I’ve Had Pain for Years-Is it Too Late for My Brain to Change?

Nov 10

You've been dealing with pain for years. Maybe even decades.

You've tried everything. Physical therapy. Medications. Procedures. Nothing worked. Or it helped for a while and then stopped.

Now someone is telling you that therapy might help. That your brain can change. That there's still hope.

And honestly? You're skeptical. Because if your brain was going to change, wouldn't it have changed by now?

It's a fair question. And the answer might surprise you.

Understanding how the brain creates and maintains pain helps explain why change is still possible, even after years. And chronic pain therapy works with your brain's natural ability to create new patterns—no matter how long the old patterns have been there.

Neuroplasticity: Your brain can change at any age

Your brain is not fixed. It changes throughout your entire life.

This is called neuroplasticity. It's your brain's ability to form new connections, create new patterns, and adapt to new information.

Scientists used to think that brains stopped changing after childhood. That once you were an adult, you were stuck with whatever patterns you had.

But research over the past few decades has completely changed that understanding. Your brain keeps changing. Always.

Every time you learn something new, your brain creates new connections. Every time you practice a skill, those connections get stronger. And every time you stop using a pattern, those connections get weaker.

This is true for everything. Learning to play an instrument. Speaking a new language. Changing a habit.

And it's true for pain.

If your brain learned to create pain patterns, it can also learn to change them. The length of time doesn't matter as much as you might think.

Yes, longstanding patterns can be harder to change. They're well-practiced. Your brain knows them really well.

But harder doesn't mean impossible. It just means you need the right approach and enough time for your brain to practice something new.

Why long-term pain can still respond to therapy

Here's what happens with chronic pain: your brain learns to interpret certain signals as dangerous. It creates pain to protect you.

At first, this might have made sense. Maybe you had an injury. Maybe you were under a lot of stress. Your brain was doing its job.

But over time, your brain got stuck in that pattern. Even after the original threat was gone, the pain stayed. Because your brain learned that these signals mean danger.

The longer this goes on, the more automatic it becomes. You don't even think about it anymore. Your brain just does it.

But automatic doesn't mean permanent. It means your brain has practiced this pattern so much that it happens without conscious thought.

And anything that's learned can be relearned. Your brain just needs new information.

When we work with chronic pain in therapy, we're not trying to convince your brain that the pain isn't real. We're teaching your brain that the signals it's interpreting as dangerous are actually safe.

This works regardless of how long you've had pain. Because your brain is still capable of learning. It's still plastic. It's still changing.

Understanding chronic pain and the brain helps explain why therapy targets these learned patterns rather than the pain itself.

The key is patience. Your brain practiced the pain pattern for years. It needs time to practice a new pattern too.

What "retraining the brain" actually looks like

When people hear "retraining the brain," they sometimes think it means ignoring pain or pretending it's not there.

That's not what we mean.

Retraining the brain means teaching your nervous system to respond differently to signals from your body.

In therapy, you might practice something called somatic tracking. This is paying attention to sensations in your body with curiosity instead of fear.

When you notice pain, you pause. You observe it. You notice where it is, what it feels like, whether it changes as you pay attention.

And critically, you practice sending your brain the message that you're safe. That this sensation doesn't mean damage. That there's nothing to protect you from.

This isn't easy. Your instinct is to tense up or try to make the pain go away. But those reactions keep the pattern going.

When you can notice pain without adding fear on top of it, something shifts. Your brain starts to get new information. And slowly, it learns that it doesn't need to create so much pain.

We also work with different parts of you. The part that's scared. The part that's skeptical that this will work. The part that's exhausted from trying so hard.

All of these parts are welcome. We're not trying to get rid of anything. We're helping your whole system feel safe enough to try something different.

This is slow work. Especially if you've had pain for a long time. But slow doesn't mean it's not working.

Realistic expectations: Progress is not linear

This is important to understand: progress with chronic pain is not linear.

You won't get better every single day. You'll have good days and bad days. Sometimes you'll feel like you're making progress. Other times you'll feel like you're back where you started.

This is normal. It's not a sign that therapy isn't working or that you're doing something wrong.

Your brain is learning a new pattern. And learning is messy. It takes time. There are setbacks.

Some people see improvement quickly. They have a good week or two and feel hopeful. Then they have a bad day and feel like they've lost all their progress.

But that bad day doesn't erase the good days. It's just part of the process.

The goal isn't to never have pain again. For most people, that's not realistic. The goal is to change your relationship with pain. To feel less afraid of it. To have it interfere less with your life.

And that happens gradually. With ups and downs. Over time.

The skeptical part of you might say this sounds like it will take forever. That you've already wasted enough time on things that don't work.

That part makes sense. You're tired. You want relief now.

But here's the thing: your brain needs time to change. Rushing doesn't make it go faster. It usually makes it slower because you get frustrated and give up.

Slow is fast. When you take the time to really let your brain practice new patterns, the changes stick.

Starting chronic pain therapy in Lee's Summit

If you've had pain for years, it's not too late.

Your brain can still change. The patterns can still shift. And therapy can help even when other treatments haven't.

At Aspire Counseling, we work with people throughout Missouri who've been dealing with chronic pain for a long time. We offer therapy both in person at our Lee's Summit office and through telehealth.

Our approach is grounded in neuroscience. We understand how the brain creates and maintains pain patterns. And we know how to help your brain learn something new.

We also understand skepticism. If you've tried a lot of things that didn't work, of course you're going to doubt whether this will be different.

That's okay. You don't have to believe it will work before you start. You just have to be willing to try.

The skeptical part of you is welcome here too. We're not going to try to talk you out of it or convince you to just think positive.

We're going to give your brain new experiences. And let those experiences teach your nervous system that change is possible.

You can learn more about our approach or reach out online. We'll talk about what's going on and whether therapy might help. No pressure, no commitment required.

Call us at (573) 328-2288 or contact us online.

It's not too late. Your brain is still learning. And we can help you teach it something new.

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About the Author: This post was written by Jessica (Tappana) Oliver, LCSW, founder of Aspire Counseling. Years ago, Jessica worked with many clients who'd been dealing with chronic pain for years and felt hopeless about change. She saw firsthand that neuroplasticity works at any age—that brains really can create new patterns even after decades of pain. These days, she focuses her clinical work on offering trauma therapy intensives at Aspire, but she remains passionate about helping people understand that it's never too late for change. After conversations with Adam White, LPC, one of Aspire's chronic pain specialists, about his approach to addressing chronic pain through counseling, she's convinced he's the go-to expert in the Kansas City metro area for treating chronic pain through therapy. This post reflects Adam's clinical approach and his deep understanding that progress is non-linear but always possible. Adam practices at our Lee's Summit, Missouri location and also offers online therapy throughout Missouri.

Jessica Tappana https://simplifiedseoconsulting.com