How to Combat Pain
Hidden Brain

How to Combat Pain

B2Upper-intermediateJuly 20, 202650 min

Pain feels like a simple message from the body. If your elbow hurts, there must be something wrong with your elbow. If your back is painfully stiff, you need some work done on your back. But psychologist Rachel Zoffness says our minds play a much larger role in our experience of pain than many of us realize. This week, we look at what's really happening when we experience pain, and how a better understanding of this process can open up new possibilities for treatment and healing. In our companion conversation for Hidden Brain+ subscribers, Rachel Zoffness goes d...

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B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 29%A2 37%B1 22%B2 11%C1 2%
  • 87% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 146 words a minute: a natural pace.
  • 191 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

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0:00

This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam. It happens in an instant. You move too fast and you feel a wrench in your back. That first sharp pain is followed by a persistent ache, bothersome enough to send you to the doctor.

0:22

A scan reveals a problem. A specialist recommends surgery. You go onto the knife, trusting that once the damaged tissue is repaired, the pain will disappear. The story makes intuitive sense. Diagnose the problem, fix the bone or ligament or tendon that is not working properly,

0:44

and you'll make the pain go away. But for many of us, that's not how pain unfolds. Aches persist, even when scans look normal. or they vanish without any medical intervention.

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