DeCoding
Chronic Pain
& Illness
Words That Matter: Understanding Your Experience
You’ve heard the terms—nociplastic pain, central sensitization, neuroplastic rewiring—but no one explains them in a way that makes sense.
This page is your plain-language guide to what these words really mean, how they connect, and why understanding them can be the first step toward reclaiming your life.
Whether you're newly diagnosed or years into your healing journey, these words matter—because they reflect what you're living.
Understanding the Terms: Why Language Matters
Before diving into specific conditions, it helps to get clear on the terms we use—because words shape treatment, and misunderstanding them often leads to dismissal, delayed care, or flat-out gaslighting. Knowing more about what you are experiencing helps with how we address your unique combination of issues. Regardless, the Adaptive Healing Method goes well beyond just the technical or medical, we treat the whole human to improve overall quality of life.
Here are some foundational definitions that reflect how the Adaptive Healing Method™ views chronic pain, illness, and nervous system disruption.
Sadly, many of these are still misunderstood—even by professionals. We’re here to change that.
What is Chronic Illness?
Living with symptoms that linger, fluctuate, and often go unseen.
A chronic illness is a biological health condition (whether visible or not) that sticks around—it lasts a year or more, and often a lot longer. It can take over parts of your life you never expected: your energy, your sleep, your relationships, your ability to work or plan ahead. You can have a chronic illness that does or does not involve chronic pain. Either way, it’s impacting every bit of your life and you need true understanding and support.
It might come with a diagnosis like lupus, POTS, endometriosis, or long COVID—or it might take years just to get someone to listen long enough to find a name for what’s happening in your body. Either way, it’s not “just stress,” and you’re not making it up.
Chronic illness is real, complex, and deserves care that sees the full picture.
What is Chronic Pain?
Defining pain that doesn’t go away—and why it’s not just “in your head”.
Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after the usual healing time—it lasts more than 3 months, and often shows up uninvited and unrelenting. Sometimes there’s an injury or condition behind it (like arthritis, spinal issues, or nerve damage), but sometimes there’s no clear “why” on your MRI, labs, or scan.
That doesn’t mean it’s all in your head. It means the pain has gotten wired into your nervous system—and your system is doing its best to protect you, even if it’s overreacting now. Chronic pain isn’t just physical— I say “it affects every stitch of your being” — your sleep, mood, memory, relationships, and even your identity.
You don’t have to tough it out alone.
What Does “Invisible Illness” Mean?
When your body is fighting—and no one can see it.
Invisible illness means what it sounds like: you’re dealing with something major, but it doesn’t show on the outside. People may tell you “you don’t look sick,” or assume you’re fine because you’re upright and functioning (barely). But they don’t see the pain, the fatigue, the planning it takes just to get through the day.
And honestly? That invisibility is its own kind of grief. Because when your suffering isn’t seen, it’s often not believed.
This is your reminder: just because others don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t valid. You deserve support without having to “prove” your pain.
What is Neuroplasticity?
Your brain’s ability to rewire—and sometimes, misfire.
Neuroplasticity is your brain’s natural ability to change, adapt, and form new connections. It’s how we learn, adapt, and—yes—how we heal. The brain can form new connections and patterns throughout life. When we’ve experienced trauma, chronic stress, or pain, the brain can rewire itself in unhelpful ways—like interpreting safe signals as dangerous or triggering pain even when there’s no injury.
The good news? If the brain can learn pain, it can also learn safety. That means chronic pain pathways can be softened, interrupted, and reshaped with the right tools and support.
You’re not stuck, even if it feels like you’ve tried everything.
Understanding Central Sensitization Syndrome (CSS)
The nervous system “turned up too loud.”
This is one of those terms I wish more providers actually explained. Central sensitization syndrome happens when your brain and nervous system get stuck in “danger mode.” It’s like your internal alarm system becomes too sensitive and starts setting off pain signals for things that shouldn’t hurt—like light touch, movement, or temperature.
Your body isn’t broken—it’s just overprotective. And yes, this can happen even when no one believes you. But it’s real. It shows up in conditions like fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, chronic pelvic pain, migraines, and more. However, don’t get it twisted and believe that if there is Central Sensitization that it’s not real, or that it’s made up. That’s NOT the case! It requires real attention and help.
Understanding central sensitization can be a game-changer. It gives you language for something that once felt like a mystery.
What is Nociplastic Pain?
The official medical term for pain without injury or inflammation.
Here’s a newer term that explains a lot of what people with chronic pain experience. Nociplastic pain happens when the brain and nervous system become the main source of pain—not because of tissue damage or inflammation, but because of how your brain is interpreting danger. This is actually progress for understanding and treating pain conditions.
This doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real—it’s 100% real. It just means the volume knob is stuck on high. You might feel pain everywhere, or in one place that never seems to calm down, even though nothing “looks wrong” on tests.
The good news? There are things that help. But they’re usually not what you’d find at a 10-minute doctor visit.
What is Neuroplastic Pain?
How your brain learns pain through stress, trauma, and fear.
Neuroplastic pain comes from the idea that the brain can “learn” pain through repeated activation of danger signals—even when there’s no longer a physical injury. It’s often associated with the work of Dr. John Sarno and Dr. Howard Schubiner, and is rooted in how emotion, trauma, and fear-based wiring can drive chronic symptoms.
While it’s not yet an official medical term used in diagnostic codes, it captures a real and research-supported phenomenon: the nervous system gets stuck in protect mode. Even when the body is structurally sound, the brain may keep sounding the alarm.
You’re not imagining it—your brain is trying to protect you. And yes, it can learn a new pattern.
How do these fit together?
CSS, Nociplastic & Neuroplastic Pain
They’re not competing theories—they’re pieces of the same picture.
After reading about central sensitization, nociplastic pain, and neuroplastic pain, it’s easy to wonder: Which one do I have?
The truth is, they’re all part of the same puzzle—and they often overlap.
Nociplastic pain is the official medical umbrella term that includes central sensitization.
Central sensitization is the process where your nervous system becomes hypersensitive and overreactive.
Neuroplastic pain reflects how emotional stress, trauma, and fear can teach the brain to create or prolong pain, even after the original threat is gone.
They describe different layers of the same experience: the what, the how, and the why.
Bottom Line:
Central Sensitization = the “how”
Nociplastic Pain = the “medical what”
Neuroplastic Pain = the “mind-body why”
Understanding these pieces helps you reclaim power, not confusion. You don’t have to pick just one—and you don’t have to fit in a box to get the help you need. And healing happens when we treat the whole picture—not just the parts that fit into someone’s favorite theory.
What Is Medical Gaslighting?
When the people meant to help, don’t believe you.
Medical gaslighting happens when a healthcare provider dismisses, minimizes, or questions your symptoms—leaving you to doubt your own body and experience. You might be told “it’s just stress,” “you’re too young,” or “your labs are normal,” even when you're clearly unwell. Over time, this erodes trust in your instincts and the medical system itself.
It’s not your fault. And no, you’re not imagining it.
What Is Medical Trauma?
When care itself becomes a source of harm.
Medical trauma isn’t just about what happened during a single crisis—it’s about everything your body and nervous system have endured in medical settings, often without consent, validation, or emotional safety. It can come from an emergency, a traumatic birth, a painful procedure, or even a slow build of being dismissed and ignored.
You might have medical trauma if:
You panic before appointments or procedures
You dissociate or freeze during exams or IVs
You experience “scanxiety” before routine imaging or test results
You avoid care entirely out of fear or distrust
Medical trauma also includes witnessing someone else suffer—like watching a loved one in pain during an ICU stay, or enduring months or years of caregiving while feeling helpless and terrified. Caregivers are often overlooked, but they carry deep wounds too.
This trauma lives in the body. It impacts trust, touch, decisions, relationships, and how safe you feel even when nothing is "technically" wrong. Whether it was one moment or years of dismissal, it matters. And it’s real.
What Is the Pain-Fear Cycle?
Fear increases pain—then pain increases fear.
The pain-fear cycle describes a feedback loop where fear, anxiety, and hypervigilance about pain actually make the pain worse. When your brain perceives pain as a threat, it activates stress responses that amplify the experience. This cycle can become automatic—until your brain is constantly scanning for danger.
Understanding this loop is the first step toward breaking it.
What Is Catastrophizing?
It’s not overreacting—it’s what pain teaches your brain to do.
Catastrophizing happens when your brain jumps to worst-case scenarios—often because you’ve already lived through so many of them. It’s a natural response to chronic suffering and uncertainty. You’re not being dramatic. You’re trying to stay safe.
With support and evidence-based tools, you can start to calm those alarm bells and reclaim some peace.
What is Pain Reprocessing?
A therapy approach based on retraining the brain’s pain response.
Pain reprocessing is a newer clinical approach that helps the brain reinterpret pain signals as safe instead of dangerous. It's most effective for nociplastic or neuroplastic pain—where pain persists long after any injury. It’s not about ignoring your symptoms—it’s about helping your nervous system update its files.
You won’t be told to "just think positive." You’ll be given real, evidence-based tools to interrupt the loop.
What Is the Bio-psycho-social Model of Pain?
Pain is never just physical—it’s shaped by your whole life.
The biopsychosocial model is the gold-standard framework in modern pain science. It recognizes that pain isn’t just about tissue damage—it’s influenced by your biology (like inflammation or hormones), your psychology (thoughts, beliefs, emotions), and your social environment (relationships, identity, support systems).
When applied with care, this model helps us understand why pain is so complex—and why two people with the same diagnosis can have very different experiences. But when misused, it can be weaponized to dismiss real pain as “just stress.”
At Adaptive Healing, we take it seriously and apply it with respect, nuance, and compassion.
What Is the Mind-Body Model of Pain?
When pain comes from wiring, not injury.
Popularized by thinkers like Dr. John Sarno, Dr. Schubiner and used by apps like Curable, the mind-body model explains pain as a neuroplastic process. They reject the biopsychosocial model of pain. This model focuses on how the brain and nervous system can create or prolong pain signals in response to trauma, fear, or repressed emotion.
For some, this lens brings tremendous relief. For others, it can feel dismissive when biology or structural issues are also present.
What Pain Model Does Adaptive Healing Use?
We don’t pick sides—we treat the whole human.
When it comes to chronic pain and illness, there are a lot of theories—and not nearly enough validation.
Some camps focus on the biopsychosocial model—the idea that pain isn’t just physical, but shaped by biology, psychology, and your environment. Others emphasize neuroplastic pain, rooted in the work of Dr. Sarno and Dr. Schubiner, which says pain can be “learned” and wired into the nervous system through fear, trauma, and unresolved emotion—even in the absence of injury.
Here’s where Adaptive Healing stands: Both are right. And both fall short if we stop there.
Pain and illness are complex. It can begin in the body, the brain, or both. It can be triggered by injury, trauma, genetics, or years of being dismissed. And once it’s there, it’s shaped by everything you’ve lived through—your stress, your relationships, your beliefs, your nervous system’s history.
There’s still so much research happening, and we're learning more every day. At Adaptive Healing, we don’t believe you have to invalidate one truth in order to embrace another.
Most of all — we believe the patient and their lived experience.
At the Adaptive Healing Institute, we honor the biology, validate the trauma, and teach the tools to gently rewire the pain loop—because healing happens when we treat the whole human, not just one part of the story.
From the Founder
Why this work is personal
I’m not just a therapist—I’m also someone who’s lived through complex illness, medical trauma, and years of being dismissed. This glossary wasn’t created to check a box. It was created because I remember what it felt like to Google all these words at 2am and still feel confused, broken, or blamed.
At Adaptive Healing, we believe in treating the whole person—not just the pain, and not just the parts that make sense to others.
You deserve to understand what’s happening in your body and feel like someone finally gets it.
LETS GET STARTED