Mel Abbott Empower Therapies

17/06/2026

ONE MONTH FOLLOW-UP!

This group were particularly outstanding during the course and have stayed outstanding! Every single one of them is ROCKING it!

A lady with CFS can now work more, help out with household chores more and socialise more. And a change that was surprising to her - she's always been so shy and fearful of interactions with people, but she is suddenly so much more confident and enjoying talking to people!

Another with CFS said she's hardly ever tired anymore. She's doing lots of cycling - even 8km all the way to town - something she couldn't have dreamed of doing a month ago. She's working more, socialising more, and trusting her recovery.

Another had an auto-immune disorder that affects the eyes. Doctors told her it was incurable and she would likely go blind. Since the Switch, she has dramatically reduced her symptoms! She can now watch TV without glasses, only sees a little bit of visual snow and scarring first thing in the morning, and has pretty good sight the rest of the day.

And another with Fibromyalgia has had a full 8 hour stretch with no pain at all - first time in 8 years! And every day, she now has pain-free patches. She's also stopped using medicinal cannibus during the day and only uses it at night for a bit of sleep enhancement. She's out of bed all day long now and socialising much more as well.

So I'm thrilled with how well they are doing!

The next Switch course is fully booked, but get in now to participate in the July 21st course, which still has a few spaces...

It's great that you are keen to do The Switch®! The vast majority of my clients report fabulous results, as well as really enjoying the course. I’m looking forward to helping you to get your life back! Note: Signing up for the first module does not guarantee entry to the rest of the Switch course...

16/06/2026

I was looking through our feedback form from the Next Steps to Recovery webinar and wanted to share how great these results were! 🙌 🙌

How amazing, just from doing a 2 hour webinar 90% had some sort of improvements just from watching and over 50% having "a lot of improvement" or "full recovery".

This is taken from the most recent participants with all data included. The two that didn't fill those sections out rated it a 5/5 in how pleased they were they attended and also had improvements in their health scores before and after the programme.

If you're keen to try the first part of this webinar (which is free!) you can sign up and watch it here: https://empowertherapies.co.nz/pages/webinar

15/06/2026

New course dates have just opened ✨

Start time TBC once we know where all participants are joining from.

Sign up here: https://empowertherapies.co.nz/pages/the-switch

11/06/2026

06/06/2026

This is my third post about the awesome Refresher course - check out the previous two days for more great insights.

Today is "what did they learn from this Refresher and Advanced Course?"
"It’s OK to dip into other seasons and emotions and experiences, and to then learn from it."
"The 3-brain switch was really interesting and super helpful. I often make decisions with my gut and don't involve my head enough".
"Trust that you can make the right decisions. Tapping into those 3 brains is a good way to get a balanced view of the world"
"I have only been using 2 calming techniques so it was good to see the rest of them again and be reminded".
"The forgiveness section was really important to me. That's going to be a game-changer".
"I needed this course for a bit of motivation again to continue cos it was getting a bit robotic. I can now see it’s often about what’s deeper than the pain. It was really nice connecting with the group today. Thanks for your patience Mel. You never rush us through Switches and always bring us back if there is something that is blocking our progress".
"Revisiting the material gave me insight into where the slippage is starting to happen. I need to bring more calm back into my life. I had made my life quite small, which was calmer. Now that I'm healthy, my life is big again and I'm feeling the impact. I need to shift the thinking patterns that cause overwhelm cos I am actually ready for this big life".

Hopefully there are some great insights in here that help you too!

If you need more help, visit

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar

05/06/2026

Yesterday, I shared FANTASTIC updates from Switch Refresher attendees who have had such great recoveries and have lived such wonderful lives since they came to me.

Today, I'm going to share about their learnings at The Refresher and Advanced Course.

It was so interesting to see how most of the conversation and Switches this time round were on topics that had nothing to do with illness. They are just not in that place anymore!

In the Advanced Course, they learnt a new version of The Switch which is specially for decision-making. So two of them did Switches for making decisions on decisions that have been causing them to get a bit stuck lately. They were both amazed how clear they felt at the end - they know their course of action and they are ready to take it!

Two of them worked on patterns of not feeling good or in control enough in life and we traced it all the way back to things that happened when they were toddlers. It was wondeful to see the relief they felt when these old patterns were gone.

Another had COVID three months ago and is still struggling to exercise. We were able to figure out what has been holding her recovery back and clear that stuck situation and emotion. Her breathing was noticeably more open by the end and she felt lighter and more energised immediately!

Tune in tomorrow to hear more learnings from this group!

05/06/2026

I just finished teaching a Switch Refresher Course! We had such a great day!!

Firstly, they shared their positives since attending The Switch.

One lady had been bedbound with post-viral fatigue. She attended The Switch 5 years ago and has been GREAT ever since! She's working full time, participating fully in family life and social life and has never looked back!

Another attended for chronic pain and anxiety 2 years ago. She said she NEVER thinks about fear or anxiety anymore, even when out socially. And she is pain-free almost all the time. If she ever feels a ni**le, she can immediately use the Switch to turn it off and then carry on with her day.

Another attended for depression 5 years ago. She said "the change in my thoughts is remarkable!" She doesn't have those "it's going to be a bad day" thoughts anymore. She can deal with stress so much better, and she feels happy.

Another attended for chronic pain 2 years ago. She has always been improving, though she has had to put in more effort for longer. I really admire how she never gives up and just chips away at it over time, steadily improving. She has now completely resolved her jaw and ear pain and drastically reduced her head, neck and shoulder pain. Just this week, she had her first full day with NO PAIN and feeling fully present all day long! So exciting! She really is getting there!

Another attended for chronic knee pain just four months ago. She suddenly got rid of all her pain a few days before her Switch course started! But she was still on lots of pills and felt quite scattered. Now, she has been able to go travelling, even walking 11km in a day (used to be 100 metres!), and is building up strength ready for the ski season!

And another attended for chronic pain 4 years ago. She said that she now totally trusts her body and never needs to think about pain. She's been travelling for 2 years, works full time and can do whatever she wants.

I always love hearing the updates at Refreshers because it reminds me why I do this job. Hearing how much people can do with their lives after The Switch, and how it was The Switch that turned them onto a whole new great trajectory is so rewarding!

Tune in tomorrow to hear about what they learnt at the Refresher!

03/06/2026

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE NOT RECOVER FROM COVID?

It's not just about the virus - emerging research suggests that dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, inflammation and immune function may play an important role in why some people remain unwell after a virus.

Activation of the amygdala and nervous system causes:
🌼 surges of energy to heart and lungs (palpitations, myocarditis, fast shallow breathing)
🌼 reduces the function of the immune system, digestion and hormone regulation
🌼 causes inflammation and pain
🌼 reduces mental clarity and sleep quality

For some people, emotional stress, trauma, perfectionism, over-responsibility or prolonged pressure may also contribute to keeping the nervous system in a heightened protective state — often completely unconsciously.

Most approaches focus on managing symptoms. And while this can be helpful for day-to-day coping, it doesn’t address why the body got stuck in the first place, so it doesn't provide a long-term solution.

When the body is supported to come out of this high stress state, both physically and emotionally, it can restore balance that enables natural healing to take place.

This is not achieved by pushing or forcing, but by helping the body to feel safe enough to reset calmly.

Learn more about how we can help long-covid recovery here:
https://empowertherapies.co.nz/pages/long-covid

01/06/2026

Check out my conversation with Jackie Baxter on The Long Covid Podcast where we chat all things Long-COVID and speak with Jacqui about her journey dropping from a high-energy, ultra-active life into severe Long Covid, then building her way back to running, swimming and full work.

Listen to the podcast via the link below (or find The Long Covid Podcast in your regular podcast app): https://www.buzzsprout.com/1835170/episodes/19175611

29/05/2026

ONE WEEK FOLLOW-UP CONTINUED...

Yesterday, I shared two great updates from people who attended The Switch Live last week. This group are brilliant! Here are three more stories:

The first woman to share her progress started by saying "I've had a truly amazing week!" After 8 years of CFS and not even remembering what wellness felt like anymore, she's been out in the mountains hiking, cycling, swimming in freezing lakes and finding everything effortless and fun! And she said "my best win of the week was yesterday. I woke up and had the feeling of “oh wow! I can just get up!”. I felt like I had slept enough for first time in so many years and was just naturally refreshed and feeling good!"

Another with long-COVID said she generally felt much more energetic and could start doing things again that she hadn’t done in some years. She took her son’s scooter out and had fun, she met friends a lot, laughed a lot and went to the cinema. She felt that her personality is getting a lot more what it used to be - more joyful and active.

And another with long COVID also had a great week - she started yoga again, she's been out more, generally felt more energetic, and was enormously surprised to find that her hip pain has simply gone!

You may be interested to read more about the principles that I work by in regards to helping people to achieve these great results with chronic fatigue:

Specialising in chronic illness recovery. Over 80% success rates. Treating the underlying cause to allow natural healing. Find out more. Free 45 minute webinar