The Panic of Bell’s Palsy: Why Slowing Down Matters

When I was first diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy I was confused and in shock. One side of my face wasn’t working, and I didn’t fully understand what that meant or how deeply it would impact me. As the paralysis worsened, I felt desperate to do something, anything to fix it.

When it became clear that things weren’t improving, panic set in.

I scoured the internet searching for answers - recommendations, exercises, medicine, - anything to make it go away. I didn’t want to sit still and wait. I couldn’t sit still and wait. I had responsibilities, people who needed me and a life that didn’t leave space for being ill.

I spiralled into wild panic. I felt a deep urgency to heal, not just to recover my face, but to be seen as ‘doing well’ in life. My paralysed face became, in my mind, visible proof that I was failing. And the truth is, the pressure I put on myself to not have Bell’s Palsy was one of the biggest obstacles in my healing.

Panic Made Me Force Healing, and That Made Things Worse

 In the early months, I lived in a constant state of panic: Am I doing enough to heal? Is there more I should be trying? What if I am missing something?

And beneath that panic there was fear:  Will I be stuck like this for ever? Will my face ever recover?

I became obsessed with healing. I researched endlessly, overthinking, pushing hard to force my face to heal. 

I realised this: the constant pushing was doing more harm than good.

Our nervous system needs calm and safety to heal. Chronic stress shuts down those healing pathways and suppresses the immune system.  I was living in a stress response every day. And my face, already traumatised, was being pressured to perform when it simply wasn’t ready.

Looking back, I can see how my rush to fix things likely contributed to complications in my recovery, especially synkinesis and nerve damage.

Synkinesis happens when nerves reconnect incorrectly, causing unintended movements, like your eye closing when you smile or your cheek twitching when you swallow.

Dyskinesis can also develop: abnormal or involuntary movements like twitching, spasms or muscles pulling on their own.

The Turning Point: From Panic to Patience

What I truly needed wasn’t more pressure.

I needed patience.

I needed gentleness.

I needed to be kind to myself – like a best friend would be.

I needed to slow right down and give myself a chance to feel safe again.

Slowing down wasn’t giving up. It wasn’t letting myself down or being in denial.

Slowing down was trust.

Slowing down was healing. 

Slowing down was power, not force.

True Healing is Power, Not Force

 If you’re feeling panicked right now, I see you. I have been there.

It is natural to want to rush back to ‘normal’ as quickly as possible, but healing often invites us into something we weren’t prepared for. It asks us to pause. To listen. To trust. 

It wants to move us out of push and force, and instead guide us into flow.

Because that is where true power lives.  

The way you approach your recovery matters.

When actions come from fear and panic they can create more tension and stress. When they come from love and kindness, they create the space for real change.

That’s why I created my course, community and 1:1 support... Not just to share what helped me physically, but to offer the emotional support I so needed in those early days.

You are not alone in this. You can find your flow and trust.