If you have been living with persistent pain or symptoms, you have probably heard a lot of conflicting explanations. Some are helpful, some are dismissive, and some sound like they are saying the pain is “just in your head”.
This page clears up the most common myths. The goal is not to convince you of one single story; it is to give you a more accurate, less frightening framework to work from.
Myth: “If it’s neuroplastic, it means it’s not real”
Neuroplastic pain is still real pain. It is felt in the body. It can be severe. The difference is not whether it is real; the difference is what is driving it.
In neuroplastic symptoms, the nervous system is producing very real signals of pain, tightness, fatigue or dizziness as part of protection. The system has become overprotective, not imaginary.
Myth: “Pain always equals damage”
Pain is often associated with injury, but it is not a direct measure of damage. Pain is the brain’s best guess that protection is needed. That guess can be accurate, but it can also become overly sensitive after a long period of symptoms.
This is why two people can have similar structural findings and completely different pain levels, and why pain can persist long after tissues have healed.
Myth: “Scans tell you exactly why you hurt”
Imaging can be useful, but it is not a full explanation for many chronic symptoms. Structural findings can be part of the picture, yet they do not always predict pain intensity or persistence.
Many people are given a single explanation, then feel confused when treatments aimed at that explanation do not help. A mind–body lens adds an additional layer: how sensitised the nervous system is, and how much protection it is applying day to day.
Myth: “If stress is involved, it means you caused this”
Stress does not mean blame. It means physiology.
Stress changes breathing, muscle tension, immune activity, sleep quality, digestion and threat sensitivity. Over time, this can keep the nervous system on high alert and make symptoms more likely to flare.
That is not weakness. It is how bodies respond when they are trying to cope.
Myth: “Mind–body work is just positive thinking”
Real mind–body recovery is not about pretending you are fine, or forcing optimism. It is about changing the conditions that keep the nervous system stuck in protection.
That can include education (so your brain feels less threatened), nervous system regulation, gradual exposure to movement, reducing fear responses, and processing the emotional load your system may have been carrying for years.
Myth: “If you have a structural issue, mind–body approaches can’t help”
Many people have a mix: some physical findings plus an overprotective nervous system. Mind–body approaches do not deny the body. They aim to reduce the extra layer of amplification that often develops around symptoms.
This is why someone can have a diagnosis and still benefit from approaches that calm threat, reduce fear, and build safety in the nervous system.
FAQ: “How do I know if this applies to me?”
No single sign is perfect, but many people recognise patterns like:
- symptoms that move around or change over time
- flare ups linked to stress, pressure, uncertainty or feeling unsafe
- symptoms that feel worse when you focus on them and calmer when you feel safe
- many different treatments tried, with limited or temporary improvement
- a sense of being “stuck” despite doing all the right things
If this sounds familiar, exploring a nervous system and mind–body approach may be worth considering alongside appropriate medical support.
FAQ: “Is the evidence strong?”
The evidence base is growing, especially for approaches that combine pain education, behaviour change, emotional processing, and regulation skills. Like any field, studies vary in quality and results, and there is no guarantee for any individual.
What matters most is that these approaches offer a plausible mechanism and a practical pathway - especially for people who have not been helped by purely structural routes.
FAQ: “What if I try this and nothing changes?”
It is a fair concern. Recovery is not always quick, and it is not always linear. Sometimes the first win is not “no pain”, but reduced fear, fewer spirals, less catastrophising, and more confidence in the body.
From there, the nervous system has better conditions to change. That is often how meaningful improvement starts: not with pushing harder, but with building safety and steadiness.
A practical way to think about it
You do not need to choose between “it’s structural” and “it’s psychological”. A more accurate frame is often:
- what is happening in my body?
- what is my nervous system doing with that information?
- what would help my system feel safer and less reactive?
That is where mind–body and neuroplastic work lives: improving how the brain and body interpret signals, so protection does not stay switched on unnecessarily.