Pain Reprocessing Weekly: When We’re Told How to Feel Before We Even Feel It
Ever notice how many things tell you how your day is going to go before it actually starts?
The news warns you what to be afraid of, flooding your mind with worries before your day even begins.
The weather app lets you know if your joints are “going to hurt,” turning a simple forecast into a prediction about your body.
Your wearable decides whether today is a “good” or “bad” day, translating raw data into judgments about your energy, mood, and potential.
Your phone lights up with alerts before you’ve even had coffee — each notification a demand for attention, each vibration a subtle jolt to your nervous system.
Primed by the world’s noise and expectations, your nervous system is already on high alert before your body has fully woken up.
“The phone-based life makes it difficult for people to be fully present with others when they are with others, and to sit silently with themselves when they are alone.”
— Jonathan Haidt
The Age of Too Much Information
We live in a world where information is constant, predictive, and loud.
We are bombarded by updates, warnings, and reminders, each competing for our attention. For many people, the traditional 9–5 workday with a clear end no longer exists. Even when work ends, responsibilities, notifications, and digital noise continue.
None of this is inherently bad. Alerts can keep us safe. Forecasts help us plan. Data can empower informed decisions.
But something subtle happens when we’re constantly told what to expect.
We begin responding to prediction rather than reality. Rarely putting devices down, rarely giving the nervous system a chance to reset, we stay plugged in and “on call.”
When the brain hears “this might be bad” often enough, it starts acting like it already is.
Over time, this shapes how we feel and move through our days — always bracing, always waiting for the next shoe to drop, even when we are safe.
The Nervous System Doesn’t Know It’s Just a Prediction
From a nervous system perspective, prediction and reality can blur.
When stress is prolonged and unrelenting, the nervous system adapts by staying in a state of heightened alert. Over time, this can lead to exhaustion, irritability, and difficulty relaxing — even when true danger is absent.
If the first thing you see in the morning is:
- A calendar packed with meetings and deadlines
- An angry email from your boss
- Missed calls from an aging parent
- An emergency alert
- A fitness tracker warning of “poor recovery”
- A sleep score predicting fatigue
- A weather forecast your brain associates with flares
Your brain doesn’t hear “maybe.”
It hears: prepare.
Preparation looks like tension, vigilance, and scanning for problems.
Humans are built to handle stress in short bursts that resolve. We can rise to challenges and then return to balance.
What’s harder is when stress never truly ends — when each day carries a steady drip of prediction and pressure, and the nervous system never gets to reset.
The Slot Machine in Our Pocket
Smartphones are often described as addictive — and for good reason.
Many apps rely on intermittent reinforcement, the same psychological mechanism that makes slot machines so compelling.
Rewards like notifications, likes, and messages arrive unpredictably. Each time you check your phone, you don’t know if you’ll receive something rewarding or distressing.
This uncertainty drives repeated checking. Research shows this unpredictability triggers dopamine release, reinforcing habit formation and craving.
Over time, phone use becomes less of a habit and more of a compulsion — keeping attention hooked and the nervous system on constant alert.
This loop makes boundaries with technology difficult and helps explain its profound effects on stress, attention, and even pain perception.
Research
This constant stimulation doesn’t only affect adults. Children and teens are especially vulnerable because their nervous systems are still developing.
A large population-based study by Twenge and Campbell (2018) examined the relationship between screen time and psychological well-being in youth.
Key findings included:
- More than 1 hour of daily screen time was associated with lower psychological well-being
- More than 3 hours per day significantly increased anxiety, depression, poor sleep, and attention problems
- Higher screen use correlated with emotional instability and reduced self-control
- Negative effects were strongest with social media and gaming
Chronic nervous system activation increases stress hormones like cortisol, contributing to anxiety, irritability, sleep disruption, muscle tension, headaches, and increased pain sensitivity.
Mindful technology use and intentional breaks give the nervous system opportunities to reset — supporting both mental and physical health.
Reference:
Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations between screen time and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents.
Preventive Medicine Reports, 12, 271–283.
A Quick Reminder We’re Excited About
The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook for Teens — the first PRT workbook created specifically for teens — is available for preorder now and officially goes on sale February 1st.
This workbook fills a gap many families, clinicians, and educators have been asking for: a clear, approachable way to help teens understand their bodies and practice skills that build safety and confidence over time.