Touch

By Anonymous -
​One of the interesting parts of this chapter that caught my attention was the segment on pain.  It reminded me of some of my friends from school and home.  A few of them can handle getting punched in the face time after time and claim that they barely feel anything.  I also have a couple of friends with very low tolerances that are much more vulnerable to feeling pain.  I find myself somewhere in between, but it is odd that pain is so subjective and that everyone experiences it differently.  In the book, it states, “One of the great riddles of biology is why the experience of pain is so subjective.  Being able to withstand pain depends to a considerable extent on culture and tradition.  Many soldiers have denied pain despite appalling wounds, not even requesting morphine.”  Perhaps after long periods of time some individuals are able to build up pain tolerances that are significantly higher then other people.  In regard to the effect of exposure to pain, it is widely believed that regular exposure to painful stimuli will increase pain tolerance over time as the individual becomes conditioned to it.  Interestingly enough, new studies are now saying that brain circuits that are constantly filtering information coming from our sensory nerves shape our perception of pain.  Attached is an article that explains how pain is all in your head and how emotion controls intensity.



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