48: Melissa Day on the Neuroscience of Pain and Healing through Mindfulness

Noble Mind

When pain persists, over time it changes our brain. As pain-related neural connections grow stronger and stronger, ultimately our experience of pain worsens. But what if we could leverage mindfulness-based interventions to rewire our brains and reduce the impact of pain over time?

On this episode of Noble Mind, Dr. Melissa Day joins Kate and Alex to discuss the neurological roots of pain and explain how the meaning we make of pain impacts the amount of pain we feel. She describes how mindfulness retrains the brain to process pain differently and ‘turns the volume down’ on our suffering. Listen in for insight on the relationship between pain, self-efficacy, and acceptance. Listen in to hear about Dr. Day’s innovative program for treating chronic pain with the principles of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.

Dr. Melissa Day completed her MA and Ph.D. in Clinical Health Psychology and post-doctoral research fellowship in pain psychology at the University of Washington. She is now an endorsed Clinical Psychologist and Health Psychologist in Australia, and works as an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland. Dr. Day’s program of research has focused on implementing randomised controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and mechanisms of cognitive-behavioural and mindfulness-based interventions for pain. She recently published a sole authored book with Wiley titled, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Pain: A Clinical Manual and Guide.

Noble Mind explores mindfulness, meditation, spirituality, and psychology. Get more details, join our list, and get show notes at www.noblemindpodcast.com.