A discussion on Pain

major bean wrote:

Rockdoc Franz wrote: Here is another question for you. How can a being be numb and full of pain at the same time?

If by "numb" you mean lethargic or lack of will then it is the result of depression.

navycpo7 wrote: I live with pain everyday, I know when I get up in the morning it is going to be there. I have two choices. Take the pills which only takes the edge off, or as I usually do, I ingore it, and get on with my day. I refuse to allow it to run my life. Its a choice you have to make. There are other factors involved in that also.

HEARTLESS wrote: I think there are two distinct types of pain. The first, pain from exertion or working hard is good pain, hence no pain, no gain. The second, pain from illness, accident or damage is bad pain. This pain tells you something is very wrong. Pain from suffering is part of the second type to me.

ComputerBreath wrote: Doc: I absolutely think the body and mind have mechanisms in place to "numb" the pain if the individual feeling it doesn't deal with it in whatever way is possible. These "numbings" come in many flavors: Depression, suicide, drug and/or alcohol abuse/use, anger, tears, obesity, the opposite of obesity, and I know there are many other numbings.

I call emotional pain "sadness"...that is what I was taught. And because sadness falls into the category of emotion, I do not equate it with "good" or "bad". It just is. However, if sadness is the primary emotion felt at all times, this could lead to emotional and social problems for the individual feeling it.

Physical pain in my mind is the way the physical body tells an individual that something may be wrong with wherever the pain is coming from. I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (I think in some places it is being referred to as Repetitive Motion Disease) in my right wrist and have had it since 1994. I have a tendency to ignore the pain and push through it, which isn't good because if my nerve gets to the point where it is seriously impinged, there could be worse problems then just pain...

So, I believe pain is necessary to knowing oneself, emotionally, physically, and spiritually and in taking care of oneself and asking for help, if needed.

Science Chic wrote:

Rockdoc Franz wrote: My earlier reference to being numb wile full of pain tries to address not so much physical pain as emotional pain. As I think about this we may be talking about emotional or physical pain that is so intense that it goes beyond the pain registers we use to access it. Could it be that our mind or body has a way of leaving us feeling numb when the intensity of pain could be damaging us in ways that leave us incapacitated beyond the pain inflicted emotional or physical wounds? Such a "numbing ability" may have proven especially useful for survival during early stages of our evolution. Why? Intense pain can be debilitating in many, but if the body can find a way of rendering us numb, it still allows us to function despite of our pain.

In psychological circles, it's known as dissociation. Also known as "leaving one's body/checking out" - a common result of trauma. From Waking The Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter Levine: "In trauma, dissociation seems to be a favored means of enabling a person to endure experiences that are at the moment beyond endurance-like being attacked by a lion, a rapist, an oncoming car, or a surgeon's knife. Dissociation can become chronic and evolve into more complex symptoms when the hyperaroused energy is not discharged." Whereas a normal healthy person, when confronted with those situations above, will fight or flee, or rationally understand that surgery is necessary for health and let go of fear, a person who hasn't appropriately dealt with previous trauma tends to fall back into dissociation and will "check out" and not feel a thing, emotionally and even physically. Problem is, they still suffer yet another traumatic event that they don't appropriately deal with and the problem becomes compounded. Dissociation allows a person to "get through" one traumatic event and, hopefully, survive to (from an evolutionary standpoint) reproduce and nurture one's offspring - it doesn't help the person heal psychologically (which back when we were first evolving wasn't a consideration - survival was, which is why it was selected for as a method to improve survival odds. Now that the daily fight for survival is moot for a big portion of our species, it has become an easy route for pathological development. Good news for those who desire a career in psychology, not so helpful for the rest of us).

We know there is "sharp" pain and "dull" pain. Do these different kinds of pain have different functions and why? Sharp pain certainly grabs my attention, demanding that I take note of the problem. Dull pain is easier to live with and ignore. Some of us learn more quickly than others because we listen to our bodies. Is dull pain the kind of message sent with the notion that we take heed because we ought to be listening to what our body is trying to tell us. Thus sharp pain could be viewed as the 2x4 between the eyes for the slow learner?

You've pretty much summed it up accurately. Sharp pain is the initial wake-up call, and it fades to dull pain over time. The pain receptors aren't meant to keep firing at high frequencies for long periods of time - they become exhausted and must recharge.

The exception being internal problems, as there aren't pain receptors that monitor most of the internal organs closely (the heart and stomach being two obvious exceptions) - problems will be noticed with increased discomfort reported by mechanoreceptors (like when a tumor is growing in the abdomen and gets big enough to stretch the wrong adjacent tissues). Mechanoreceptors can double as pain receptors, but have higher pain activation limits than dedicated pain receptors since normal pressure shouldn't be pathological or painful.

Noticing pain is very much tied to how in tune with your own body you are, or aren't, as CB stated. This is one of the great benefits of meditation, yoga, pilates, T'ai Chi, etc. Practicing the art of being still and listening to your body, its internal and external physical sensations, where emotions are physically felt, and learning how to respond to and regulate one's own systems takes some concentration and dedication. The rewards are so worth it though!