Critically Thinking about Pain
Is Pain a Good or Bad Thing?
Pain is a strange thing.
One of the most insightful things I’ve read about pain is that it is an essential element of making us happy! (E.g., read this interesting article.)
Put in a simpler way: Contrast makes all the difference. A personal example is that one of my favorite meals is lobster. However, if I had lobster every night it wouldn’t take too long before it was no longer my favorite… Go figure…
What this also says is that pain is not just a physical sensation, but a mental one. In a particular situation, it is often difficult to assess how much of a very marked pain comes from physical nerve signals, vs how much is from our brain telling us that we are hurt.
A good example is when a child stubs their toe. If the mom is looking on anxiously, there is a strong chance that the child will start crying. On the other hand, if they are by themself, it is more likely that they will frown and grimace — and then move on.
I clearly remember a situation when I was in high school (around 15), and living at home. I was always in good physical condition (e.g., I ran track, played high school basketball, etc.), so I was rarely sick.
I don’t remember what led up to it, but one evening (before dinner) I started feeling nauseous. That was quite unusual, so I was expecting that this painfully unpleasant feeling would quickly pass.
It not only did not go away, but it got worse. I had the definite feeling that I was going to throw up shortly — very distressing. I skipped dinner (an extreme rarity), and went up to my room to lay down. I brought a pan and was waiting for the very unappealing inevitable.
I decided to listen to my radio. (My clock radio was a prized possession I earned by getting a lot of subscriptions for a local newspaper.) Anyway, when I turned it on, nothing happened. The clock part was still working, so what was going on? Being a mechanical wizard (still am), I started to fiddle around to solve the problem. It took me about 15 minutes to disassemble the radio, figure out, and fix the issue. The radio started to play.
As I lay down to listen I started to think why was I in bed at this time in the evening, and remembered that I was here due to feeling very sick. Oh, right. The strange thing was that the nauseous feeling was completely gone!
I couldn’t believe it and was sure that this respite was temporary and that the pain would come back. It didn’t! After laying there for 10+ minutes, and feeling fine, I decided that there was no need for me to be in bed at this time of day. I went downstairs, had a typical dinner(!), and continued on normally. The nauseous feeling did not return…
Yes, the basic strategy here was to use the worthwhile tactic of trying to take my mind off a painful matter by distracting myself. The differences here were: a) I didn’t consciously try to do that, and b) the pain wasn't just disguised, it actually went away.
I have found that there are other life situations (that we all experience), where this mind-over-matter insight can be beneficial.
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Another interesting perspective on pain is expressed here:
“One unique characteristic of life is that the more pleasure you hunt down (as we're inclined to do), the more pain you get!
“Most everything that makes you feel amazing and alive, ends with long-term pain and an accelerated premature death. Take alcohol for example or junk food, narcotics, watching TV, drinking coffee, working that safe job you don't enjoy, smoking cigarettes, smoking weed, procrastinating, being a perpetual people pleaser, being lazy, mindless scrolling of social media, thinking that a toxic big pharma pill will make you healthy instead of changing your lifestyle, etc., etc…”
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So the next time you are inclined to complain about a pain, give it some Critical Thinking to see if it really is as bad as it seems, or maybe it’s a cloud with a silver lining…
Some sample references:
How Pain Can Make You Feel Better
Why Do I Hurt, And Is Pain A Good Thing?
Life Is Pain: Why a Life Without Pain Guarantees True Suffering
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Great observation. That might explain why I find myself staying so busy with projects and volunteer work. I don’t have a lot of time to think about the pain caused by my prodigal child. Thankfully my faith gives me hope for her return.