Is it all in your head or is pain more complex than we’ve been led to believe? In this episode, Margaret and I dig into the psychological and biological factors that shape our experience of pain, including how the brain processes physical discomfort, the emotional toll it takes, and what role medications actually play. We also share stories from our own lives and clinical work that highlight how pain shows up in complicated, often misunderstood ways. If you've ever wondered why your body hurts when your heart is breaking, or why painkillers don’t always work, this one’s for you.

Takeaways:

Is pain really all in your head—or is that just part of the story?

How much of pain is physical, and how much is psychological?

Can we rewire the way we experience pain?

Why don’t medications always work the way we expect for pain relief?

What does it mean to treat pain with both compassion and science?

Citations:

Stanford and ACPA Chronic Pain guide 2024:

https://www.acpanow.com/uploads/9/9/8/3/99838302/acpa_stanford_resource_guide_2024.pdf

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Produced by Dr Glaucomflecken & Human Content

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