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b'Physical pain is a universal human experience. And for many of us, it\\u2019s a constant one. Roughly 20 percent of American adults \\u2014 some 50 million people \\u2014 suffer from a form of chronic pain. For some, that means having terrible days from time to time. For others, it means a life of constant suffering. Either way, the depth and scale of pain in our society is a massive problem.\\n\\nBut what if much of how we understand pain \\u2014 and how to treat it \\u2014 is wrong?\\n\\nRachel Zoffness is a pain psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and the author of \\u201cThe Pain Management Workbook.\\u201d We tend to think of pain as a purely biomechanical phenomenon, a physical sensation rooted solely in the body. But her core argument is that pain is also produced by the mind and deeply influenced by social context. It\\u2019s a simple-sounding argument with vast implications not only for how we experience pain but also for how we treat it. She points to numerous underused tools \\u2014 aside from pills and surgeries \\u2014 that can help lessen our pain.\\n\\nWe discuss how pain serves as \\u201cthe body\\u2019s warning signal\\u201d; how our mood, stress levels and social environment can amplify or dial down our pain levels; what phantom limb syndrome says about how the brain \\u201cmakes pain\\u201d; how our emotions and trauma influence our pain levels; the crucial difference between \\u201churt\\u201d and \\u201charm\\u201d; why studies on back pain have yielded such bewildering results; how to figure out and improve your personal \\u201cpain recipe\\u201d; the roots of our chronic pain crisis; how our health care system could be better set up to treat chronic pain; why Zoffness says, \\u201cIf the brain can change, pain can change\\u201d; and more.\\n\\nMentioned:\\n\\n\\u201cSham Surgery in Orthopedics\\u201d by Adriaan Louw, Ina Diener, C\\xe9sar Fern\\xe1ndez-de-las-Pe\\xf1as and Emilio J. Puentedura\\n\\nBook Recommendations:\\n\\nWhy Zebras Don\\u2019t Get Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky\\n\\nThe Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk\\n\\nPain by Patrick Wall\\n\\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\\n\\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \\u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\\n\\n\\u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\\u201d is produced by Emefa Agawu, Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld, Roge Karma and Kristin Lin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris and Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Sonia Herrero and Isaac Jones. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Carole Sabouraud and Kristina Samulewski.'