Lewis HowesYour Personal 24/7 Greatness Coach

70% of Chronic Pain is Linked to Brain Health?

8 Dec 2025 · 0 min

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In this brief interview segment, host Lewis Howes asks psychiatrist Daniel Amen about the relationship between chronic pain and brain health. Amen asserts that roughly 70% of chronic pain cases are linked to the brain, explaining that physical and emotional pain share the same neural circuits. He suggests that improving brain health can help balance these circuits, thereby reducing pain. The conversation highlights the idea that many bodily pains may have a neurological component that can be addressed through brain-focused interventions.

How much of chronic pain in people's bodies is actually linked to their brain health?
Probably 70%. Really? For me, it was my back, it was my hip, it was my knee, it was my neck. And part of me went, oh, I'm just getting older. But the neuroscientist in me goes, physical and emotional pain run on the same circuits in the brain. When you get your brain healthy, it helps to balance these circuits and the pain is less. And so most.
People go, oh.
It'S my back. Yes, it is, but it's also your brain. And when you get your brain right, your back is better.