Pain Tolerance

[Stoic Beverage]

I was recently contemplating pain. Obviously in the earlier years as a species we learned that pain is "bad" and should be avoided. Pain tended to mean one was being brought closer to death.

However, our current society is much less...primal. If one is pricked by a pin, we naturally jerk our hand away. This pin is not going to kill or permanently harm us, so what is the point of feeling the pain from it?

Then I got to thinking how pain could be avoided without the use of any kind of chemical.

When we experience pain, our brains release adrenaline and we try to get away from whatever the source of pain is.

If someone constantly exposed themselves to pain and did nothing about it, perhaps the brain would start to build a kind of "tolerance". Perhaps the adrenaline wouldn't be released, and perhaps we wouldn't freak out.

If that happened, then I theorize that pain would be comparable to the sensation of air going down one's throat. The sensation is there, but is in no way bad or uncomfortable. In essence, one would become "immune" to pain.


Any comments? I didn't do much research while considering all of this, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is total bull. If it is, then please, shred it to pieces. If it happens to have a bit of credibility...Well, I wouldn't mind that either.

 

[Cognisant]

Possibly, but what is the point of this?

 

[Stoic Beverage]

No one likes being in pain. If it's something we could take out of our daily lives, I don't think many people would mind.

Yes, I do realize it is impractical. I'm just theorizing.

 

[Cognisant]

More than impractical, suffering in all its forms is an affirmation of life, indeed the crux of it, because without suffering what is there to motivate us, what is there to make us do all the things we do, gratification?
(gratification being label I use for pleasure in all its forms)

Gratification is merely the absence of suffering.
Anyway my point is that to be incapable of pain, is to be less alive.

 

[Anthile]

More than impractical, suffering in all its forms is an affirmation of life, indeed the crux of it, because without suffering what is there to motivate us, what is there to make us do all the things we do, gratification?
(gratification being label I use for pleasure in all its forms)

Gratification is merely the absence of suffering.
Anyway my point is that to be incapable of pain, is to be less alive.

That's just stupid. Whoever wants to suffer for no reason at all is just a masochist. Not to mention that this thread is about actual physical pain. Don't you really know the difference?


@OP: Why would you do that if chemicals do that just fine? Granted, stuff like morphium can mess you up but it works. Also, depending on where you live, even a prick from a pin can cause an infection or someone could even try to poison you this way.
Pain might be nasty but it's also very effective.

 

[Stoic Beverage]

@Anthile

I never intended for it to be practical. I would definitely use chemicals if I needed to be rid of pain. I just say all of this because I find it interesting that one may be able to avoid pain without outside aid

 

[Cognisant]

Whoever wants to suffer for no reason at all is just a masochist.

How dismissive, I never said I wanted to suffer, my position is simply that one shouldn't want to not suffer, because to do so would be the removal of a vital aspect of the human condition and by extension a degradation of the experience of reality itself.

Not to mention that this thread is about actual physical pain. Don't you really know the difference?

How is physical pain different to any other? Is it somehow unique, special?

Edit: Please don't lightly throw around labels like "masochist" & "stupid", I don't want to lose my respect for you.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

One of the most vital purposes of pain is to prevent us from hurting ourselves. Ie if you didn't feel pain when your hand was on a hot stove you'd leave it there and cause permanent damage; even lose your hand. In a way pain protects us. Admittedly it's not a perfect system, but there is a disease that causes people to live without pain and it's victims accidentally injure themselves on a frequent basis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_insensitivity_to_pain_with_anhidrosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_insensitivity_to_pain

edit: Imagine chewing through your own tongue, simply because you couldn't feel the pain it caused.

 

[shoeless]

theoretically i think it's possible. i was a self-injurer for a couple of years (thank god that's over) and since then my pain tolerance has really built up considerably.

not enough for me to be "immune" to pain of course, but enough for me to be bothered by it less.

 

[EditorOne]

Pain is not so bad. I have a high threshold -- it takes a lot of pain before I notice it, much more so than others. This is NOT a good thing. Here's a short list of the things I've done because of this oddity:

1. Broke a finger trying to field a line drive with my non-glove hand (baseball for those who aren't in that cultural context). Never knew it was broken until an xray tech treating me for ANOTHER injury asked me 10 years later why I'd never had it set.
2. Sliced the top of a finger open on a chain saw from nail to knuckle and didn't notice it until I wondered who was hurt and spraying blood on the snow. 10 stitches.
3. Tore cartilage in my left knee at the start of a 15-mile bicycle race and finished the race because "the pain just wasn't that bad." It collapsed under me when I finally got off. An excited orthopedic surgeon shot film of the inside of my knee when he finally went in to take out what he thought was one piece of broken cartilage a few months later. He said it looked like someone had been running a meat grinder in there.

So actually I'm of the school of thought that pain is useful if it makes you stop doing things that cause even more damage if you keep doing them. Your mileage may vary.

And of course Yossarian (Catch 22) had the final word on this:

"Pain?" Lieutenant Schiesskopf's wife pounced upon the word victoriously. "Pain is a useful symptom. Pain is a warning to us about bodily dangers."

"And who created the dangers?" Yossarian demanded, He laughed caustically. "Oh, He was really being charitable to us when He gave us pain! Why couldn't He have used a doorbell instead to notify us, or one of His celestial choirs? Or a system of blue-and-red neon tubes right in the middle of each person's forehead? Any jukebox manufacturer worth his salt could have done that. Why couldn't He?"

 

[Stoic Beverage]

@everyone who says "pain is needed to know when one is hurting oneself"

You seem to be misunderstanding me. I don't mean this would completely eliminate pain. Everyone would still feel pain. It would, for lack of a better term, make pain not hurt. Imagine the feeling of your clothes on your body (assuming you aren't a nudist). You feel it, and it isn't a bad thing. You can ignore it, as most people do. That's what the pain would be like, in theory.

Does that make any sense?

 

[Deleted member 1424]

If pain didn't hurt, would you pay any mind to it? Your recoil speed would likely decrease and you'd be far more willing to push your limits. Pain is the body's method of getting the attention of the conscious mind, hence you can't ignore it and it's unpleasant. Your body is essentially forcing you to reconcile your situation in order to protect itself.

I think it would be alright to get rid of certain types of pains. For example chronic pain sustained from an injury where no further action can be taken by the human to minimize damage. However I doubt such a thing could be done without numbing other vital pain receptors. Muscle soreness after the fact also seems a bit superfluous.

 

[citrusbreath95]

@everyone who says "pain is needed to know when one is hurting oneself"

You seem to be misunderstanding me. I don't mean this would completely eliminate pain. Everyone would still feel pain. It would, for lack of a better term, make pain not hurt. Imagine the feeling of your clothes on your body (assuming you aren't a nudist). You feel it, and it isn't a bad thing. You can ignore it, as most people do. That's what the pain would be like, in theory.

Does that make any sense?

So in my understanding what you're saying is that we would still feel pain as we did before the immunity to it occurred (so to say), but we would just be in a different mindset, a different mode of perception towards it from past knowledge of a similar experience(s)? So, wouldn't that make pain nothing but a mere illusion created by one's own mind? That, perhaps a chemical is released from the brain from a certain adrenaline that happens after a specific event takes place, but the actual pain, the sensation we feel would be completely dependant on the person's known experiences? If this were the case, then I suppose we could make people more pain tolerant, and thus eliminate the sensation of pain, and it be nothing more than a mere awareness that something is wrong with your body. Though, wouldn't every human being have to experience all types of physical pain to obtain this? I suppose, theoretically, it is possible. Though, the consequences of such a thing could be quite disastrous. As was said above, pain is the sort of "ultimate alarm" that signals when something isn't safe or practical to do. It puts a little more fear, or sense into someone before doing something that could result with this. If we eliminated the hurt that goes with pain, then more stupid things could be done as a result of it. Especially for those individuals who don't fear death, but perhaps rather the pain that goes with it. Or, the consequences that could result as a lifetime of pain (such as becoming paralyzed, etc) So, maybe eliminating pain would indeed be a worse alternative than experiencing it in the bigger picture.

 

[BigApplePi]

A good issue. The first thing I'd want to do is ask, "What is pain"? I'll try and answer that in a moment -- or at least a proposal. I have to ask, if we are going to look at pain, then pleasure must be addressed also. Isn't it at the opposite end of the scale requiring the same attention?

Here's my definition of pain --
Pain = that feeling one has when one doesn't want it to happen. Anything wrong with this def?

 

[Words]

Pi, I think it's important to identify if this thread's topic is centered on "pain": the general concept. Perhaps it's only meant to provide insights on "physical pain"? Then again, heading towards the general *might* provide more light into this "specific". Yet, are "thread powers" based on mainly what the OP wants to hear in "hir" thread? Would it be rude to divagate? Is it really a digression?

What is "Ok" based on? Clarification? Respect? Order?

----

Pain is necessary I think. But not only because it tells kids "there are ghosts outside". It's an experience that adds complexity to life. A sensation that is part of the "shape" of this reality. "Self - Life is Important". <---I believe it delivers this meaning. It's a judgment that dictates that the self is truly priority over everything else within its perception. That we are born selfish for a reason?

One advantage of pain is recognizing one's selfishness.

----

With physical pain, there are limits. Can we die out of pain by itself? Can pain cause death? What is the most painful physical experience and how does it feel like?

If "comfortability" is priority, I'd think recognition of physical pain is irrelevant. It is because our "expectations" evolve. We would simply emphasize other sources of discomfort to "substitute" the involvement of "pain".

"The bite of a mosquito feels like a thousand years of hell (to me)"

 

[BigApplePi]

Pi, I think it's important to identify if this thread's topic is centered on "pain": the general concept. Perhaps it's only meant to provide insights on "physical pain"? Then again, heading towards the general *might* provide more light into this "specific". Yet, are "thread powers" based on mainly what the OP wants to hear in "hir" thread? Would it be rude to divagate? Is it really a digression?

What is "Ok" based on? Clarification? Respect? Order?

Since I'm short on time Words, your Q is a good one. Yes some would consider expansion rude. Some would say one must "analyze" or go into the OP. I must deviate even if some say rude because I consider context all important. The context of pain would incorporate pleasure -- or so I propose. Doesn't mean I'm right.

If one wishes to discuss warm water, I have to ask, warm in regard to what? Cold sets off warm. So pleasure or less pain sets off more pain. The degree matters. Agony doesn't equal annoyance.

 

[Cavallier]

So you want us to have the knowledge that we are being harmed but not feel the actual pain as we feel pain now? I think this is possible without us using medication or harming ourselves mistakenly.

It will take a high level of training and enlightened detachment. Think of how an acetic yogi can meditate to the point of not being bothered by pain. They know that it exists and can feel it but it does not overwhelm them or impede their judgment. I am reminded of those monks who set themselves on fire as a protest. A person needs to fully understand the ramifications of ignoring the pain but at the same time have a reason to ignore those ramifications. This is a position that only a few will be able to attain although I do think that a lot of people would benefit from mental pain management training. Many people have little control over themselves. They feel a little pain and panic when, if they were to instead stay calm, they could deal with the emergency in a much more efficient manner.

 

[warryer]

I think the important thing to realize is that it's not actually your toe or finger that's feeling the pain but your brain responding to a signal sent out from those points.

Sometimes when I stub my toe I have a moment to prepare for the incoming flare of pain. I stop and tell myself its all in my head and I am choosing to ignore it. After that it starts to feel like strange pulling sensation in my stomach but it surely doesn't hurt.

I bet you could will yourself to not feel pain with enough mental conditioning.

As for emotional pain? I really dont know- become a sociopath probably.

 

[BigApplePi]

To the OP:

I was recently contemplating pain. Obviously in the earlier years as a species we learned that pain is "bad" and should be avoided. Pain tended to mean one was being brought closer to death.

I think so.

However, our current society is much less...primal. If one is pricked by a pin, we naturally jerk our hand away. This pin is not going to kill or permanently harm us, so what is the point of feeling the pain from it?

We may not die from small pains, but avoiding them contribute to self-preservation. Accumulate too many and we die.

Then I got to thinking how pain could be avoided without the use of any kind of chemical.

There are lots of pains and so there are lots of choices. We can manipulate the paths.

When we experience pain, our brains release adrenaline and we try to get away from whatever the source of pain is.

I could argue every step we take is a choice between a lessor pain and a greater one -- or a pain and a pleasure which drowns out the former. Adrenaline is needed only for extreme situations.

If someone constantly exposed themselves to pain and did nothing about it, perhaps the brain would start to build a kind of "tolerance". Perhaps the adrenaline wouldn't be released, and perhaps we wouldn't freak out.

I think exactly that happens. One must then use reason (or something) to make sure the pain to which we are now immune isn't damaging.

If that happened, then I theorize that pain would be comparable to the sensation of air going down one's throat. The sensation is there, but is in no way bad or uncomfortable. In essence, one would become "immune" to pain.

I run three times per week. Guess what? If I ignored the pain I would injure myself. I have to decide what to tolerate and what not. I'm excited by the run. So I can ignore certain pain. In fact, the effort to sprint during the last minute blocks out the pain and when its over I feel tired but great as everything is circulating.

Any comments? I didn't do much research while considering all of this, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is total bull. If it is, then please, shred it to pieces. If it happens to have a bit of credibility...Well, I wouldn't mind that either.

Not bull. Great topic. We could ask, if we are constantly choosing between pains, what different kinds are there? What role does pleasure play since it is involved?

 

[Stoic Beverage]

I would separate pain into the categories of "emotional" and "physical". To elaborate upon "emotional", there is self-inflicted and that which comes from an outside source.

Earlier in the thread, it was said that "gratification is the absence of pain". I disagree.
There are many times when I am experiencing no pain, but am certainly not gratified. I feel entirely neutral most of the time. Also, there are times I am gratified and in pain. This directly contradicts the idea that gratification is the absence of pain.

 

[BigApplePi]

I would separate pain into the categories of "emotional" and "physical".

Sounds great. If the emotion says you don't want it, it's pain. If the overall emotion says, "I want it", does physical "pain" matter? Say you lift a heavy object. It that painful or does it feel good? Which?

To elaborate upon "emotional", there is self-inflicted and that which comes from an outside source.

Not sure what you're thinking of. Got an example?

Earlier in the thread, it was said that "gratification is the absence of pain". I disagree.

Isn't gratification pleasant plus no pain? If it's gratifying, you want it.

There are many times when I am experiencing no pain, but am certainly not gratified. I feel entirely neutral most of the time.

Maybe nothing is going on.

Also, there are times I am gratified and in pain. This directly contradicts the idea that gratification is the absence of pain.

That one throws me. Got an example? I feel the pain of being ignorant.

 

[Stoic Beverage]

Sounds great. If the emotion says you don't want it, it's pain. If the overall emotion says, "I want it", does physical "pain" matter? Say you lift a heavy object. It that painful or does it feel good? Which?

That would be pain. Physical pain.

Not sure what you're thinking of. Got an example?

Self-inflicted would be you thinking negative thoughts about yourself. This would occur often in people who are depressed.

Coming from an outside source would be if someone said something nasty about you and it really got you down.

Maybe nothing is going on.

Exactly. "Gratification is the absence of pain" implies that one is either always gratified, or always in pain. Sometimes nothing is happening.

That one throws me. Got an example? I feel the pain of being ignorant.

I can be gratified because I am at a crazy party. I can be in pain because my shoes are to tight.
Those can happen at the same time.

 

[Cavallier]

I can be gratified because I am at a crazy party. I can be in pain because my shoes are to tight.
Those can happen at the same time.

Yeah but that's not the point. You can have sex and be gratified while at the same time have a horrible headache. They are different things entirely though linked through our connection to our bodies. However, I think the argument is that you can not simultaneously feel a specific particular pain and also feel the complete opposite of that specific particular pain. Your broken toe hurts but at the same time does not hurt.

I don't agree with this argument however. I simply felt the need to clarify.

/butting in.

 

[BigApplePi]

BigApplePi. Say you lift a heavy object. Is that painful or does it feel good? Which?

Calcicu. That would be pain. Physical pain.

Okay so it's physical pain. But if I wanted to lift it (I was stacking logs today), my feeling is one of satisfaction. I notice the pain but ignore it. If I ignore it I don't feel it any longer.

Calcicu.
Self-inflicted would be you thinking negative thoughts about yourself. This would occur often in people who are depressed.

Agreed. If I'm depressed I feel the pain of being less than what I expected.

Calcicu.
Coming from an outside source would be if someone said something nasty about you and it really got you down.

Agreed again except I have to accept that the person is going to do something negative to me -- like rejection. But that rejection is painful only if it matters to me. If they are nasty and I can safely get away from them, it doesn't get me down. I would also feel pain if I expected something better.

Calcicu.
"Gratification is the absence of pain" implies that one is either always gratified, or always in pain. Sometimes nothing is happening.

BigApplePi. That one throws me. Got an example? I feel the pain of being ignorant.

Calcicu. I can be gratified because I am at a crazy party. I can be in pain because my shoes are to tight.
Those can happen at the same time.

I guess that's right, except if you are at the party, I wouldn't say nothing is happening.
__________________

 

[BigApplePi]

Yeah but that's not the point. You can have sex and be gratified while at the same time have a horrible headache. They are different things entirely though linked through our connection to our bodies. However, I think the argument is that you can not simultaneously feel a specific particular pain and also feel the complete opposite of that specific particular pain. Your broken toe hurts but at the same time does not hurt.

I don't agree with this argument however. I simply felt the need to clarify.

/butting in.

Hi Cavallier. I believe the explanation is related to the meaning of, "at the same time." It is hard to be conscious of two different things at once. But they will appear in rapid succession. Such is the case with sex and the headache. Those are two happenings within. One alternates conscious of them I think.

If your toe is broken and you are dwellings on more important things, you won't feel the pain. But the broken toe is so painful that it's hard to keep it down. That is, unless one is hypnotized.

 

[Ungomma]

Cold water immersion raises thresholds of pain tolerance. Try taking contrast showers instead of regular ones. Gradually work towards lower temperatures.

 

[Words]

Hi Cavallier. I believe the explanation is related to the meaning of, "at the same time." It is hard to be conscious of two different things at once. But they will appear in rapid succession. Such is the case with sex and the headache. Those are two happenings within. One alternates conscious of them I think.

If your toe is broken and you are dwellings on more important things, you won't feel the pain. But the broken toe is so painful that it's hard to keep it down. That is, unless one is hypnotized.

Recognition of pain? What if pains were equally dealing the same amount of stress? How can you measure levels of pain?

Cold water immersion raises thresholds of pain tolerance. Try taking contrast showers instead of regular ones. Gradually work towards lower temperatures.

Does it really? Do you have a link or something? Otherwise, specific explanation of why? What if I did the opposite(cold-warm-hot)?

 

[BigApplePi]

Recognition of pain? What if pains were equally dealing the same amount of stress? How can you measure levels of pain?

I lost ya. What do you mean by "pains equally dealing the same amount of stress"? Example?

 

[aracaris]

This subject is a very personal thing for me, so here's my perspective.

As someone whom suffers from chronic pain, and has for years, I can say no matter how hard you try to ignore it, or how many times you act as if it's not there, it will still torment you. At least that's my experience.

I've gotten really good at hiding from other people the fact I'm in pain, and acting fine and dandy when I'm not, that is until it's so severe that I can't avoid there being physical signs in the way I move, or if I reach physical collapse.

I've found that not responding to pain does nothing to make it better, in fact there's a real frustration that I feel over having to hide it so often, and put on a smiling face, and be "fake" that makes it even worse, than if I were to just act how I really feel.

I have hope that there will be a time when getting by doesn't require this facade of me nearly so often.

 

[BigApplePi]

This subject is a very personal thing for me, so here's my perspective.

As someone whom suffers from chronic pain, and has for years, I can say no matter how hard you try to ignore it, or how many times you act as if it's not there, it will still torment you. At least that's my experience.

I've gotten really good at hiding from other people the fact I'm in pain, and acting fine and dandy when I'm not, that is until it's so severe that I can't avoid there being physical signs in the way I move, or if I reach physical collapse.

I've found that not responding to pain does nothing to make it better, in fact there's a real frustration that I feel over having to hide it so often, and put on a smiling face, and be "fake" that makes it even worse, than if I were to just act how I really feel.

I have hope that there will be a time when getting by doesn't require this facade of me nearly so often.

I can almost see what you mean by keeping something to yourself. People do not like unpleasant things. I am aware of many conditions which can bring about chronic pain, but not in detail. Can you give a NAME to your condition? If you can name it to people, it helps them look more at the condition as separate from themselves. It used to be no one would utter the "C" word. Now people are much more open to talk about cancer if that is their diagnosis. At least that's my impression.

 

[aracaris]

Unfortunately all of what is going on is really not completely certain. I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but that's looking to be only part of the picture. I tend to have a hard time getting certain nutrients to proper levels even when I eat really well, which has led to some real problems, some tests have shown that I've been immune system deficient. Oddly it is very rare for me to catch things from people, but still, having an out of whack immune system isn't a good thing. So there's a lot of signs of things not working right, but why isn't clear.

One thing I've learned is our medical knowledge and technology at this point is still a lot more limited than I think many people realize. Despite how advanced people like to claim we humans are, I say we're still really very primitive in some ways.

 

[Words]

I lost ya. What do you mean by "pains equally dealing the same amount of stress"? Example?

Both of your hands getting sliced at the same time.

Unfortunately all of what is going on is really not completely certain. I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but that's looking to be only part of the picture. I tend to have a hard time getting certain nutrients to proper levels even when I eat really well, which has led to some real problems, some tests have shown that I've been immune system deficient. Oddly it is very rare for me to catch things from people, but still, having an out of whack immune system isn't a good thing. So there's a lot of signs of things not working right, but why isn't clear.

One thing I've learned is our medical knowledge and technology at this point is still a lot more limited than I think many people realize. Despite how advanced people like to claim we humans are, I say we're still really very primitive in some ways.

House is ENTP methinks.

 

[aracaris]

Begin tangent....
I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say house. Do you mean the people I live with? I grew up in a family that had an extrovert, but definitely not an ENTP, and I work in an environment full of extroverted feelers. By nature I prefer a lot more quiet and solitude, I like to just think about things a lot, and do things which are intellectually stimulating. But surviving has required me to do a lot of acting lately, both because I'm an INTP, and because of illness.

I'm out of my element a whole lot, too much, and I think a lot of people on this forum can probably relate to that aspect of the situation.

end tangent...

 

[Words]

Begin tangent....
I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say house. Do you mean the people I live with? I grew up in a family that had an extrovert, but definitely not an ENTP, and I work in an environment full of extroverted feelers. By nature I prefer a lot more quiet and solitude, I like to just think about things a lot, and do things which are intellectually stimulating. But surviving has required me to do a lot of acting lately, both because I'm an INTP, and because of illness.

I'm out of my element a whole lot, too much, and I think a lot of people on this forum can probably relate to that aspect of the situation.

end tangent...

I'm sorry, I was just watching House M.D. You know, the show? The word, diagnostic, and how deducing someone's illnesses requires theoretical talent brought the show back into my mind. I was also subtly hinting "maybe you yourself could theorize about your own problem?" Although, perhaps, for it to be sufficient, it would require a possible 4 year extensive research lol.

 

[aracaris]

Ah OK, I see. I've theorized about my problem a lot, but as you have said, these things require extensive research, and I'm slightly skeptical of anyone's ability (including my own) to accurately diagnose themselves when it comes to lesser understood conditions. Doesn't stop me from theorizing, but it does make me keep my own lack of expertise in mind.

 

[BigApplePi]

Unfortunately all of what is going on is really not completely certain. I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, but that's looking to be only part of the picture. I tend to have a hard time getting certain nutrients to proper levels even when I eat really well, which has led to some real problems, some tests have shown that I've been immune system deficient. Oddly it is very rare for me to catch things from people, but still, having an out of whack immune system isn't a good thing. So there's a lot of signs of things not working right, but why isn't clear.

One thing I've learned is our medical knowledge and technology at this point is still a lot more limited than I think many people realize. Despite how advanced people like to claim we humans are, I say we're still really very primitive in some ways.

Advice is cheap, but a google of fibromyalgia reveals support groups. Support groups either on-line or in the outside world can help socialize what's going on. My wife, who is a cancer survivor joined a support group and loves it.

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

This subject is a very personal thing for me, so here's my perspective.

As someone whom suffers from chronic pain, and has for years, I can say no matter how hard you try to ignore it, or how many times you act as if it's not there, it will still torment you. At least that's my experience.

I've gotten really good at hiding from other people the fact I'm in pain, and acting fine and dandy when I'm not, that is until it's so severe that I can't avoid there being physical signs in the way I move, or if I reach physical collapse.

I've found that not responding to pain does nothing to make it better, in fact there's a real frustration that I feel over having to hide it so often, and put on a smiling face, and be "fake" that makes it even worse, than if I were to just act how I really feel.

I have hope that there will be a time when getting by doesn't require this facade of me nearly so often.

I could have written much of this. For me it's a different cause but the effect is the same. It's something that works negatively on the psyche. You can used to it in a way as with anything that is a constant but it doesn't stop being pain. It's always unpleasant and gets to be quite the emotional detriment.

 

[aracaris]

I wouldn't quite say I really ever have gotten used to it, maybe sort of, but it's more a matter of just continuing to go on in spite of it. Unfortunately I don't think I've really gotten any better at dealing with it though, aside from becoming better at hiding it, and that I can even only do to a point. You may have perhaps found some better ways to cope, or be a little more adaptable than I perhaps?

I wonder really whether anyone can become so numb to something that after enough time it would stop being pain.

 

[BigApplePi]

I wouldn't quite say I really ever have gotten used to it, maybe sort of, but it's more a matter of just continuing to go on in spite of it. Unfortunately I don't think I've really gotten any better at dealing with it though, aside from becoming better at hiding it, and that I can even only do to a point. You may have perhaps found some better ways to cope, or be a little more adaptable than I perhaps?

I wonder really whether anyone can become so numb to something that after enough time it would stop being pain.

Well now I have a good chance to put all this to the test.

For a couple weeks now my left hand's center knuckle has been mildly painful. I guessed it was nascent osteoarthritis. Ignoring this, yesterday I tried over and over to get the chain saw going. Failing after some thirty odd pulls I switched to saw & sledgehammer. Today I have excruciating pain in my hand. Swollen. I am typing this with my right hand moaning all the while.