The Nervous-System Symptom Screener
Could your chronic pain & illness be nervous-system driven?
Run the screen →
Check each that fits
Before you begin
This screener is not a replacement for medical care or diagnosis. It is a pattern-recognition tool — a screen, not a diagnosis.
Who is this for?
Two quick questions
1. Has your doctor completed diagnostic testing without finding a definite cause for your pain or illness?
2. Has your physician diagnosed your symptoms as caused by organ disease or structural damage, but your condition is not improving as expected?
Note: there may be a structural health component that still needs to be addressed — and you can also benefit from nervous-system regulation work. Both can be true.
Check each that fits
It doesn't have to fit 100% of the time — this is pattern recognition, not a formal assessment. Do your best.
Symptom patterns
Mind & history
How you relate (context — not scored)
Low likelihood
Based on this screen, the nervous system may not be the main driver right now. Continue with usual care, appropriate medical evaluation, and clinical judgment. You may want to re-screen later if symptoms persist, change, or begin tracking more clearly with stress, emotion, safety, or nervous-system activation.
Clinical note: A low score does not rule anything out — and the nervous system affects everything, so understanding how stress and your nervous system affect your health is always helpful.
Some nervous-system patterns involved
You are showing some patterns that may suggest nervous-system involvement. It is worth exploring how symptoms relate to stress, emotional load, threat perception, safety, rest, and past experiences. A careful introduction of the nervous-system lens may help you understand your symptoms without feeling dismissed or told it is "all in your head."
Clinical note: Look for patterns across categories, not just the number. Symptoms that shift, flare with stress, ease with safety, or appear alongside anxiety, trauma, perfectionism, or unresolved stress may be meaningful.
Strong likelihood
You are a strong candidate for nervous-system-informed work. The patterns suggest real symptoms alongside a system that may be stuck in protection. The goal is not to convince yourself that your symptoms are imaginary — it is to learn how a sensitized nervous system can generate, maintain, or amplify very real physical symptoms.
Clinical note: This is exactly the kind of presentation where nervous-system education, safety work, emotional processing, somatic support, and careful pacing may be especially helpful.
Next steps
Learn how to understand and treat a sensitized nervous system — watch the free training How to Know If Your Nervous System Is Behind Your Symptoms.
Practitioners: want to use this lens more confidently with clients? Join the free practitioner training.
When conventional care isn't enough
You've tried everything. Seen the specialists. Run the tests. Tried the treatments. And still, you're not getting better.
Structure alone doesn't reliably explain chronic symptoms. As one striking example: 64% of people with no back pain show disc bulges on an MRI.
This screener helps you see what imaging can't: whether the nervous system may be generating or amplifying what you're experiencing.
See what's inside →Two things are true at once: the symptoms are 100% real, and the nervous system can still be generating and amplifying them.
This is for you if you are —
- A therapist, coach or practitioner working with clients experiencing chronic physical symptoms
- Someone who has been experiencing symptoms for 6+ months without structural cause
- Someone whose treatments haven't really worked
- Feeling hopeless in your health and wanting answers
- Someone who suspects the nervous system could be part of your symptoms
This is not —
- A replacement for a full medical evaluation or workup
- Appropriate for emergency or acute care situations
- A replacement for therapy
- A diagnostic instrument or a way to rule out medical causes
What your score means
Signals across different areas matter more than the raw number — use your clinical judgment alongside it.
Low likelihood
The nervous system probably is not the main driver right now. Continue usual care and re-screen if symptoms persist past a few months.
Some nervous-system patterns involved
Possible — worth exploring. Watch how symptoms track with stress and emotion, and consider a careful introduction of the nervous-system lens.
Strong likelihood
A strong candidate for nervous-system-informed work. Real symptoms plus a system stuck in protection is exactly the pattern this approach is built for.
Why I built this tool
For 10 years I was struggling with health conditions — chronic pain, CFS, histamine intolerances, headaches, gut issues. Ten-plus labels, no clear answers. That is when I stumbled across the connection between the nervous system, the brain, and chronic conditions.
After recovering and spending years studying this work — as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Somatic Trauma Therapist, and Nervous System Coach — the Mind Body Healing Method program for nervous-system recovery was born.
I created this screener because I wish I had it in my early years of illness, and especially as a therapist supporting clients. This tool helps you understand when to open the nervous-system door so you can start supporting the mind-body connection to actually recover.
More about Grace →Ready to run the screen?
Two minutes. Twelve indicators. Instant, honest results.