The Broken Alarm: A Journey Through Pain and the Neuroscience of Hope

Part I: The Echo Chamber of Pain (The Struggle)

Introduction: The Day the World Shrank

The journey began not with a bang, but with a misstep.

A simple fall, the kind that happens to everyone, was the catalyst.¹

Initially, the pain was a sharp, understandable signal—what medical professionals call acute pain.

It functioned like a “loud alarm in an emergency,” a clear warning from the body that something was wrong and needed to be addressed.²

Like any rational person, the narrator treated it as such, expecting the discomfort to fade as the tissues healed.³

But it didn’t.

Weeks bled into months, and the alarm kept ringing.

Somewhere around the three-month mark, a threshold well-documented in pain science, the nature of the pain changed.²

It was no longer a temporary signal of injury but had morphed into a persistent, relentless presence.

This is the insidious transition from acute to chronic pain, where the alarm system itself breaks.²

For the narrator, this was the moment their world began to shrink, the vibrant landscape of a normal life contracting into the four walls of a room defined by pain.

A Body at War with Itself: The Physical Prison

Living with this new reality was like being trapped in a physical prison, subjected to a tormentor who was both unpredictable and endlessly inventive.

The pain defied simple description, presenting as a chaotic symphony of sensations.

There was the searing, “electric shock-like” quality of neuropathic pain, a sign of a dysfunctional nervous system, sending shooting and burning sensations down the limbs.³

This was layered with the deep, throbbing ache of nociceptive pain, the kind that originates in damaged muscles and joints.³

Life became a bewildering pattern of good weeks followed by devastatingly bad months, a cycle that made planning or hoping for the future feel like a fool’s errand.⁸

The pain was not a constant, dull background noise; it was punctuated by episodes of “breakthrough pain,” where a simple act like laughing, rolling over in bed, or taking a deep breath could trigger an excruciating flare-up.⁷

This constant physical siege took its toll, leading to a cascade of secondary symptoms.

A profound lack of energy became the norm, muscles remained perpetually tense, and mobility became severely limited, further isolating the narrator within their own body.²

The Unseen Wounds: Identity, Shame, and Isolation

The physical sensations, however agonizing, were only one part of the battle.

A critical distinction emerged between “pain”—the raw, physical input from the nerves—and “suffering,” the vast and desolate landscape of the mind’s reaction to that pain.⁸

This suffering was rooted in a profound loss of self.

The narrator felt compelled to wear a “mask,” a facade of wellness to navigate a world that had no patience for invisible illness.⁹

Slowly, their identity was eroded and replaced.

Hobbies, friendships, and ambitions faded, supplanted by the all-consuming role of a “pain patient”.⁹

This erosion of self was accompanied by a deep, corrosive shame—an internalized belief that the persistent pain was a personal or moral failing.⁹

This feeling was compounded by a crushing sense of isolation.

Friends and family, unable to comprehend the relentless nature of the condition, offered well-meaning but unhelpful advice, deepening the chasm of misunderstanding.¹

Social connections, once a source of joy, became a source of anxiety.

The fear of last-minute cancellations and the sheer exhaustion of pretending to be okay led to a gradual withdrawal from life, entrenching the loneliness that so often accompanies chronic pain.¹⁰

The Medical Merry-Go-Round: A Crisis of Belief

Desperate for relief, the narrator turned to the medical system, only to find themselves on a frustrating and dispiriting merry-go-round.

The conventional approach to their pain was rooted in an old paradigm: find the structural damage and fix it.¹³

But in the world of chronic pain, this model often fails.

The first stop was the pharmacy.

They were prescribed a litany of medications, each with its own set of disappointing outcomes.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) offered little relief but caused stomach pain.¹⁴

Antidepressants like amitriptyline, sometimes used for neuropathic pain, induced a debilitating daytime drowsiness without making a dent in the stabbing sensations.⁸

Opioids provided powerful but fleeting relief, shadowed by the immense risks of dependence, addiction, and debilitating side effects like constipation and cognitive fog.¹⁴

The stated goal of these medications was often not to eliminate the pain, but merely to make it “tolerable,” a bleak prospect for a lifetime of suffering.³

This journey was marked by demoralizing encounters with clinicians.

When MRI scans and X-rays came back “normal,” showing no clear structural reason for the severity of the pain, the narrator’s experience was often invalidated.¹⁶

They were met with skepticism, sometimes subtle and sometimes overt, that it was “all in their head” or that they were exaggerating their symptoms.¹⁰

This experience of medical gaslighting is a tragically common theme in patient stories, particularly for women and minority groups, whose pain is frequently underestimated or dismissed.¹⁸

They were subjected to treatments like cortisone injections, a therapy now considered by many experts to be outmoded and potentially capable of delaying recovery.⁸

Each failed treatment, each dismissive appointment, deepened the cycle of hope and despair, eroding their trust in the very system they believed could save them.

The very framework designed to provide healing was, in fact, contributing to the suffering.

The traditional biomedical model, which equates pain with tissue damage, sets up a vicious feedback loop when applied to chronic pain.

When diagnostic tests fail to find a structural cause for the pain, the patient’s experience is often questioned, leading to feelings of frustration, anxiety, and invalidation.¹⁶

This psychological distress is not merely an unfortunate side effect; it is a potent biological trigger.

Stress, fear, and depression directly activate the body’s threat response, causing the nervous system to become more sensitized and amplifying the very pain signals the patient is reporting.³

Now in even more pain and feeling more desperate, the patient returns to a medical system that, still operating under the old model, offers more of the same ineffective treatments.

This failure reinforces the patient’s hopelessness and the clinician’s frustration, tightening the loop and further entrenching the chronic pain state.

Part II: The Day the Alarm Changed (The Epiphany)

A Different Kind of Conversation: The Discovery of PNE

At the lowest point of this journey, a referral marked a pivotal turn.

It was not to another surgeon or interventional specialist, but to a different kind of practitioner—a clinical psychologist specializing in pain or a physical therapist with advanced training in pain science.²¹

This first conversation was unlike any that had come before.

The focus shifted from “where does it hurt?” to “why does it hurt?”

The narrator was introduced to a concept called Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE).

The practitioner explained that to effectively manage chronic pain, one must first understand the modern science of how pain works from a biological and physiological perspective.²³

They learned that the old, purely biomedical model had been superseded by a more comprehensive biopsychosocial model, which acknowledges the intricate and inseparable interplay between biological factors (nerves, tissues), psychological factors (thoughts, emotions, beliefs), and social factors (support systems, environment) in the creation of any pain experience.²⁵

The Oversensitive Alarm System: A New Metaphor for Pain

The core of this epiphany came in the form of a powerful metaphor: the oversensitive alarm system.²⁷

The practitioner explained that acute pain is like a well-functioning fire alarm.

It goes off when there is a real fire (tissue damage), and it serves a crucial protective purpose.²⁹

Chronic pain, however, is like a faulty, hypersensitive alarm that has been rewired by experience.

It now blares loudly not just for a fire, but when someone merely burns a piece of toast or a leaf falls on the sensor.²

This analogy provided a name for the narrator’s bewildering experience: central sensitization.

This is the process through which the central nervous system—the brain and spinal cord—becomes persistently wound-up and hypervigilant.¹³

In this state, the system’s gain is turned up so high that normal, non-threatening inputs like light touch or simple movement are misinterpreted as dangerous.

This phenomenon, known as allodynia, explains why activities that should be harmless can feel intensely painful.¹³

The pain was 100% real, produced by the brain, but it was a false alarm.

The brain was continuing to scream “danger!” long after the original threat had passed and the tissues had healed.²⁹

This single idea was transformative.

The pain was not a sign that the body was broken or continuously being damaged; it was the result of a learned, overprotective response from a well-meaning but misguided brain.²⁹

The pain was real, but its

meaning had fundamentally changed.

Deconstructing the Myth: Hurt vs. Harm

This new understanding led to the most liberating realization of all: “Hurt does not always mean harm”.¹²

For years, the narrator had operated under the assumption that if an activity caused pain, it must be causing damage.

This belief had led to a debilitating pattern of fear avoidance—a shrinking of life to avoid any action that might provoke a twinge of pain.³⁰

They now learned that this very avoidance was counterproductive.

By refraining from movement, they were not protecting their body; they were making the alarm system even more sensitive.

Lack of activity leads to deconditioning, muscle weakness, and joint stiffness, which can themselves become new sources of pain signals, reinforcing the brain’s erroneous belief that movement is dangerous.⁶

Understanding that the “hurt” of movement was a false alarm from a sensitized system—not a signal of new “harm”—was the key that unlocked the prison door.

It dismantled the core belief of the old paradigm and created the psychological safety needed to begin an active recovery.

Table 1: The Two Paradigms of Pain

To solidify this profound shift in thinking, the differences between the old and new models of pain can be starkly illustrated.

Feature	The “Old” Paradigm (Biomedical Model)	The “New” Paradigm (Biopsychosocial Model)
Assumed Cause of Pain	Tissue damage or structural pathology.13	Nervous system sensitization and brain processing.2
Meaning of Pain	A direct and reliable measure of tissue injury.26	A protective output from the brain, based on perceived threat.29
Role of the Brain	A passive reporter of signals from the body.23	The active creator and modulator of the pain experience.28
Focus of Treatment	Find and fix the problematic tissue or structure.13	Retrain the oversensitive nervous system and brain.2
Patient’s Role	Passive recipient of treatments (pills, injections, surgery).8	Active participant in a multi-modal recovery plan.31

This new framework did more than just provide interesting information; it served as a crucial gateway to effective treatment.

Many of the most successful modern therapies for chronic pain—including physical therapy and psychological interventions—are active and require the patient’s full participation.³¹

However, a patient who believes that “hurt equals harm” will naturally resist any physical therapy that causes discomfort, fearing it will make them worse.³⁰

Likewise, a patient who believes their pain is a purely structural problem will reject psychological therapies as irrelevant or insulting, misinterpreting the referral as a suggestion that the pain is imaginary.¹⁰

PNE systematically dismantles these barriers.

By providing a credible, scientific explanation for the pain that separates it from ongoing tissue damage, it reduces fear, diminishes catastrophic thinking, and makes the patient a willing and motivated partner in their own recovery.¹³

It is the essential first step that makes all the other steps possible.

Part III: A Manual for Rewiring (The Solution)

Armed with a new understanding, the narrator embarked on an active journey of recovery.

The goal was no longer to hunt for a cure but to systematically retrain and recalibrate the oversensitive alarm system.

This involved a multi-modal toolkit, with each tool addressing a different component of the pain experience.

3.1. Retraining the Brain’s Response: The Power of Pain Psychology

The first step was working with a pain psychologist, who taught the narrator that managing the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors surrounding pain could directly reduce its perceived intensity.³¹

This was not about willpower, but about learning specific, evidence-based skills.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Through CBT, the narrator learned to act as a detective of their own mind. They were taught to identify the automatic, negative thoughts that had become ingrained patterns—”This pain will never end,” “I’m useless,” “I can’t do anything”.³³ By keeping thought records, they learned to challenge the validity of these thoughts and reframe them into more balanced and realistic ones, effectively breaking the cognitive feedback loop that fueled their suffering.²²
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT represented a radical and profound shift in perspective. Instead of fighting the pain, the goal became to change their relationship with it. The narrator practiced Acceptance, learning to allow the sensations of pain to be present without a constant struggle.³⁵ They used techniques of
  Cognitive Defusion to detach from their thoughts, seeing them as mental events passing through their mind rather than as absolute truths.³⁵ The focus then shifted to clarifying their core
  Values—what truly mattered to them in life, such as connection, creativity, or contribution. Finally, they began taking Committed Action—small, concrete steps aligned with these values, even if pain was present.³⁶ The objective was no longer a pain-free life, but a value-driven life lived in spite of pain.
• Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT): This therapy provided a direct method for retraining the brain’s misinterpretation of bodily signals. The primary technique, Somatic Tracking, involved mindfully observing the physical sensations of pain from a place of safety.³⁷ While paying attention to the sensation, the narrator would repeatedly reinforce the message that the feeling was a false alarm and that their body was fundamentally safe. This process of pairing the sensation with a feeling of safety helps the brain to “unlearn” the conditioned pain response and recalibrate its predictions.³⁸

Table 2: A Comparative Guide to Psychological Pain Therapies

These therapies, while all effective, offer distinct pathways to relief.

Understanding their differences is key to finding the right fit.

Therapy	Core Goal	Approach to Negative Thoughts	Key Techniques
CBT	Change negative thought and behavior patterns to reduce distress.34	Challenge, dispute, and restructure them into more helpful thoughts.33	Thought records, behavioral experiments, activity scheduling.34
ACT	Increase psychological flexibility to live a rich, meaningful life guided by values.33	Acknowledge them without judgment and defuse from their power; let them come and go.35	Mindfulness, values clarification, cognitive defusion, committed action.36
PRT	Retrain the brain to correctly interpret safe signals from the body as non-dangerous.37	Observe them as part of a “false alarm” and reappraise the sensation from a perspective of safety.38	Somatic tracking, mindfulness, safety reappraisal.38

3.2. Calming the Central Command: Mind-Body Practices

To quiet the oversensitive alarm, the narrator had to learn how to intentionally activate the body’s calming mechanism—the parasympathetic nervous system, or the “rest and digest” state.³⁹

• Mindfulness and Meditation: The narrator began a regular meditation practice. This was not about forcing the mind to be empty, but about training attention to rest on the present moment without judgment.³³ They started with simple breathing meditations, focusing on the sensation of air entering and leaving the body. A cornerstone of the practice was the
  body scan, a guided meditation where one systematically brings gentle, non-judgmental awareness to each part of the body, simply noticing sensations like warmth, tingling, or pressure.³¹ Brain imaging studies show that this type of practice can soothe the neural patterns underlying pain and, over time, even alter brain structure to reduce pain intensity.⁴²
• A Guided Self-Compassion Exercise: One of the most powerful practices involved directly countering the shame and self-criticism that fuel the pain cycle. The narrator learned a simple exercise: placing a hand over their heart, acknowledging the difficulty of the moment by saying to themselves, “This is a moment of suffering,” and then offering themselves the same kindness and supportive words they would offer a dear friend.⁴¹ This simple act of self-kindness helps to calm the body’s threat response.
• Mindful Movement: The journey of re-engagement with the body was greatly aided by practices like Yoga and Tai Chi. These ancient disciplines, strongly recommended for conditions like osteoarthritis, combine gentle movement, focused breathing, and present-moment awareness.¹⁵ They serve the dual purpose of safely strengthening and improving flexibility in the body while simultaneously calming the nervous system.³²

3.3. Reconnecting with the Physical Self: Movement as Medicine

With the “hurt vs. harm” principle as their new mantra, the narrator began the crucial work of moving again.

The key was graded exposure: starting with movements that felt safe and manageable, and then slowly and incrementally increasing the duration and intensity.³¹

This process systematically builds confidence and provides the brain with powerful new evidence that movement is safe, not threatening.

• Graded Motor Imagery (GMI): A Brain-Training Bootcamp: For the most persistent and complex pain, the narrator undertook a fascinating neurorehabilitation program called Graded Motor Imagery. GMI is designed to retrain the brain’s internal “map” of the body, which can become distorted or “smudged” by chronic pain.⁴⁷ The process unfolded in three distinct stages:

1. Laterality Training: The first stage involved using a smartphone app (like the Recognise™ app) to look at images of a body part—in this case, the back—and quickly identify them as being left or right.⁴⁹ This simple-seeming task directly stimulates and exercises the sensorimotor regions of the brain responsible for processing body awareness.⁴⁸
2. Explicit Motor Imagery: Next, the narrator practiced simply imagining moving their back in various ways, all without any pain. This step activates the brain’s “mirror neurons,” which fire both when we move and when we simply think about moving. It’s a way of rehearsing movement in the brain without any perceived physical threat.⁴⁸
3. Mirror Therapy: The final stage used a clever illusion to trick the brain. By using mirrors to watch the reflection of their own pain-free movements, the narrator’s brain was led to perceive the painful area as moving normally and without consequence. This powerful visual feedback helps to overwrite the old, fear-based neural pathways associated with movement.⁴⁸

It became clear that recovery was not about finding a single magic bullet.

Rather, it was about the synergy of a multi-modal toolkit.

The psychological therapies provided the framework to reframe suffering, the mind-body practices calmed the overactive nervous system, and the physical re-engagement provided the brain with tangible proof that it was safe.

Each component made the others more powerful.

PNE provided the “why,” ACT provided the motivation, mindfulness provided the calm, and GMI provided the physical rewiring.

Together, they created a holistic effect far greater than the sum of their parts.

Table 3: The Holistic Toolkit for Calming a Sensitized Nervous System

This table summarizes the non-pharmacological solutions that form the foundation of modern, evidence-based pain care.

Category	Intervention	Mechanism of Action	Best For…
Psychological	CBT, ACT, PRT 21	Restructures cognitions, increases psychological flexibility, retrains brain’s threat appraisal.34	High levels of pain-related fear, anxiety, depression, and avoidance behaviors.21
Mind-Body	Mindfulness, Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi 31	Calms the sympathetic (“fight or flight”) nervous system; improves interoceptive awareness.39	Stress-related pain flares, difficulty relaxing, feeling disconnected from the body.15
Physical Re-engagement	Graded Exposure, Graded Motor Imagery (GMI) 46	De-threatens movement, retrains cortical maps, improves body perception and confidence.30	High fear of movement, distorted body image, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), phantom limb pain.50
Lifestyle & Complementary	Anti-inflammatory Diet, Acupuncture, Massage 15	Reduces systemic inflammation, modulates pain signals, releases endorphins, reduces muscle tension.45	Pain with a clear inflammatory component (e.g., arthritis), localized pain, muscle tension.44

Part IV: Living in the Quiet

Beyond the Pain Patient: Reclaiming a Life

The culmination of this journey was not a dramatic “cure” but a quiet and profound transformation.

The narrator recovered, not in the sense of becoming immune to pain, but in the sense that pain no longer ruled their life.

The alarm system, once broken and blaring, was now properly calibrated.

It still existed as a protective mechanism, but it was no longer screaming at shadows.

This recovery allowed for the crucial process of reclaiming an identity.

The narrator began to consciously expand their self-perception beyond the narrow confines of “chronic pain,” rediscovering old hobbies and forging new social connections.⁹

The goal was to move from an identity defined by illness to a whole, multifaceted identity that simply included the experience of pain at times.⁹

This difficult journey also yielded unexpected gifts: a deeper capacity for gratitude for simple things like a walk without pain, a newfound resilience, and a profound commitment to self-care and giving oneself grace.⁵⁴

The Supporting Cast: Nutrition, Supplements, and Support

This rewired nervous system is supported by a foundation of healthy lifestyle choices.

While not a cure in themselves, these elements help maintain a state of lower sensitivity and overall well-being.

• Nutrition: Adopting a largely anti-inflammatory diet became a cornerstone of self-care. This involved emphasizing whole foods—fruits, vegetables, healthy fats like those in fish oil, and fiber—while minimizing ultra-processed foods, sugar, and other inflammatory triggers.⁴⁵
• Supplements: After consulting with their healthcare team, the narrator found that certain supplements, such as magnesium for its muscle-relaxing and nervous system-calming effects, and turmeric for its anti-inflammatory properties, provided additional support.¹⁵ This was always done under medical guidance.
• Building a Team: The immense value of a strong support network cannot be overstated. The journey was made possible by the encouragement of understanding family and friends, and a collaborative healthcare team who listened, believed, and worked as partners in recovery.¹¹

Conclusion: The Sound of Silence

The journey through chronic pain is a passage from a world of constant, deafening noise to one of relative quiet.

The alarm metaphor provides the final frame.

The narrator is no longer trapped in a house with a ceaselessly blaring alarm.

An occasional chirp may still sound, a reminder of a past sensitivity or a signal to pay attention.

But they now possess a comprehensive toolkit to understand that signal, assess its true meaning, and, if necessary, reset the system.

The ultimate message is one of realistic and empowered hope.

Recovery is not a final destination but an ongoing practice of skills.

The goal is not a life magically devoid of all pain, but a full, rich, and meaningful life that is no longer defined or limited by it.

It is the journey of becoming “life-full” once again, appreciating the profound and welcome sound of silence.

Works cited

1. Patient Stories – Pain Foundation, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://painfoundation.org.au/patient-stories/
2. What’s the Difference Between Acute and Chronic Pain?, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/acute-vs-chronic-pain
3. What are The Types of Pain? – Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.apsf.org/patient-guide/what-are-the-types-of-pain/
4. Understanding Types of Pain – Safer Prescribing Toolkit, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://injurycenter.umich.edu/safer-prescribing-toolkit/definition-types-of-pain/
5. Pain Classifications and Causes: Nerve Pain, Muscle Pain, and More – WebMD, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/pain-types-and-classifications
6. Pain explained | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.qld.gov.au/health/services/specialists/persistent-pain/understanding-pain/pain-explained
7. Understanding the Different Forms of Physical Pain – Southside Pain Specialists, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://southsidepainspecialists.com/understanding-the-different-forms-of-physical-pain/
8. I couldn’t do chores or hold the baby – even the doctors were fed up …, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/17/my-wife-was-annoyed-i-couldnt-do-chores-or-hold-the-baby-even-the-doctors-were-fed-up-with-me-my-life-with-chronic-pain
9. Unveiling the Mask: Living Authentically with Chronic Pain …, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://crosswindscenter.com/unveiling-the-mask-living-authentically-with-chronic-pain/
10. Chronic pain clients : r/therapists – Reddit, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/therapists/comments/14wdopx/chronic_pain_clients/
11. Living With, and Managing, Chronic Pain: A Patient’s Story – MedCentral, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.medcentral.com/pain/chronic/living-managing-chronic-pain-patient-story
12. Flippin’ Pain Key Messages Booklet, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.flippinpain.co.uk/app/uploads/2021/10/Flippin-Pain-Key-Messages-Booklet.pdf
13. A clinical perspective on a pain neuroscience education approach to manual therapy – PMC, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5498797/
14. Chronic pain: Medication decisions – Mayo Clinic, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/back-pain/in-depth/chronic-pain-medication-decisions/art-20360371
15. Holistic approaches to chronic pain – U.S. Pain Foundation, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://uspainfoundation.org/blog/holistic-approaches-to-chronic-pain/
16. The science of pain: What is it and why is it so hard to measure? – AAMC, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.aamc.org/news/science-pain-what-it-and-why-it-so-hard-measure
17. If you tell a doctor how much pain you are in, do they believe you? : r/AutisticAdults – Reddit, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticAdults/comments/1i8xorf/if_you_tell_a_doctor_how_much_pain_you_are_in_do/
18. Gaslighting in women’s health: when doctors dismiss symptoms | Northwell Health, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.northwell.edu/katz-institute-for-womens-health/articles/gaslighting-in-womens-health
19. Why it’s so hard for doctors to understand your pain | University of California, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/why-its-so-hard-doctors-understand-your-pain
20. Young people with ‘chronic illness’ : r/doctorsUK – Reddit, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/doctorsUK/comments/1irzbej/young_people_with_chronic_illness/
21. Psychological Therapies for Optimal Outcomes in Those with Chronic Pain, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.facepain.org/uncategorized/psychological-therapies/
22. Psychological Therapy for Chronic Pain | Shepherd Center, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://shepherd.org/treatment/services-clinics/pain-institute/psychological-therapy/
23. Know Pain, Know Gain? A Perspective on Pain Neuroscience … – jospt, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2016.0602
24. Pain Neuroscience Education: Teaching People About Pain – PubMed, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39526886/
25. Psychological Approaches to Pain Management – Physiopedia, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.physio-pedia.com/Psychological_Approaches_to_Pain_Management
26. Pain Neuroscience Education for Acute Pain | Published in International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://ijspt.scholasticahq.com/article/118179-pain-neuroscience-education-for-acute-pain
27. news.va.gov, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://news.va.gov/139192/live-whole-health-265-calming-bodys-alarm/#:~:text=Like%20an%20oversensitive%20fire%20alarm&text=Similarly%2C%20chronic%20and%20persistent%20pain,injury%20or%20condition%20has%20healed.
28. P AIN EXPLAINED, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://tapmipain.ca/PainExplained_final.pdf
29. Live Whole Health #265: Calming the body’s alarm system – VA News, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://news.va.gov/139192/live-whole-health-265-calming-bodys-alarm/
30. How pain neuroscience education works in chronic pain programs …, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.fernhealth.com/blog/how-pain-neuroscience-education-works-in-msk-pain-programs/
31. Managing chronic pain: How psychologists can help with pain management, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.apa.org/topics/pain/management
32. Treatment Options for Chronic Pain – Healthline, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-pain/chronic-pain-treatment-options
33. 6 Psychological Interventions for Treating Chronic Pain | H-Wave, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.h-wave.com/blog/6-psychological-interventions-for-treating-chronic-pain/
34. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): What It Is & Techniques – Cleveland Clinic, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21208-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-cbt
35. What is ACT and how can it help you with your chronic pain …, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.pathways.health/blog/what-is-act-and-how-can-it-help-you-with-your-chronic-pain/
36. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Chronic Pain, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://integrativepainscienceinstitute.com/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy-act-for-chronic-pain/
37. www.physio-pedia.com, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.physio-pedia.com/Pain_Reprocessing_Therapy_(PRT)#:~:text=Pain%20reprocessing%20therapy%20is%20aimed,activities%20be%20pain%20free%20again.
38. Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) – Physiopedia, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.physio-pedia.com/Pain_Reprocessing_Therapy_(PRT)
39. Mindfulness For Chronic Pain: A Comprehensive Guide – Pathways, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.pathways.health/blog/mindfulness-for-chronic-pain/
40. Mindfulness Techniques For Pain Management – Physiopedia, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.physio-pedia.com/Mindfulness_Techniques_For_Pain_Management
41. Mindfulness and Pain – Pain Management – painHEALTH, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://painhealth.com.au/pain-module/mindfulness-and-pain/
42. 9 Mindfulness Meditation Tips For Effective Chronic Pain Relief, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://renopain.com/mindfulness-meditation-chronic-pain-integration-guide/
43. Mindfulness & Self-Compassion For Chronic Pain | Freebird Meditations – Insight Timer, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://insighttimer.com/freebirdmeditations/guided-meditations/mindfulness-self-compassion-for-chronic-pain
44. Chronic Pain and Complementary Health Approaches: Usefulness and Safety | NCCIH, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/chronic-pain-and-complementary-health-approaches-usefulness-and-safety
45. Holistic Pain Management Program | Cleveland Clinic, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/wellness/integrative/holistic-pain-management-program
46. Holistic Pain Relief: Alternative Ways to Treat Chronic Pain – Hinge Health, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.hingehealth.com/resources/articles/holistic-pain-relief/
47. Pain is Like An Alarm System – YouTube, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDS8KFOreOk
48. Graded Motor Imagery – Physiopedia, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.physio-pedia.com/Graded_Motor_Imagery
49. Graded Motor Imagery – Noigroup, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.noigroup.com/graded-motor-imagery/
50. Using graded motor imagery in the management of chronic low back pain, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://physicaltherapyfirst.com/blog/2025/06/19/using-graded-motor-imagery-in-the-management-of-chronic-low-back-pain/
51. The effects of graded motor imagery and its components on chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis – PubMed, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23158879/
52. Graded motor imagery in the rehabilitation of children with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS): Evidence still needed, accessed on August 11, 2025, http://ppl.childpain.org/issues/v19n1_2017/v19n1_mccormick.shtml
53. Non-Drug Approaches to Chronic Pain – Whole Health Library – VA.gov, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/tools/non-drug-approaches-to-chronic-pain.asp
54. 6 Positive Ways that Living with Chronic Pain Changed My Life: Lessons Learned Over a Decade | Meg Foundation, accessed on August 11, 2025, https://www.megfoundationforpain.org/articles/6-positive-ways-that-living-with-chronic-pain-changed-my-life-lessons-learned-over-a-decade/