Associative Neurons and Pain Triggers

anneke91
Jul 17
4 min read

Updated: Jul 25

Pain isn't always what it seems. It comes in many forms, physical, emotional, mental and often a combination of all three.

In our fast-paced world, we’re conditioned to seek quick fixes—tablets, injections, distractions—solutions that target surface-level discomfort. Yet, we still find ourselves trapped in cycles of discomfort, dysfunction, dis-ease, and recurring pain - with no definitive diagnosis or solution... Experiencing symptoms like

· Persistent musculoskeletal pain (like chronic back or neck tension)

· Ongoing anxiety or emotional overwhelm

· Recurring migraines or headaches

· Digestive discomfort (including constipation, bloating, IBS, or reflux)

· Respiratory conditions linked to stress (such as asthma or breathlessness)

· Fluctuations in weight, appetite, or energy

The truth is when we focus solely on managing symptoms, we risk missing the deeper invitation to heal. We treat symptoms instead of understanding their deeper cause.

Understanding Pain and Dis-ease. An integrative approach.

We are far more than just our physical bodies. This prompts an important question: is modern diagnostic medicine overlooking something by focusing solely on physical symptoms? Our emotions, thoughts, and beliefs profoundly influence our physical well-being. When we experience anxiety, grief, or emotional overwhelm, our bodies respond—tight shoulders, a churning stomach, loss of appetite, or a lump in the throat are all physical manifestations of what we feel inside.

Emotions influence nearly every system in the body:

Breath and circulation
Immune response
Digestion and gut health
Hormonal balance
Mental clarity and focus
Posture and muscle tone

Just to mention a few. Our Physical, Mental and Emotional states are interconnected and constantly influencing one another. When one is out of alignment, the others follow.

🧘‍♀️ Eastern Wisdom, Modern Confirmation

In Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, practitioners have always known:

"Emotions live in the body." These systems never treat the body in isolation—they work with emotion, energy, and mind.

So which came first? The emotional distress, or the physical pain? In truth, they often feed each other in a loop.

🧠 How the Brain Processes and Files References

The brain encodes experience through associative neural networks—a web of interconnected memories shaped not only by facts, but by emotions, sensations, and context.

When we experience stress or trauma, the brain doesn’t just record events—it creates a multi-sensory reference map, storing:

Emotional intensity (via the amygdala)
Physical sensations (through the insula)
Environmental and sensory input
A narrative of events (held in the hippocampus)

Later, even a subtle trigger—like a smell, tone of voice, or posture—can re-activate this entire pattern. This is known as pattern completion: the brain detects a familiar cue, assumes danger, and the body responds as if the original event is happening again.

🔁 Emotional, Mental, or Physical Recall Can Re-Trigger Pain

Have you ever felt your body tense or your stomach churn during a stressful moment that reminded you of something from the past? That’s pattern completion at work.

Even years after a painful experience, your brain may reproduce the original emotional and physical response when it encounters a similar trigger—especially if the original memory included fear, shame, or pain.

✅ This helps explain why some pain patterns persist: they’re not just reactions to the present, but to what the brain believes is happening again.

🧩 The Subconscious and Filing References

Your subconscious works like a vast web of interconnected experiences.

Through mechanisms like generalisation and cross-modal association, the brain links sights, sounds, smells, and body language with past emotional states. These shortcuts are designed for survival—but when trauma is unresolved, they can create chronic feedback loops.

For instance, someone with unresolved grief might feel back pain whenever they're emotionally overwhelmed—not due to injury, but because the brain has linked emotional stress to physical discomfort.

Triggers don’t just recall memories—they can reactivate entire emotional, mental, and physical patterns that feel as real as the original event.

🔄 Rewiring the Pain Pattern: A Holistic Way Forward

By identifying and safely releasing the emotional, mental and physiological triggers or patterns stored in the body, we can begin to shift these long-standing pain loops.

Tools such as:

· Kinesiology

· Breath work

· Somatic inquiry and body-based healing like body therapy, Pilates, Yoga, Deep Tissue Massage and Accupuncture.

…all help to rewire the brain’s associative networks, transforming how it responds to current (and past) experiences. Allowing the body to heal naturally and holistically.

Over many years of working with clients, one truth has become crystal clear:

🌀 An integrative, body-mind-emotion approach is key to real healing.

Ready to Explore the Roots of Your Pain?

You don’t have to live in a loop of stress and pain.If this resonates with you, consider working with a practitioner who honours the whole of you—physical, emotional, and mental.

Contact me via message on WhatsApp on 07956528671.

Yours In Health and Wellbeing

Anneke

What clients have to say:

Thanks to Anneke's amazing 1-1 sessions I am pain free after just a few Kinesiology treatments. I suffered with lower back & neck pain for the last 15 years & I had tried many treatments including Hydrotherapy, Acupuncture & Regular chiropractor treatments which did ease the pain for a while but always returned. Anneke genuinely really cares about my wellbeing & she also offers invaluable tips to manage my fears, phobias & anxiety & I totally recommend this extraordinary therapy. Thank you Anneke

Julie W

Recommended Reading:

I get Amazon affiliate revenue if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I only promote products I have tested or believe in. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This quick to read book gives great insight into some of the tools used in kinesiology. https://amzn.to/4nPjOFD