Why Your Brain Creates False Pain Signals
9 Oct 2026 · 2 min
1:47
In this talk, Joanne Lee Smith explains that pain and other bodily sensations are not direct read‑outs from the body but are constructed by the brain as protective signals. Because the brain’s primary goal is survival, it can generate false or exaggerated pain signals when it misinterprets sensory input, preferring a false alarm over missing a real threat. The meaning we assign to a sensation—what we think the pain signifies—shapes the experience more than the raw sensory data itself. Consequently, pain does not necessarily indicate tissue damage; it can arise from the brain’s error in meaning‑making. Smith emphasizes that understanding this brain‑centric view of pain can help reframe how we respond to chronic or unexplained pain.
