March Blog | The 12 Stage of Healing – Stage 3 | Dr. Codi Osborne, Innately Yours Chiropractic Studio

By Stage Three, we’re no longer just feeling tension, we’re trying to make sense of it. The mind kicks in hard. We analyze, explain, defend, and justify. We create a story about our pain, our patterns, our past, and then we get stuck in it.

This is what Dr. Donald Epstein calls Stage Three: Stuck in a Story. It’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a brilliant survival mechanism. The story gives us a structure when our nervous system feels unsafe. But eventually, it becomes the very thing holding us back from healing.

🧠 Story Loops and the Nervous System

In this stage, the nervous system is doing something very human, it’s using the mind to regain control. We ruminate. We replay. We cling to identities like:

• “I’ve always had a bad back.”
• “That’s just how my body is.”
• “I’ve tried everything—nothing works for me.”

Our thoughts and stories get tied to our spinal tone, literally shaping the way we hold ourselves and feel ourselves. The brain is doing its best to protect us, but in this stage, it tends to block progress rather than support it.

This is often when people tell me, “I know this isn’t just physical. Something deeper is going on.” That’s Stage Three awareness.

💬 My Experience With Stage Three

When I opened Innately Yours, I ran into my own stories: “Will people get this work?” “Am I doing enough?” “What if I fail?” These thoughts didn’t just live in my mind, they lived in my posture, my breath, my tone of voice.

And you know what changed it? Presence. Breath. Receiving care. Letting my spine move in new ways and inviting my nervous system to soften its grip.

Our stories matter, but they’re not the whole story.

✨ From Story to Sensation

Stage Three is powerful because it signals readiness. You’re finally aware that the old script isn’t working. You want a new story, but the mind can’t write it alone. It needs the body.

In NetworkSpinal, we help shift attention from the head to the body, from intellectualizing pain to feeling what’s actually happening underneath. This creates a foundation for Stage Four: the release.

🛠️ Practices for Stage Three

• Journaling Prompt: “What story do I keep telling myself about my body, my health, or my healing?”
• Body Awareness: When you notice yourself spiraling into thoughts, pause and ask: “Where do I feel this in my body?”
• Breath Practice: Inhale slowly for 3 counts. Hold for 3. Exhale for 6. Let the breath lead you out of the loop.

Awareness is enough. You don’t need to fight the story, just witness it and breathe.

🤍 Let’s Connect

If you find yourself saying the same thing over and over about your pain, your energy, your emotions, it might be time to explore what’s underneath the story.

Ask us how this stage might relate to your care journey. You’re not broken. You’re just beginning to hear the deeper wisdom of your body.

With clarity and care,
Dr. Codi