Chronic Pain as Persistent Nociceptive Wrong Attractor and Opioid Dependence as Iatrogenic Ground State Substitution

We apply the Displacement Framework to chronic pain and the opioid epidemic. The gate control theory is recast as basin-boundary dynamics. Central sensitization is wrong-attractor capture of the nociceptive system. Opioids are short-term D(xi) suppressors that generate iatrogenic wrong attractors through tolerance and dependence. Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is a wrong attractor for the wrong attractor: it raises D(xi) above the original chronic pain baseline.

The opioid epidemic is systematic population-level iatrogenic displacement. Return paths include pain neuroscience education, graded exposure, and multidisciplinary pain programs.