After surviving a devastating car accident and living for years with relentless, incurable chronic pain, former global advertising executive Alex Crowther found himself at the brink of despair. In this deeply moving episode, Alex shares how surrender, neuroscience, and faith transformed his suffering into purpose—and how pain can become an invitation to real healing and a new calling.
In this powerful conversation, Wendy sits down with Alex Crowther, a former global advertising executive who once led billion-dollar brands for companies like Chrysler, Jeep, Mercedes, and General Motors. From the outside, Alex’s life looked wildly successful—international travel, leadership prestige, and financial security. But everything changed after a near-fatal car accident that marked the beginning of a decade-long battle with chronic pain.
What began as injuries to his hands slowly spread throughout his body. After years of surgeries, misdiagnoses, medications, and unanswered questions, Alex was finally diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)—a devastating and often misunderstood condition with no known cure. The pain stole his sleep, his hobbies, his career, and nearly his will to live.
Alex vulnerably shares the moment he reached his breaking point—wrapped in a blanket, sitting in a chair, believing he could not go on. In that moment of desperation, he searched for help and discovered something he had never heard of before: pain coaching. That single search became the turning point that changed everything.
Through pain neuroscience, nervous system regulation, meditation, somatic practices, and being fully seen and heard for the first time, Alex began to understand that pain is not just physical—it is deeply connected to fear, trauma, and the brain’s learned responses. As he learned how the brain can unlearn pain and relearn safety, his pain experience began to decrease.
Even more profound was the spiritual awakening that followed. Alex realized that his suffering was not punishment—it was redirection. As he stepped into serving others, teaching, coaching, and helping people living with chronic pain reclaim agency over their lives, his own pain quieted further. What once felt like the end of his story became the beginning of his true calling.
Today, Alex is the CEO of Pain Coach Academy, where he trains and certifies pain coaches and advocates for a radically different approach to chronic pain—one rooted in education, compassion, neuroscience, and hope. He is also the author of the upcoming book Reframing Pain, written for those who feel overwhelmed, unheard, and exhausted by pain.
This episode is a lifeline for anyone living with chronic pain, loving someone who is, or searching for meaning in suffering. It is a reminder that pain does not disqualify you—and that healing often begins with being seen, supported, and invited into purpose.
Website: https://paincoachacademy.com
Find a Pain Coach: Visit the “How to Find a Coach” tab on the Pain Coach Academy website
Free E-Book: Reframing Pain is currently available as a downloadable e-book through the Pain Coach Academy site
Pain Coach Training: Information available on becoming a board-certified pain coach through the academy