I think this is scientifically true. How else do you interact with the real world if not 100% through your own senses and ultimately through your own construct/model of your own senses?

I think demarcating physical pain from other phenomena registered by the brain is artificial and dualist. We know that certain human interactions reliably produce adrenaline, oxytocin, and whatnot. If you experience a predictable nervous-system response because someone kisses you vs. slapping you, are those responses so different? It seems reasonable to "blame" others for the predictable consequences of their behavior, although that doesn't mean divesting the sufferer of any agency or locus of control. In the scenario I described, I would absolutely blame the NYT. But this could be a very abstract difference of opinion we are litigating.