How to Combat Pain

Hidden Brain

1 DAYS AGO

Overview Shownote Highlights Transcript Chapters Pins

Shownote

Pain feels like a simple message from the body. If your elbow hurts, there must be something wrong with your elbow. If your back is painfully stiff, you need some work done on your back. But psychologist Rachel Zoffness says our minds play a much larger ro...

Highlights

This episode explores the surprising science of pain, revealing that it is not a simple measure of physical damage but a complex experience constructed by the brain. Psychologist Rachel Zoffness explains how our thoughts, emotions, and context can amplify or diminish pain, opening up new pathways for treatment.

07:01

Pain and damage are not the same.

18:31

Phantom pain is caused by the brain's outdated body map.

36:41

Pain is biopsychosocial.

43:59

Expectations can trigger biological changes that reduce pain.

Chapters

Why Your Brain Can Create Pain Without Any Injury

00:00

The Phantom Limb: How Your Brain's Body Map Can Trick You

18:31

The Biopsychosocial Recipe: What Really Fuels Your Pain?

24:49

The Placebo Effect: Can Your Thoughts Actually Heal You?

40:03

Transcript

Shankar Vedantam: This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam. It happens in an instant. You move too fast and you feel a twinge in your back. That first sharp pain is followed by a persistent ache, bothersome enough to send you to the doctor. A scan reveal...