Pain can show up even when scans look “fine,” and severe arthritis can exist with little to no pain - so what should you do when the usual explanations don’t add up?

Holly puts Dr. Megan on the hot seat for a listener-driven lightning round, tackling five common questions people ask when they’re trying to make sense of chronic pain. Learn how to think about medication as a tool (and when it may be a bridge rather than the full plan), why “pain doesn’t equal damage” matters for recovery, and how to talk with partners, friends, or clinicians who focus only on the body when you’re trying to address the whole picture.

The conversation also covers aging and pain - what’s normal, what’s not inevitable, and how to decide between continuing to pursue solutions versus practicing acceptance. To make the biopsychosocial approach more practical, Dr. Megan shares a simple place to start: tracking flare-ups with context (stress, thoughts, people, situations) to spot patterns your nervous system may be reacting to.

Season one wraps with key takeaways and a preview of what’s coming next.

Links to interesting things from this episode:

• Joshua Pate’s Research on Pain
• “You Can Heal Your life” by Louise Hay
• Bessel van der Kolk books
• “The Way Out: A Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Healing Chronic Pain” by Alan Gordon and Alon Ziv
• John E. Sarno books