DEEP DIVE · CHAPTER 8
The Stress Rewire
Just stress? Half right.
Chronic stress is not in your head: it changes your cortisol, your immune cells, your cortex and your pain threshold. This Deep Dive is the evidence behind Chapter 8, and behind why ‘just stress’ is a dismissal, not a diagnosis.
30 pages · 85 references, every one verified · written by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP, and Dr. KrisJay Fucanan, MD
CHAPTER 8 ON VIDEO
Chronic Stress Is Not in Your Head. It’s in Your Pain Threshold
Dr. Padda walks through this chapter on video. All twenty-two are on the The Pained Brain playlist on the Padda Institute channel.
The receipts behind Chapter 8
Three doctors told her it was just stress, and they were half right. The wrong half is what kept her in pain. In this chapter I show you what chronic stress does to your cortisol, your immune cells, your cortex and your pain threshold, why ‘just stress’ is a dismissal and not a diagnosis, and the cheapest treatment I know for a flat cortisol curve.
The book makes the argument. This Deep Dive shows the evidence, claim by claim: the study, who was in it, the number and where it sits in the paper, what it does not show — and the questions to bring to your own physician. It is written to be handed to your doctor.
Enter your name, email and mobile number. The PDF arrives by email within a few minutes, and the other twenty-one Deep Dives arrive one a week, in order.
Frequently asked questions
Can stress cause chronic pain?
Yes. Chronic stress is not in your head. It changes your cortisol, your immune cells, your cortex and your pain threshold, which is why pain can stay high when stress does. Chapter 8 of The Pained Brain explains how that happens, and this Deep Dive lists the studies behind each claim so you can take them to your own physician.
How do I know if my pain is from stress?
Being told your pain is “just stress” is a dismissal, not a diagnosis. In Chapter 8, three doctors told one woman exactly that, and they were half right: stress was part of it, but stopping there kept her in pain. The useful question is what stress has changed in your body. This Deep Dive is written to be handed to your doctor so you can ask it.
Is stress-related pain all in your head?
No. Chronic stress shifts your cortisol, alters your immune cells, changes your cortex and moves the point at which you feel pain. That makes the pain real and physical, not imagined. Chapter 8 walks through each of those changes and ends with the cheapest treatment Dr. Padda knows for a flat cortisol curve.
Educational material. Not medical advice. If you are in the St. Louis area and want this looked at properly, that is what the Padda Institute is for.