Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces an episode of SuperPsyched featuring physician Dr. Howard Schubiner discussing his updated book, Unlearn Your Pain, and evidence-based approaches to chronic pain that avoid medication or surgery. Schubiner recounts his path from academic medicine to learning from Dr. John Sarno and explains how pain can persist without tissue damage due to neuroplastic neural circuits shaped by stress, emotion, and life experiences, with pain sometimes worsening via nocebo effects from medical messaging and MRI interpretations. He describes criteria suggesting non-structural pain and research indicating most chronic back/neck pain cases may be neuroplastic despite abnormal imaging. Schubiner outlines treatment steps: accurate diagnosis, education about brain-based pain, pain reprocessing therapy to reduce fear and build safety signals, and emotional awareness and expression therapy to address underlying emotions and trauma, citing clinical stories and randomized controlled trial support.
00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched
00:28 Chronic Pain Problem
01:13 Meet Howard Schubiner
02:33 Sarno Origin Story
04:37 Sarno Theory Explained
06:53 How Pain Is Learned
11:21 Compassion and Root Causes
12:34 Pain as Social Justice
15:43 Placebo Nocebo Power
19:17 MRI Words and Nocebo
21:09 Adam Sciatica Story
22:27 When Surgery Helps
23:10 Fibromyalgia Is Real
23:17 Neuroplastic Pain Evidence
23:56 MRI Study Contradiction
26:35 Is It All In Head
27:30 Brain Creates Pain
29:12 Back Pain Recovery Story
31:50 Sensitivity And Temperament
34:02 Peacemaker Pain Pattern
35:33 Endometriosis And Boundaries
39:40 Treatment Steps Overview
42:25 Emotional Expression Therapy
45:05 Movement And Farewell
Helpful Links:
Unlearn Your Pain Website
Unlearn Your Pain Book
Episode 84 - Unlearning Your Pain | Howard Schubinder, MD
The Science Behind The Symptoms Podcast
