Mandy Mercuri

Mandy Mercuri

Coach

About

Mandy was born with scoliosis, an “s” shaped curvature of the spine. Corrective surgeries at the ages of 11 and 16 straightened her spine but she spent the next 20 years in the medical roundabout seeking cures and solutions for her pain. She was so consumed by pain that, after her first child was born, she hit rock bottom. Struggling with daily activities, withdrawn socially, depressed and on the edge of giving up. After attending a 3 week intensive pain management course and implementing the techniques she learnt, Mandy managed to overcome the challenges her pain presents. 

Now, Mandy says she is happier, healthier and stronger. She approaches everyday with a mindful compassion and an understanding of all the many things that are within her control. More recently, she has been learning the science of chronic pain and enjoys the challenge of producing helpful, relevant and engaging content for our More Good Days blog. 

She has been practicing mindfulness for over 10 years as a critical part of managing her physical and emotional wellbeing. Knowing how helpful mindfulness has been in her own pain journey, she has recently trained to become a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction facilitator. Mandy also has extensive experience teaching in higher education and community settings. 

Mandy brings a down-to-earth approach to her coaching, encouraging curiosity and supporting clients to learn the many ways they can influence their experience. Mandy openly shares the ups and downs of her journey because she firmly believes while we are all human and life can be full of challenges, everyone has the strength to live well with pain. 

When not writing, meditating, supporting other people living with pain or hanging out with her family, you’ll find Mandy curled up reading or walking Max, the lovable but slow-witted springer spaniel.

Education

  • Bachelor Applied Science (Environmental Management), PhD

Qualifications & Memberships

  • Pain Reprocessing Therapy, MBSR facilitation, Explain Pain, Meditation Association of Australia

Areas of interest

  • All things pain science education - I like nerding out on the science but finding simple and practical ways to describe it with analogies (often related to animals). 
  • Parenting and how living with pain can impact our ability to interact and support our children. 
  • Mindfulness and somatic based practices as ways to reduce stress, identifying triggers and reactivity, and for bringing more joy and playfulness into everyday life. 
  • Self compassion (Mandy recently decided to break up with achievement), living aligned to values and seeking fun in whatever form works (creativity, nature, being social etc!)