How to Unlearn Pain: Groundbreaking Research Offers Hope | Yoni K. Ashar

What if chronic pain was caused by faulty wiring in your brain?

And that one shift in understanding can open the door to relief many people never thought was possible.

Chronic pain affects tens of millions, disrupts relationships, limits work, and quietly erodes joy. Yet for many, scans, surgeries, and medications never bring lasting relief. In this conversation, we explore why pain can persist long after the body has healed and what helps the brain finally stand down.

My guest is Yoni K. Ashar, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and director of the Pain and Emotion Research Laboratory. His research uses brain imaging and clinical neuroscience to study chronic pain recovery, with a focus on Pain Reprocessing Therapy.

In this episode, you’ll learn

• A key signal that reveals when pain is driven by the brain, not injury
• A simple shift that helps interrupt the pain–fear cycle
• Why imaging findings can distract from the true source of pain
• How the right kind of gradual exposure retrains the brain to feel safe again
• What decades of pain research reveal about lasting recovery
• Why we’ve gotten pain wrong for so long, and how to get it right

If you’ve tried everything and still hurt, this conversation may offer a new way to understand your pain and a path toward relief. Press play to learn how unlearning pain may be possible.

You can find Yoni at: Website | Episode Transcript

Next week, we're sharing a really meaningful conversation with Harry Reis about why love doesn't always land, even when it's real.

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