has occurred.

Understanding this difference is key to rebuilding confidence in movement.

📖 Read more about exercise and pacing in CBT-CP here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for more pain science education

03/11/2026

When most people hear “exercise,” they picture running, lifting weights, or spending hours at the gym.

That’s not what we’re talking about in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP).

In chronic pain management, exercise often means:
✔ Gentle stretching
✔ Short walks
✔ Light mobility work
✔ Slow, graded strengthening

For many people, movement feels scary. Sometimes the activity that caused the original injury becomes associated with danger. It makes sense that your brain would start labeling movement as a threat.

But chronic pain often involves a sensitized nervous system — not ongoing damage.

Gentle, structured movement helps rebuild safety and strength over time.

📖 Read more about how exercise is approached in CBT-CP here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for more chronic pain education

03/10/2026

You’ve probably been told to “just exercise” for your chronic pain.

And you may have thought: absolutely not.

Let’s separate myth from reality in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP).

🚫 Myth: Exercise will increase pain.
🚫 Myth: It has to be intense to matter.
🚫 Myth: Movement will cause more damage.

✅ Reality: Motion is lotion.
✅ Reality: Underactivity can actually increase pain sensitivity.
✅ Reality: Starting with one minute counts.

Chronic pain often involves nervous system sensitization. Gentle, graded movement helps calm that system over time.

This isn’t about running marathons. It’s about rebuilding trust with your body.

📖 Read the full blog on CBT-CP Sessions 3 & 4 here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for more chronic pain education

03/09/2026

In Session 4 of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP), we focus on two key strategies:

✔ Gradual exercise
✔ Behavioral pacing

Many people with chronic pain fall into one of two patterns:
• Underactivity (avoiding movement out of fear of pain)
• Overactivity (doing too much on “good” days and crashing after)

CBT-CP helps break that cycle by:
• Introducing structured, gradual movement
• Using time-based pacing instead of pain-based stopping
• Increasing activity tolerance slowly and intentionally

The goal isn’t pushing through pain.
The goal is building consistency.

📖 Read the full breakdown of Sessions 3 & 4 here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for the next CBT-CP skill deep dive

03/06/2026

SMART goals aren’t cookie-cutter therapy.

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP), SMART goals help turn vague hopes into concrete action.

Specific.
Measurable.
Attainable.
Realistic.
Time-bound.

“Feel better” is vague.
“Walk for 3 minutes, 3x per week for two weeks” is actionable.

Structure doesn’t limit you — it helps you move forward.

📖 Read the full breakdown here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for the next CBT-CP session focus

03/05/2026

“I can’t imagine anything being different.”

If you’ve been living with chronic pain for years, that feeling makes sense.

When you’ve been stuck in survival mode, it’s hard to picture change.

In CBT-CP, we slow down. We look at your values. We explore what matters. And we build goals from there.

You don’t need to see the whole staircase. Just the next step.

📖 Read more about the goal-setting process here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

➕ Follow for the next CBT-CP breakdown

03/04/2026

“My goal is just to not have pain.”

I hear this all the time. And it makes sense.

But chronic pain is chronic. That means I can’t promise a magic 0/10 pain score.

What we can do in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP) is build a life that doesn’t revolve around pain.

Your goals might include:
✔ Playing with your grandkids
✔ Taking a short walk
✔ Feeling less stuck
✔ Reconnecting with something meaningful

Pain may still exist. But it doesn’t have to run the show.

📖 Read the full blog here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

👉 Share with someone who feels defeated
➕ Follow for the next CBT-CP breakdown

03/03/2026

Why set goals in therapy for chronic pain?

Because without direction, we spin our wheels.

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP), Session 3 focuses on identifying where you actually want change to happen.

If nothing changes… nothing changes.

Goal setting isn’t about forcing positivity. It’s about building a path forward — even if that path is small.

You don’t have to know the entire future. You just need a direction.

📖 Read the full breakdown of CBT-CP Sessions 3 & 4 here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

👉 Share with someone feeling stuck
👉 Follow for the next part of the CBT-CP series

03/02/2026

Chronic pain doesn’t just affect your body — it affects your goals, routines, and identity.

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP) Sessions 3 & 4, Dr. Christina Pimble breaks down:
✔ Why goal setting actually matters
✔ How SMART goals work (without being cookie cutter)
✔ The truth about exercise and chronic pain (“motion is lotion”)
✔ How pacing prevents the overactivity crash cycle

Let’s be clear: we can’t promise a 0/10 pain score. But we can help you build a life that doesn’t revolve around pain.

If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t imagine anything being different,” this blog is for you.

🔗 Read the full breakdown here: https://teletherapymaryland.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-chronic-pain-unpacking-the-basics-sessions-3-and-4

👉 Share with someone navigating chronic pain
👉 Follow along — we’re breaking down the rest of CBT-CP next

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