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[friendoken]

There is a God, and here is the proof

Swearing Makes Pain More Tolerable


That muttered curse word that reflexively comes out when you stub your toe could actually make it easier to bear the throbbing pain, a new study suggests.


Swearing is a common response to pain, but no previous research has connected the uttering of an expletive to the actual physical experience of pain.


"Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," said Richard Stephens of Keele University in England and one of the authors of the new study. "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain."


Stephens and his fellow Keele researchers John Atkins and Andrew Kingston sought to test how swearing would affect an individual's tolerance to pain. Because swearing often has an exaggerating effect that can overstate the severity of pain, the team thought that swearing would lessen a person's tolerance.


As it turned out, the opposite seems to be true.


The researchers enlisted 64 undergraduate volunteers and had them submerge their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice. The experiment was then repeated with the volunteer repeating a more common word that they would use to describe a table.


Contrary to what the researcher expected, the volunteers kept their hands submerged longer while repeating the swear word.


The researchers think that the increase in pain tolerance occurs because swearing triggers the body's natural "fight-or-flight" response. Stephens and his colleagues suggest that swearing may increase aggression (seen in accelerated heart rates), which downplays weakness to appear stronger or more macho.


"Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists," Stephens said.


The results of the study are detailed in the Aug. 5 issue of the journal NeuroReport.

[VanIslander]

crap

[DorkothyParker]

I believe it. Slamming my finger in a drawer at work seems to hurt more than at home. The difference? A restraint of physical reaction (I don't make any sound if people are around) versus a yelp.

Possibly somewhat OT, but sex is also more pleasurable with verbal reactions than when being quiet. Related?

[Goku]

I see their point but I disagree.

It doesn't matter if it's a swear or an Ahhh. Both are vocal expressions of pain and the pain is less because one is releasing carbon dioxide and breathing.

It makes more sense to me that swearing developed as a natural call or "wild bleat" like birds would make in response to danger or pain to let the group know of impending danger, or that you are in need of help.

Not a pain release.

I'm pretty open to a lot of ideas, but this one doesn't seem to sit well with me logically or biologically.

[Underwaterbob]

[MissLady717]

yah i think its not so much the swearing haha, more like the screaming of anything lol. like when i twisted my ankle falling down the stairs i tried to hold it in and not say anything but i felt much better after screaming lol. im sure it works just as well with swearing too though lol. ill try it next time haha

[Epicurus]

I think it's necessary with pain because a man isn't going to cry like a little
[Mod Edit for swearing ] when the pain strikes.

Otherwise, I tend to find it generally useful.

Let's give it a little test:

[Mod Edit for swearing ] !

[Mod Edit for swearing ] !

[Mod Edit for swearing ] !

Aaaaaaah. I feel much better already.