Dopamine, Prediction & Pelvic Pain | Break the Anticipation Loop (Part 3)

Описание: In this episode of my Friday Takeaway series, we look beyond the pelvic floor again… this time diving even deeper into dopamine and its role in this complex condition.
I’m Karl Monahan, founder of Pelvic Pain Matters, clinical director of The Pelvic Pain Clinic… and someone who has lived through chronic pelvic pain myself. I get how consuming and frightening these patterns can become.

In male pelvic pain, it’s not just what’s happening in the pelvic floor — it’s what your whole system predicts is about to happen.

In this Friday Takeaway, I continue our dopamine series by exploring prediction, anticipation, and “scanning” behaviours — the loops that can quietly fuel symptoms, flare-ups, urgency, and fear.
I’m Karl Monahan, founder of Pelvic Pain Matters, clinical director of The Pelvic Pain Clinic, and a former pelvic pain sufferer myself. These episodes are short, practical snippets to help:
patients navigate pelvic pain more successfully
clinicians broaden assessment beyond the pelvic floor
partners/loved ones better understand what someone is going through

In this episode you’ll learn:
✅ Why the brain is less a “receiver” and more a predictor
✅ How pelvic pain can become a self-fulfilling prophecy (without being “in your head”)
✅ Why morning symptom-checking and body scanning ramps up threat
✅ How dopamine fuels urgency, catastrophising, and anticipation loops
✅ A simple 90-second breathing “firebreak” to interrupt the cycle
✅ How to re-train prediction using mismatch journaling (“what I feared” vs “what happened”)
✅ How to shift your system from threat → trust, one small degree at a time

Recovery isn’t about flipping an off-switch. It’s about changing your relationship with sensations, thoughts, and uncertainty — and teaching your system that not every signal equals danger.

Do you notice yourself scanning for symptoms in the morning, before sitting, travel, or sex?
Drop a comment — what pattern traps you most, and what helps you shift it?

✨ JOIN THE PELVIC PAIN MATTERS CIRCLE — OUR PRIVATE ONLINE COMMUNITY
If you’re ready for support, structure, guidance, and community — this is where your next step begins. Click here for more information - https://pelvic-pain-matters-community...

If you’re tired of going through pelvic pain alone, endlessly researching, or trying to piece everything together yourself, the Circle is where your recovery gets supported properly.

This is a private, off-social-media community for men who want:

✔ Real guidance (not random forum advice)
✔ A place to ask questions without embarrassment
✔ Consistent support during flare-ups and setbacks
✔ A structured way to learn, grow, and actually move forward
✔ Connection with men who get it — because they’re living it too

Inside the Circle, you’ll get:

🔹 Monthly success stories
🔹 Movement + mobility videos
🔹 Breathwork sessions
🔹 Pain understanding & recovery education
🔹 Tools to help you regulate your system, reduce uncertainty, and find steadier recovery

It’s the space I wish I had when I was in the darkest parts of pelvic pain.

If you’re ready for support, structure, guidance, and community — this is where your next step begins. Click here for more information - https://pelvic-pain-matters-community...

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