Breakthrough with Healing Chronic Pain | Howard Schubiner | Talks at Google

Talks at Google・2 minutes read

Understanding the brain's role in pain perception is crucial for effective treatment, as chronic pain often involves emotional components and childhood adversity. Emotional expression and awareness therapy have shown to be more effective in reducing pain compared to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, highlighting the importance of addressing emotional issues in pain management.

Insights

  • Chronic pain often involves emotional components that can be effectively addressed through emotional expression and awareness therapy, leading to significant pain reduction and improved psychological outcomes.
  • Understanding the brain's role in pain perception is crucial, as it highlights that a significant portion of chronic pain is brain-induced, necessitating a shift towards cognitive, behavioral, and emotional interventions for effective pain management and relief.

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Recent questions

  • How can chronic pain be managed effectively?

    Chronic pain can be effectively managed through a combination of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional interventions. Understanding that chronic pain often involves emotional components and is brain-induced rather than solely physical can lead to significant relief. Psychological therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness, along with emotional expression and awareness therapy, have shown promise in reducing pain levels. By addressing underlying emotional issues, detaching from pain through mindfulness, and processing avoided emotions, individuals can experience a reduction in pain symptoms. This holistic approach to pain management can help reverse brain-induced pain syndromes and provide relief for those suffering from chronic pain.

  • What role does the brain play in pain perception?

    The brain plays a crucial role in pain perception, controlling the experience of pain and influencing its intensity. Pain can be triggered or alleviated based on the brain's interpretation of signals, leading to mistaken pain perception in some cases. Neural pathways in the brain form connections for specific purposes, and emotional injuries can activate brain parts similar to physical injuries. Childhood adversity can sensitize danger mechanisms in the brain, contributing to the development of chronic pain. Understanding the brain's role in pain perception is essential for effective pain management, as it highlights the need for cognitive, behavioral, and emotional interventions to address the underlying causes of pain.

  • What are some effective psychological interventions for chronic pain?

    Psychological interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and emotional expression and awareness therapy have shown effectiveness in managing chronic pain. Emotional expression therapy involves recognizing and processing avoided emotions like anger, guilt, sadness, and compassion, leading to a reduction in pain levels. At a six-month follow-up, the emotional expression group showed significant pain reduction compared to other groups, indicating the efficacy of this approach. Combining cognitive, behavioral, and emotional interventions can help reverse brain-induced pain syndromes and provide relief for individuals suffering from chronic pain.

  • How can childhood experiences impact chronic pain?

    Childhood experiences can have a significant impact on the development of chronic pain, as childhood adversity can sensitize danger mechanisms in the brain. Common pain syndromes are often associated with childhood adversity, highlighting the link between early life experiences and chronic pain. Emotional injuries triggered during childhood can lead to physical pain through neural pathways, emphasizing the importance of addressing emotional components in pain management. Understanding the influence of childhood experiences on chronic pain can help healthcare providers tailor interventions to address the underlying emotional issues contributing to pain symptoms.

  • What are some alternative treatments for chronic pain?

    Alternative treatments for chronic pain include mindfulness, emotional expression and awareness therapy, and writing exercises to address underlying emotional issues. Mindfulness can help individuals detach from pain and accept it as a product of the mind, leading to a reduction in pain levels. Emotional expression therapy involves recognizing and processing avoided emotions, while writing exercises like letters can help reduce pain by addressing underlying emotional issues. These alternative treatments, when combined with cognitive and behavioral interventions, can provide significant relief for individuals suffering from chronic pain by addressing the emotional components contributing to their pain symptoms.

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Summary

00:00

"Chronic Pain: The Mind-Body Connection"

  • Howard Schubiner, a doctor and professor, has authored books on pain and mental health.
  • A patient, 41, suffered from chronic back pain with no clear cause, leading to various unsuccessful treatments.
  • Despite multiple interventions like physical therapy, injections, and surgeries, the patient's pain persisted and spread to his neck.
  • The patient's pain journey involved trying acupuncture, yoga, and even opiate medication without relief.
  • The failure of traditional medical treatments led the patient to seek help from a pain psychologist.
  • Chronic pain affects more people than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined in the US.
  • Psychological therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness have shown limited effectiveness in managing chronic pain.
  • The brain's role in pain perception is highlighted, with examples of conversion disorders and social contagion of symptoms.
  • Pain perception is shown to be influenced by psychological factors, with the brain controlling the experience of pain.
  • Pain can be triggered or alleviated based on the brain's interpretation of signals, as seen in cases of mistaken pain perception.

14:27

"Emotional Injuries Influence Physical Pain Pathways"

  • Brain forms connections through neural pathways for specific purposes.
  • Emotional injuries activate brain parts similar to physical injuries.
  • Childhood adversity can sensitize danger mechanisms in the brain.
  • Common pain syndromes are often associated with childhood adversity.
  • Chronic pain is often not solely a physical issue but involves emotional components.
  • Structural problems account for a small percentage of tension or migraine headaches.
  • Majority of people with neck or back pain lack identifiable structural causes.
  • Emotional injuries can trigger physical pain through neural pathways.
  • Evaluating pain involves ruling out structural issues and considering neural pathway problems.
  • Symptoms of pain can be influenced by emotional factors and stress levels.

28:25

Emotional Therapy Reduces Chronic Pain Significantly

  • Emotional expression and awareness therapy involves recognizing and processing avoided emotions like anger, guilt, sadness, and compassion.
  • At a six-month follow-up, the emotional expression group showed over 50% pain reduction compared to other groups, with a number needed to treat of 7.
  • Changes in widespread pain index favored the emotional awareness and expression group over cognitive behavior therapy.
  • The emotional expression arm had fewer people meeting disorder criteria post-study, indicating superior psychological intervention for pain.
  • People with chronic pain often have childhood issues, and pain is linked to emotions, making emotional therapy more effective than standard methods.
  • A significant portion of chronic pain is brain-induced, not necessarily due to physical injury, requiring a paradigm shift in treatment.
  • Understanding the brain's role in pain can lead to significant pain reduction through cognitive, behavioral, and emotional interventions.
  • Mindfulness can be effective in pain management when used to detach from pain and accept it as a product of the mind.
  • Writing exercises, like letters to express emotions, can help reduce pain by addressing underlying emotional issues.
  • Combining cognitive, behavioral, and emotional interventions can dramatically reverse brain-induced pain syndromes, leading to significant relief.

42:42

"Brain, Pain, and Growth: Insights Revealed"

  • A three-minute animated video by John Gordon is available via a specific URL.
  • Initially, people tend to reject certain ideas until they hear about them from multiple sources.
  • Self-reflection can be challenging, but it is crucial as the "rain of pain lies mainly in the brain."
  • Parents' behaviors can influence children's perceptions and responses to pain.
  • A Maryland woman created obecalp, a placebo spelled backward, to address children's tummy aches.
  • The brain can reduce structural pain through intentional and accidental pain perception.
  • Predictive coding in the brain can trigger conditioned responses to pain.
  • Post-traumatic growth can result from trauma if individuals learn to interpret and use their experiences effectively.
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