Episode
260. The Neuroscience of Chronic Pain: Why Your Body May Not Be Broken with Irena O'Brien | Jane Hogan
- Podcast
- Wellness By Design
- Published
- Jun 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3332
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Summary
Chronic stress, anxiety, and chronic pain can keep your brain stuck in protection mode. Learn how to calm your nervous system, retrain your brain, and create more safety for healing and resilience. Why does your brain keep repeating the same stress patterns, anxious thoughts, or pain responses… even when you want to change? Join me and my guest, Dr. Irena O'Brien, neuroscientist and founder of The Neuroscience School, to learn more about how the brain predicts, protects, and shapes our behaviors, emotions, and even chronic pain experiences. 👉 Download my free guide to understand why pain persists: https://www.thewellnessengineer.com/whypainpersists Struggling with sleep? Wear blue-light-blocking glasses in the evening to help prepare your nervous system for better sleep. Save 10% at Vivarays with this link: https://vivarays.com/bydesign In this episode, you'll learn: ⏰ 00:00 - Introduction ⏰ 02:45 - The Brain's Role in Safety and Energy Management ⏰ 12:47 - Understanding Pain as Protection ⏰ 21:42 - Stress and Its Impact on Energy ⏰ 34:25 - Finding Personal Practices for Calmness ⏰ 42:23 - The ONE thing you can do to activate self-healing Check out Irena O'Brien's Bio: Dr. Irena O'Brien is a cognitive neuroscientist, educator, and founder of The Neuroscience School. She is known for making complex brain science practical and accessible, helping coaches, leaders, and helping professionals better understand behavior, stress, resilience, and change through the lens of neuroscience. After beginning her career in accounting, Dr. O'Brien returned to university and discovered a passion for neurobiology that changed the direction of her life. She earned her PhD in Psychology from the Université du Québec à Montréal and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University.…