Your Brain Is Making the Pain (And That's Good News) - with Esther Mooney & Laurel Simpson

Phyllis sits down with two friends in very different time zones — Laurel Simpson in Canada and holistic pain coach Esther Mooney in Australia — for a conversation about something most of us carry quietly: pain that doesn't have a clear cause. Esther spent over two decades chasing answers for pain that moved from her knees to her ankles to her pelvis to her neck, until she learned that the brain itself generates pain — and that fear is what keeps the cycle spinning. What unfolds is a tender, honest look at how our emotions live in our bodies, why "I'm okay as I am" might be the most healing sentence you say all day, and how the work we do at Connection Codes is deeply aligned with calming a nervous system that's been stuck in danger mode. If you've ever been told "there's nothing wrong" while you're still hurting, this one's for you.In this episode:•Why all pain is real — and why the brain creates it (neuroplastic pain explained simply)•The fear-pain cycle, and how avoidance quietly makes our world smaller•The FIT assessment (Functional, Inconsistent, Triggered) — a starting point for asking, "Is my pain structural or learned?"•How emotional stress shows up as physical flare-ups•The "six F's" we reach for when pain hits (fear, focus, fix, frustration, figure it out, fight) and why they backfire•Practical tools: somatic tracking, pleasant sensations, and the evidence journal•Esther walks the Core Emotion Wheel about her own pain journeyAbout Esther Mooney: Esther is a holistic pain coach based in Australia and a former ballet dancer whose own two-decade journey with chronic pain led her to the mind-body field and the work of Dr. John Sarno. She helps people struggling with chronic, persistent pain understand the science of neuroplastic pain and teach their nervous systems safety again. Esther has been a Connection Codes listener for years and is passionate about where the emotional-processing work of CC and mind-body pain recovery overlap.Connect with Esther:Website → https://holisticpaincoach.com/Email → esther@holisticpaincoach.comEsther's new podcast, Holistic Pain Coach → https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/holistic-pain-coach/id1896924049Resources mentioned:The Core Emotion Wheel (free download) → https://connectioncodes.co/cewFind a certified Connection Codes coach → https://connectioncodes.co/coaches