When you stub your toe and exclaim “ouch!”, it’s your brain signaling that something is wrong, that attention is needed. That sharp pain is easy to understand: you’ve hurt yourself. But what happens when the pain doesn’t go away after months, or when the suffering you feel doesn’t come from a visible injury? Recent studies, such as one titled “The Anatomy of Pain and Suffering in the Brain and Its Clinical Implications” by De Ridder et al.1, take us on a fascinating journey through our brain to discover why.
Pain: More Than Just a Warning Signal
For a long time, we’ve thought of pain solely as a signal that something is wrong in our body. However, pain is much more complex. It’s not just an alert; it’s an interpretation by our brain, which includes both sensory and emotional aspects. That’s why some people, even without a clear physical injury, can experience persistent pain that stays like an unwanted guest.
Suffering: Beyond the Physical
In the complexity of pain arises “suffering,” which is that unpleasant experience that negatively impacts us cognitively and emotionally; it’s when pain mixes with fear, sadness, frustration, or anxiety. New research has managed to understand how the brain processes emotions associated with pain and even why we can be overwhelmed by emotions even when the physical pain isn’t so intense.
Understanding the Brain’s Pathways
In this journey through the brain, Dirk de Ridder1 shows us that there are specific pathways that handle pain and suffering. Imagine three highways in your brain: one for physical pain, another for emotional suffering, and a third that tries to soothe the pain. The interesting part here is that you can feel pain without emotional suffering and vice versa; we have many tools in our brain to control pain! This helps us understand why some people face chronic pain differently, and why treatment cannot be the same for everyone.
What Now?
Understanding these mechanisms is fascinating as it has a real impact on how we treat chronic pain and suffering. It invites us to look beyond physical symptoms and consider a person’s emotional and mental state. Each discovery brings us closer to helping people lead fuller, less painful lives, highlighting the incredible capacity for adaptation and resilience of the human being
1De Ridder, D., Adhia, D., & Vanneste, S. (2021). The anatomy of pain and suffering in the brain and its clinical implications. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 130, 125–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.013