Pain Psychology Is Real

More than 20 percent of U.S. adults suffer from some form of chronic pain. For many, effective treatment remains elusive, with medications and even surgeries giving little in the way of relief. But in recent years, psychologists’ research has begun to suggest that at least for some people, the answer to chronic pain may come not from healing the body but from treating the mind. Dr. Tor Wager, of Dartmouth University, discusses the relationship among our thoughts, feelings and beliefs about pain and the actual physical pain that we feel, what pain looks like in the brain, and how new research findings are leading to effective new treatments for pain.

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