One in six adults in the U.S. suffers from chronic pain or illness that is “medically unexplained.” According to the latest research into psychophysiologic disorders (PPD), many of these manifested symptoms are stress-related and brain-generated. What are the most common signs that your chronic pain might be related to a PPD?

In 2021, opioids accounted for over 80,000 of the drug overdose deaths reported in the United States. The opioid crisis is a plague on modern health care, and much of its strength originates from those patients unable to find understanding and relief — like those suffering from brain-generated symptoms. What is the exact connection between PPD diagnosis and the opioid crisis?

The PPDA Conference is the world’s #1 gathering of PPD professionals, and every one of its resources and events are open to the public. With presentations on everything from specific migraine diagnosis strategies to the latest discoveries in mind-body research, the PPDA Conference is a direct path to a new level of understanding of psychophysiologic research and treatment.

In a study conducted at CU-Boulder in Colorado, nearly 98% of patients reported improvement when treating their chronic pain with “Pain Relief Psychotherapy.” This therapy represents a novel method that involves the patient reframing their approach to their own pain signals, and such findings are very promising for patients who are seeing such little progress with traditional treatment.

Recent studies in Halifax, Boston, Detroit, Colorado, and Los Angeles have shown that several closely related versions of Pain Relief Psychology have shown dramatically better pain relief than traditional forms of treatment including mindfulness, injections, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Pain Relief Psychology begins with education that pain can be generated by the brain due to stress. The stress can be from current life events, unrecognized mental health conditions, or any of several consequences of adverse childhood experience. When these are addressed, pain is relieved.

It is estimated that 30%-40% of primary care patients in the U.S. suffer from pain or symptoms with no medical explanation or effective treatment. What is the root cause of all these missed diagnoses? Is it entirely about education and understanding, or is there something structural at work? Take a deeper look at psychophysiologic disorders and discover why modern healthcare isn’t serving those patients.

The PPD Relief Alliance represents several specialized communities committed to advancing understanding of psychophysiological disorders and promoting the overall well-being of PPD patients. There are individual groups dedicated to medical doctors and mental health professionals, as well as one for PPD patients and the public.

Dr. Clarke has interviewed over 7000 people who were under so much stress they became physically ill or developed chronic pain. A majority had suffered Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). He discusses the remarkable effectiveness of Pain Relief Psychology for alleviating Deep Stress, which consists of Personality Traits, Triggers and Unrecognized Emotions from ACES.