“At this point, research suggests that the only way to heal the brain from the vicious cycle of compulsive relief-seeking and amplified pain is to gently re-establish connections in the brain that provide small, reliable doses of positive feeling. Over time, low-key rewards that don’t swamp and overwhelm the circuitry can begin to have an effect on the pain amplifier, and actually turn it down. Neuroplasticity can be engaged for the purpose of learning how to feel other things than pain.”