Ep. 15: Melissa's story & how your brain remembers pain

In today's episode, Amy is joined by Melissa Melia Dunn—a registered psychotherapist in Hamilton, Ontario, with a private practice supporting teens, adults, and couples. She has a specific niche: women and couples experiencing chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis. She wasn't always a therapist—she spent years in event planning, working with organizations like Free the Children and Lululemon before making the shift to therapy during the pandemic. What drew her to this specific work was her own 20-year endometriosis diagnosis journey. In this episode, Melissa breaks down how the nervous system works, why pain persists even after surgery, and why endometriosis is actually a chronic pain condition that needs to be treated differently than the medical system currently treats it.Key Components:Her 20-year endometriosis journey and the moment she realized nobody explained it as chronic pain.How your brain generates pain even after surgery, and why intercourse can hurt after a hysterectomy when "everything is fixed."The nervous system's job is to keep you safe, not just to hurt: How emotional safety, relationships, and life stress directly impact pelvic pain.Endometriosis is being treated like a structural problem when it's also a nervous system problem. There's a gap in how we approach chronic pelvic pain."There's this chronic pain experience, and there are so many tools that we can do. But because this is women only, the research gaps mean we're behind the scene."Connect with Melissa on InstagramCheck out Melissa's workshop on neuroplastic pain 👉 Click here to join the movement at downthereaware.org🩲 Subscribe, like, and share to show us you care!🤘 Podcast produced by Binge-Worthy StudioFor informational and entertainment purposes only — not medical advice. We're here to get loud, not to play doctor.