A discussion on Pain

Like the immune system, the pain response has evolved to protect us from further harm, varies in its abilities by individual based on which variant and concentration of receptors are genetically encoded, which variant of neurotransmitters and level of transmitters are programmed genetically, and how the wiring in each person's brain and body develops/connects as they grow and experience painful stimuli, and have accidents that can drastically modify the architecture of any of the system's components. Also like the immune system, the pain response can go awry, causing too much of what should be a good protective thing and turning it into acute or chronic pain, or even phantom pain (where an individual continues to feel pain in a specific body part even after losing that body part and hence all pain signals from said body part).

Pain can be so severe that it has driven people mad, and brought them to a desire to end their own lives rather than continue to suffer the poor quality of life they endure.

Interestingly, pain due to social (emotional) events is experienced in the same pathways in the brain as is physical pain.

For the majority of people, pain will let them know that something is wrong so that they may take the appropriate response to rectify that which is causing the pain. Yes, it triggers the flight or fight, and yes it can also be debilitating and beyond one's own control to ignore or eliminate. Then there are the few outliers that thrive on, and search out, painful experiences, whether physical or emotional. The system isn't perfect, but all of us are a work in progress, small scale and grand scale.

One of my favorite poems from a difficult time in my life helped me discover more strength and courage to push on and heal my wounds:

Own Your Own Pain by Patricia Roth Schwartz
Own your own pain.
Why not? It's yours.

You've hawked it, pushed it, pimped it -
now,
Your body, breathing life, guts, luster,
sweetness, softness,
Pays the price.

So own your own pain. Why not?

You've eaten it for breakfast,
Sung it to sleep at night,
Rinsed it out in the basin,
Watched it rise with the bread.

So - take it, turn it,
Let it slither,
Into blood-beat, breast-bone, cell-song,
skin.

Give it a name.
What you possess
Cannot possess you.

RD - Philosophically or biologically?

MB - I agree. Your post reminded me of a memorable quote from the movie The Hunted with Christopher Lambert and Josie Chen. While preparing to assassinate Chen's character, the leader of the ninjas asks her to choose between a quick, painless death or a slow painful one. She replies "Kill me slowly so that I may know that I have lived". It hadn't occurred to me before then to embrace pain as a part of life, but too as you said, there are other motivators than pain and eventually it isn't healthy to continue to use only pain as a motivator.