Pain Can Be Shaped by Your Beliefs, Memories, Emotion, and Meaning

Pain isn’t just a physical sensation—it’s an experience. And that experience is shaped by everything that makes you you.

What you believe about your body…

What you’ve lived through in the past…

What you feel in the moment…

What the pain means to you…

These are all signals your brain uses to decide whether to trigger pain—and how much of it to create.

This is why pain can feel worse when you’re stressed, lonely, or afraid. It’s also why pain can lessen when you feel safe, seen, and understood.

Pain science calls this the biopsychosocial model—which sounds complex, but simply means: pain is personal. Your nervous system is not a machine reading damage. It’s a storyteller making sense of what’s happening now, based on everything it’s learned before (Melzack, 2001; Linton & Shaw, 2011).

The good news? You’re not stuck with the story your brain has been telling. When you update your beliefs, process past experiences, and find new meaning—you can also reshape your pain.

Pain is real. But it’s also dynamic. And that means it can change.

References:

Melzack R. (2001). Pain and the neuromatrix in the brain. Journal of Dental Education.

Linton SJ, Shaw WS. (2011). Impact of psychological factors in the experience of pain. Physical Therapy.