Our next group offering, Managing Chronic Pain through ACT, Mindfulness, and Yoga, is designed to help answer some of the most common—and often frustrating—questions people living with chronic pain ask:
- What is pain, really?
- Why does my body perceive pain the way it does?
- How can I experience less pain, move better, and function more fully in daily life?
Today’s post focuses on the first question: What is pain?
Defining Pain: More Than a Physical Sensation
Merriam-Webster defines pain as:
“A localized or generalized unpleasant bodily sensation or complex of sensations that causes mild to severe physical discomfort and emotional distress and typically results from bodily disorder (such as injury or disease).”
While helpful, this definition still frames pain primarily as a physical symptom.
In July 2020, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) revised its definition to better reflect what research and lived experience have long shown:
“An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.”
IASP also added several key clarifications that are especially important for anyone living with chronic pain:
- Pain is always personal and influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors.
- Pain and nociception (nerve signaling) are not the same thing.
- Pain cannot be understood by sensory input alone.
- A person’s report of pain should always be respected.
- Pain may serve an adaptive role, but it can also negatively affect function, mood, and relationships.
- Inability to communicate pain does not mean pain is not present.
Pain as a Protective Experience, Not Just a Warning Signal
One of my favorite explanations of pain comes from Neil Pearson, published in Yoga Therapy Today. He writes:
“Pain is both a complex experience and a complex biological process. Pain exists when neural circuits conclude that danger exists and that action is required. As such, it is so much more than a symptom or a message telling us that there is something damaged or diseased in the body. Pain is an experience. It motivates us to stop or change our behavior.”
This perspective helps explain something many people with chronic pain already know intuitively: pain is not a single signal, and it’s not always a reliable indicator of damage.
Why Pain Comes and Goes
We often think of pain as straightforward—like touching a hot stove and instantly pulling our hand away. But chronic pain behaves differently.
For example, imagine sitting quietly on the couch. Your low back starts to ache. You shift positions, maybe take some ibuprofen, and mentally review everything you should be doing to prevent this pain from returning—better posture, better lifting mechanics, more core strength.
Now imagine that a loved one suddenly cuts themselves badly and needs stitches. You’re grabbing your keys, driving to the ER, focused entirely on helping them.
What happened to your back pain?
Did it disappear?
Yes—and no.
Your body didn’t suddenly heal your back. Instead, your nervous system reprioritized. Pain is perceived when the brain decides something requires attention right now. Sitting still gives your system space to say, “Hey, we should address this posture issue.” An emergency tells your brain, “This can wait.”
Pain, in this way, is a decision made by the nervous system, not just a direct response to tissue damage.
Pain and Emotions Speak the Same Language
This is where psychotherapy—and ACT in particular—becomes so relevant.
I often tell clients that emotions are messengers from the subconscious:
- Fear asks us to protect
- Anxiety asks us to prepare
- Anger asks us to set a boundary
- Joy tells us to keep going
Pain behaves similarly. It delivers information. It motivates action. But—like emotions—we don’t have to obey it blindly.
For example, if you’ve been in a car accident, your fear may insist that driving is dangerous. Therapy helps you gently remind your nervous system that while accidents can happen, the evidence shows you’ve driven safely many times. You acknowledge the message without letting it run your life.
Pain can be approached the same way.
Choice, Language, and Relationship with Pain
What stands out most to me—and what this group is built around—is the idea that there is choice. Sometimes conscious, sometimes not, our bodies decide every day how much pain we perceive and how loudly it speaks.
We already know our thoughts influence emotions. Research now shows that pain is influenced in similar ways. When we develop a new relationship with pain—and the language to communicate with it—we often find that suffering decreases, even when sensations remain.
That is exactly what we’ll explore in Managing Chronic Pain through ACT, Mindfulness, and Yoga:
learning how to listen to pain, respond skillfully, and move toward a life that is fuller and more functional—with or without pain present.
For More:
You’re invited to join our Members-only Bonus Content Library, where you’ll find a variety of PDFs, recordings, and other resources to support your wellness.
A recent addition is an audio version of a guided meditation for cultivating body awareness and breathing through physical sensations with openness and compassion.
If you’d like to explore this meditation, a free PDF is also available through our newsletter. Sign up by Friday to receive a copy. This PDF will be uploaded to our Bonus Content Library next week if you missed it. For $5 a month you can have access to all we send out. (Sign up for newsletter is below or on our home page. Sign up for Bonus Content in the subscribe button on our homepage or in the link above.)
Articles Referenced and further resources on Chronic pain:
Neil Pearson. “Neurobiology of Pain.” Spring 2016.
Neil Pearson, et al. “Pain and Yoga Therapy: Part 3. When Pain Persists.” Spring 2020.
Neil Pearson, et al. “Pain and Yoga Therapy: Part 1.” Summer 2019.