How do our brains process pain? We tend to think that something happens in the body, like stubbing a toe, the nervous system sends signals to the brain, and we feel the pain. But as it turns out, this is an extremely overly simplistic model. When we get into the areas of anticipated pain, chronic pain, and phantom limb pain things get flat out WEIRD!
Today we’re talking about the fact that our conscious experiences of reality and the way that our brains construct those experiences are two WILDLY different things. Specifically, we’re going to apply these concepts to the ways that our brains process pain.
We’ll also discuss some other studies that tie into this topic. All studies mentioned are cited and/or linked below. This will all lead up to something I call the Posturedelic Hypothesis, as well as a model for how this hypothesis could be tested. But there’s LOTS to discuss before we get there.
Chapters:
Introduction 00:08
Is Pain "All in Your Head?" Yes... and No 3:22
Case in Point: Phantom Limb Pain 07:17
What is this Model of Reality Anyways? 10:34
You've Never Actually Seen, Smelled, Touched, Heard, or Tasted ANYTHING! 13:32
What Happens When Chronic Pain Becomes an Integral Part of Your Model of Reality? 19:46
The Intersection of Psychedelics & Chronic Pain 22:54
The Posturedelic Hypothesis 27:03
How Can We Test this Hypothesis? 31?57
Let's Talk Harm Reduction 34:32
Where Does this Leave Us? 37:46
Links & Citations
- My Linktree
- My Website: www.ChronicPainRewired.com
- My Patreon
- Psanctuary
- Reality Switch Technologies by Andrew Gallimore
- Richard J. Davidson Buddhist Monk pain study
- Finn SB, Perry BN, Clasing JE, et al A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Mirror Therapy for Upper Extremity Phantom Limb Pain in Male Amputees. Front Neurol. 2017 Jul 7;8:267. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00267. PMID: 28736545; PMCID: PMC5500638.
- Kuromaru S, Okada S, Hanada M, Kasahara Y, Sakamoto K. The effect of LSD on the phantom limb phenomenon. J Lancet. 1967 Jan;87(1):22-7. PMID: 6043203.
- Hollow Face Illusion
- Rikard SM, Strahan AE, Schmit KM, Guy GP Jr.. Chronic Pain Among Adults — United States, 2019–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:379–385. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7215a1.
- Daneshjou K, Jafarieh H, Raaeskarami SR. Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and Anhydrosis (CIPA) Syndrome; A Report of 4 Cases. Iran J Pediatr. 2012 Sep;22(3):412-6. PMID: 23400697; PMCID: PMC3564101.
- Chronic Pain and PTSD
- Carhart-Harris Robin, Leech Robert, et al The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00020 ISSN 1662-5161
- Ko Kwonmok, Knight Gemma, Rucker James J., Cleare Anthony J. Psychedelics, Mystical Experience, and Thera
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