Rewiring Pain: What If It’s Not Just in the Body?

Have you ever wondered if pain could mean more than just a physical issue?

If you’re here, there’s a good chance pain has been part of your life—maybe for months, maybe even years. Perhaps you’ve been told you have a bad back, disc degeneration, arthritis… or maybe all your scans came back clear, and you were left with more questions than answers.

Whatever brought you here, this is the first and most important thing to hear:
Your pain is real.
You are not imagining it.
You are not broken.

This isn’t about dismissing your pain or suggesting it’s “just in your head.”
This is about expanding your understanding—gently, compassionately—into how your body and mind might be working together, trying to protect you in the only way they know how.

Could Pain Be a Form of Communication?

What if pain isn’t the enemy—but a messenger?
What if, instead of a malfunction, it’s a sophisticated language system with patterns, triggers, and deeper emotional roots?

As a human being, you always act aligned with your thoughts.
Your mind is constantly scanning your world—internally and externally—for proof that your beliefs are true.
Why? Because to the subconscious, being right means being safe.

But your subconscious doesn’t care if the belief is actually true—only that it’s familiar and consistent.

“You are what you think—repeatedly.” — James Allen

So what happens when the belief is, “My body is broken,” or *“I’ll never feel safe again”…?
That becomes the story the body lives by.

✅ Here’s the beautiful truth:
You can start telling your system a new story.
Gently. Repeatedly. With intention.

“Every thought you think has a physical reaction and an emotional response.” — Marisa Peer

This isn’t wishful thinking—it’s neurobiology.
Thoughts create emotions.
Emotions release chemical messengers.
And those messengers shape your internal environment.

🧠 The Cognitive-Pain Feedback Loop

Have you ever noticed how a single thought—“I’m in pain”—can instantly trigger a flood of emotion, tension, or even panic?

That’s not imaginary. It’s how your brain works.

When you think “I have back pain,” several areas light up:

• Prefrontal cortex (thinking, analyzing)
• Amygdala & anterior cingulate cortex (emotion, fear, emotional memory)
• Somatosensory cortex, thalamus, and insula (where the body feels the pain)

These brain regions have been consistently shown to activate in functional MRI studies of pain (Wager et al., 2004; Apkarian et al., 2005).

Want to feel how that works?
Try this simple exercise:
Sit down, close your eyes, and imagine you’re trying to convince someone in front of you that you’re really tired.
Say—out loud or silently—“I’m sooo tired…”

Notice what happens in your body.
Do your shoulders drop? Do you feel heavier?
Is your posture subtly aligning with that command?

That’s the power of language in real time.
The brain listens—and the body responds.

Now imagine repeating a thought like “I have pain” every day.
It doesn’t just stay a thought—it becomes a belief, with emotions and actions attached to it.
A pattern. A whole-body experience.
And with time, it becomes automated—a reflex.
Your brain memorizes the loop until it runs all by itself.

This aligns with the concept of central sensitization—a process well-researched by Dr. Clifford Woolf (Harvard Medical School), showing how repeated input can make the nervous system better at producing pain, even in the absence of ongoing injury.

🧬 How the Mind and Body Communicate

Your mind and body speak different languages:

• The mind speaks in words, images, and beliefs.
• The body responds in chemistry—what we call hormones and neurotransmitters.

Each biochemical “cocktail” tells your system whether to:
🟢 Approach (love, curiosity, safety)
🔴 Avoid (pain, fear, tension)

We could say emotions are chemical messengers—but more accurately, they are your mind’s translation of biochemical shifts.

You don’t say, “I feel cortisol”—you say, “I feel stressed.”
You don’t say, “I feel oxytocin”—you say, “I feel connected.”

It’s not just the chemistry—it’s the context.

Take adrenaline, for example.
In extreme sports, that adrenaline-cortisol mix can feel addictive—fueling drive, focus, and exhilaration.
But in a threatening situation, those same chemicals might trigger shutdown, hypervigilance, or fear.

Here’s something you can try right now:

Sit down. Close your eyes.
Say the word “love”—slowly, with meaning.
Think of someone or something that brings that feeling up for you.

Notice what shifts:
Does your breath soften?
Does your posture change?
Do you feel warmth, openness, calm?

Now say the word “angry… angry… angry…”
Feel the difference.
Does your jaw clench? Shoulders tense?
Is your breath a little shorter?

The brain hears the word and sends out a chemical message to the body.
The body responds, instantly—because it’s listening.
And the brain, in turn, translates that response back into a feeling, an emotion—a word.

That’s the loop.
And once you become aware of it, you can begin to shift what messages you send.

🔬Neurotransmitters and Hormones Involved in Pain

Let’s break it down: What actually happens in the body when you think, “I have back pain” — especially when it’s chronic, recurring, or emotionally charged?

This cascade of chemical messengers has been confirmed by leading pain researchers including Dr. Howard Schubiner, Dr. Lorimer Moseley, Dr. Tor Wager, and Dr. A. Vania Apkarian.

When pain is interpreted by the brain as dangerous or threatening, it sets off a whole-body biochemical response. Some of the main players in that loop include:

Cortisol

Think of cortisol as your body’s “stay-safe” signal. It’s produced by the HPA axis and spikes anytime your brain perceives a threat — physical, emotional, or imagined. In small amounts, it’s protective. But when it stays high, it can:

• Increase pain sensitivity
• Disrupt sleep, mood, digestion
• Break down stabilizing muscle around the spine

Researchers like Sapolsky, Schubiner, and Moseley have shown that long-term emotional stress can biologically sustain pain — even after the original injury has healed.

Substance P

This is the volume knob on pain — and emotion. It’s a neuropeptide found in higher levels in many chronic pain states. It doesn’t just signal discomfort — it amplifies the emotional intensity of it.
You don’t just feel pain. You feel the pain about the pain.

Glutamate

Glutamate is your brain’s main “go” signal — fast, excitatory, and powerful. In chronic pain, glutamate floods the system and contributes to a hypersensitive nervous system. This is one of the core mechanisms behind central sensitization, as described by Dr. Clifford Woolf.

Hypervigilance, rumination, or always scanning for symptoms can subtly increase glutamate activity. Not because you’re doing something wrong — but because your brain is trying (too hard) to protect you.

Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine)

This chemical helps you survive moments of danger. But when your system is stuck in that mode, it can create ongoing tension, shallow breathing, and the sense that you’re constantly bracing.
It’s like your body’s trying to be ready all the time. Even when nothing is chasing you.

Endogenous Opioids

Your body can produce its own pain relief — things like endorphins, dynorphins, and enkephalins. These are released in moments of rest, connection, or joy.

In chronic pain, this system can go quiet — not broken, but downregulated.
Brain scans by Dr. Jon-Kar Zubieta showed that people with chronic pain often have reduced opioid receptor function, even without new injury.

The beautiful news? This system can reawaken — through safe experiences, breathwork, kindness, and moments of trust in your body.

Serotonin & Dopamine

These are your mood and motivation stabilizers. They regulate emotional resilience, energy, sleep, and — yes — pain buffering.

When pain is chronic, these tend to dip. Not because you’re negative — but because your system is overwhelmed. Even small wins — joy, appreciation, feeling safe for a moment — can help restore these circuits.

BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)

BDNF helps your brain learn — but in chronic pain, it sometimes learns the wrong thing: how to be better at producing pain.

It literally strengthens the “pain pathway” when the system has been practicing pain for too long.
But it also means: it can help you relearn comfort, trust, and safety when new input is introduced. That’s neuroplasticity — and it’s always available.

🌀 So What Does All That Mean?

If your inner dialogue constantly circles around “What’s wrong with my body?” or “I’ll never be okay again,” your nervous system hears that as threat — and responds accordingly.

It produces more cortisol. More glutamate. Keeps your muscles tight. Keeps your system wired.

But when you introduce even small shifts in attention — toward neutrality, curiosity, safety, or even gentle compassion— your chemistry begins to change.

You don’t have to fake positivity.
You just have to stop feeding the fear.

This isn’t mindset fluff.
It’s real-time neurobiology — and it’s on your side.

🧬 Summary Table (Optional Recap)

Chemical	Role in Pain	Triggered by Thought?
Cortisol	Stress response, muscle catabolism	✅ Yes — threat perception
Substance P	Pain signal amplification	⚠️ Indirectly — chronic emotional intensity
Glutamate	Sensitization, hyperreactivity	✅ Yes — linked to rumination, fear
Noradrenaline	Muscle tension, arousal	✅ Yes — especially with anxiety
Endogenous Opioids	Pain modulation	⚠️ Downregulated in long-term pain
Serotonin/Dopamine	Mood & motivation	✅ Yes — depleted by stress and low safety
BDNF	Pain reinforcement or healing	✅ Yes — shaped by repetition and focus

🌀 Practical Implication

The more someone focuses on thoughts like “Something’s wrong with my body” or “This pain means I’m damaged”—especially when those thoughts are wrapped in fear or helplessness—the more they reinforce a biochemical loop that can sustain or even intensify pain over time.

This isn’t just a theory—it’s the foundation of therapies like CBT for pain, mindfulness, and Pain Reprocessing Therapy.
All of them aim to shift the thought, in order to shift the chemistry.

If you’re curious, I can walk you through how pain neuroscience education and biopsychosocial interventions are changing long-term outcomes—especially in cases where the nervous system itself becomes the amplifier of symptoms.

🌟 Toxic Positivity or Neurochemistry

Now here’s the hopeful part:
When you think a positive, grateful, or even neutral but accepting thought—especially about your body—it activates a completely different set of circuits.

This isn’t about toxic positivity.
It’s about gently guiding your system out of “threat mode” and into a state of safety, rest, and repair.

🔬 Key Neurochemicals Triggered by Positive Body-Focused Thoughts:

1. Dopamine
   • Released during moments of appreciation, pleasure, or meaningful recognition
   • Reinforces the habit of noticing and valuing your body
   • “My eyes are working well today” → small burst of pleasure → dopamine says: keep noticing that.
2. Oxytocin
   • Associated with bonding, connection, and trust—not just with others, but with yourself
   • Positive thoughts toward your body build body trust and self-compassion
3. Serotonin
   • Supports mood, sleep, digestion, and a sense of wellbeing
   • Sincere, reflective gratitude can gradually boost serotonin levels
   • Bonus: higher serotonin also dampens pain signals
4. Endogenous Opioids (Enkephalins & Endorphins)
   • Pleasant, comforting thoughts about your body can spark a small pulse of these natural pain relievers
   • They promote ease, comfort, and a sense of inner softness
5. GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)
   • Calms the brain by inhibiting excessive neural firing
   • Positive, grounded thoughts—especially when paired with breath or presence—help activate this natural tranquilizer

What Part of the Brain Is Engaged?

These thoughts don’t just float by—they activate key areas that influence your body directly:

• Prefrontal Cortex – where conscious thought is formed
• Ventral Striatum – involved in pleasure and reward
• Insula – supports internal body awareness and safety signals
• Default Mode Network – active in moments of reflection and emotional meaning

You’re not just “thinking something positive”—
You’re literally changing your biochemistry in real time.

🔄 Thought Chemistry in Action: A Quick Comparison

Type of Thought	Dominant Chemicals	Body Impact
“I have back pain”	Cortisol, Substance P, Glutamate	Heightened tension, pain, and vigilance
“I like that my eyes are working well”	Dopamine, Serotonin, Oxytocin	Relaxation, reward, and resilience boost

Neuroplastic Bonus

The more you repeat a thought like:
“My body is doing its best.”
…the more your brain rewires itself to notice safety and function, instead of scanning for damage.

This is neuroplasticity—your brain’s lifelong ability to rewire based on what you feed it.
And the good news?
You can start rewiring at any time.

How Do I Know?

Because I’ve Been There.

Years ago, I was diagnosed with disc herniations, reduced disc space, and spinal arthrosis.
The prognosis was clear: I was told I needed surgery within three months.

But something in me wasn’t ready to accept that as the only path.

I started reading the work of Dr. John E. Sarno and began exploring the connection between emotions, beliefs, and pain. Over time — two years, to be exact — I slowly began to shift.

Then I discovered RTT and the work of Marisa Peer.
What I had been doing intuitively was suddenly accelerated.

RTT helped me uncover the exact subconscious words and emotional associations that had become wired into my pain response.
And with that awareness… things began to change.

Today, I’m pain free.
Not because I “fought” the pain — but because I finally listened to it differently.

That’s what I now help others do.

What If Your Body Could Learn a New Way to Respond?

Sometimes, we don’t need to force change.
We just need to create the right conditions for something new to unfold.

That’s what RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy) is all about.
It helps you gently uncover the root beliefs and emotional patterns that may be contributing to chronic pain—and shift them.

Not through willpower.
But through deep understanding and subconscious integration.

Often, just one RTT session can unlock what’s been held for years—making space for calm, confidence, and comfort to return.

And for those who prefer smaller steps?
We can begin with a relaxing hypnosis, a personalized audio, or some gentle coaching—whatever feels right for you now.

Because healing doesn’t always start with doing more.
Sometimes, it begins with listening.

Why RTT Is Different — and Why It Works

Some people live with pain for years.
They try everything — medication, movement, bodywork, even mindset work.
And still… the pain remains. Or it comes back.

Why?
Because most approaches don’t address the one place where lasting change really begins:
👉 the subconscious.

Your subconscious runs about 95% of your daily thoughts, responses, and habits — including the emotional and physical patterns that can keep pain in place.

We briefly addressed the idea of habitual patterns connected to pain — responses that can become deeply ingrained in the nervous system.
These aren’t always conscious, and they’re not always logical.
But they are stored in the subconscious mind — and that’s the level where RTT works.

RTT helps you find the story behind the symptom — and gently update it.

Think of it like this:
You’re the captain of a ship. You’ve decided it’s time to change direction — to go north.
But your crew (your subconscious) has spent years steering you south.
Unless you stop and give them new instructions… they’ll keep doing what they’ve always done.
Even if it no longer serves you.

That’s what RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy) is here for.
To help you reprogram the message — so your system can finally change course.

What Happens in an RTT Session?

An RTT session is a guided, focused experience designed to gently uncover and update what’s been running in the background — emotionally, physically, or subconsciously.

Here’s what it includes:

🔎 A therapeutic conversation

We explore what’s going on beneath the surface — not just the pain or symptom, but the patterns, beliefs, or moments that may be connected to it.
This sets the foundation for meaningful change.

🧘‍♀️ A light, focused hypnosis

This is not sleep. You remain fully aware and in control.
Hypnosis simply allows us to bypass the critical mind and speak directly with the subconscious — where lasting change becomes possible.

🌀 The transformation process

Using language, imagery, and belief rewiring, we release outdated emotional reflexes and replace them with new, supportive instructions that align with how you want to feel and function now.

🎧 Your personalized recording

After the session, you’ll receive a custom audio created specifically for you.
Listening to it daily for 21 days helps reinforce the shift — gently rewiring your inner narrative and body response.

RTT: An All-Inclusive Approach to Deep Change

RTT is not just a session — it’s a complete therapeutic process.

In one package, you uncover the root cause of an issue, the patterns it created, and the meaning your subconscious mind assigned to it — often long ago.

You don’t just manage symptoms.
You understand them.
You shift them.
And you create space for something new.

That’s why it’s called Rapid Transformational Therapy — it’s designed to be focused, deep, and effective.

But…
I also know that not everyone is ready to dive that deep — and that’s okay.
Sometimes, the best way to begin is simply to dip your toes in and see how your system responds.

If RTT feels like too much too soon, you can try one of the elements that (when combined) make RTT so effective.
These options are beautiful starting points in themselves:

Other Services You Can Explore:

🧘‍♀️ Hypnosis for Relaxation

A soft, guided session that allows your nervous system to settle.
Perfect if you’re feeling overwhelmed, tense, or just want to reconnect with a sense of calm.

👉 During hypnosis, we can also include powerful techniques like the
Healing Vortex or Cell Command Therapy (CCT) —
gentle but impactful processes that help your body receive new, supportive instructions for healing or release.

🎧 Personalized Mind-Body Audio

A custom recording made just for you, based on your needs, words, and emotional landscape.
Listen daily to reinforce calm, confidence, or body trust.

💬 Coaching & Mind-Body Awareness

We work together in conversation, using simple but powerful tools to help you understand how your thoughts, reactions, and attention affect your experience of pain.

Includes the Pain Dial technique — a mind-body tool to help you lower the intensity of pain through guided focus and imagery.
And the Body Scan — ideal for learning to speak the language of your body and reduce physical stress through awareness and connection.

Curious to Know More?

If something you’ve read here resonates with you, and you feel like this might be the right path —
I’ll be happy to answer your questions, and explore together what could be the most supportive next step for you.

You don’t need to decide everything now.
Sometimes, just having a conversation is already part of the process.

📩 Simply reach out using the form on the contact page or book a free discovery call.
We’ll take it from there — gently, and at your pace.