I completely agree with this analysis. I have lived in chronic pain for 2 1/2 years, have been to every doctor and tried every treatment available, and no one can figure out why I am in so much pain and what to do about it. I have felt for a long time that my brain is just programmed to send pain signals when it should not be doing this. So I agree with the hypothesis but I am not sure that I identified any next steps in this article. So, where do we go from here?
Now that you understand the definition of pain and that pain is an output from the brain. How do you stop this output? How do you change the painful tune that your brain is singing? First, you must eliminate the threats that input into the brain and drive the pain output. Everyone has different threats to well-being. Here is a list of some threats that can cause pain.
Identifying the threats that inhibit your ability to experience pleasure. Without pleasure, your brain gets stuck in a painful, depressed, and/or fatigued tune.
The next step is to "do something". Improve your health, stop smoking, let go of fear and fury, etc, etc, etc... Eliminate the threats, eliminate the pain. Sounds simple, but this task is not so simple. Many of these threats are habitual and old habits are hard to break. Part of your life was spent creating habits; during the other part of your life, your habits make you. Spend some time to break the bad habits and you will be on your way to changing the tune in your brain. That's right, the brain is changeable. By training your brain, you can cure pain.
Start with your health, please read the "Health Stimulus Plan"
http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/23153/53236/step-stimulus
Stay tuned for more details in upcoming articles.
Thanks. that was very helpful. I am actually in good shape, eat well, don't smoke, get sleep...but even I can improve the foods I eat and reduce the stress I often feel, which I know contributes directly to the level of pain I feel. I also really want to look into bio-feedback which is along these same lines, but have been unable to find a local practitioner. I live in the Cincinnati area. any suggestions about how I might find someone or some place who does this?
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Thank you for writing this. It's brilliant. I have often been incredibly frustrated by the old way of looking at pain and hope that the new definition might modernize things a bit.
If anything, a new definition of pain will give us all common ground where the seeds of our common goals can be planted. With the right growing conditions, pain can be cured.
Dr. Christina Lasich, MD