Pain

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How do you deal with pain, and how high is your tolerance?

I can tolerate weak to medium pain pretty well. I also try to be as "brave" as possible about it. For example, when a doctor has to take some of my blood I would never make a sound or even look anything else than indifferent because it is such a minor pain. I can't stand people who complain about every little pain.

I even enjoy some kinds of pain, like muscle burn after sports or even light headache.

When the pain is severe though I handle it badly. I still try not to show it though.

Every so often I get intense crippling pain in my feet or knees because of gout. I don't mind it, though. I've actually written one short story and one novella where pain was treated almost like a living character, kind of like the way summer heat was utilized in 'Do the Right Thing.' I guess that's how ubiquitous pain is in my life.

I have a ridiculously low threshold for pain. I can't even get my eyebrows plucked without taking painkillers. Because of this low tolerance, I was very afraid of many physical activities when I was a kid (playing ball, climbing, riding a bicycle, ice skating) - I was afraid to not get hurt and be in pain. That annoyed the adults big time, since they couldn't understand why I was so afraid of pain...

It's embarrassing how hypersensitive I am to pain, especially since I run into things and slam myself in doors all the time. I'll hurt myself and shout "OUCH!" without even thinking about it, even if it's just a pin-prick. Then my friends look at me like I'm an idiot because I had that much of a reaction to something that shouldn't hurt that badly.

I have a very high tolerance to pain. I don't know when I get cut or scratched until I accidently rub it on something like a sheet or blanket. Or if I just happen to see it. Sometimes when I cut myself and don't know it, I start really bleeding bad and then I know it. When I had a molar pulled I did not take any pain killers.

My reaction to pain is just weird. Acute injury--cuts, bruises, burns, that kind of thing--doesn't faze me. Half the time I don't notice it. It causes pain, but not distress. On the other hand, things like a headache or menstrual cramps can make me feel dizzy, pass out, throw up, get drenched in sweat and pale; be unable to stand; generally react as though I were in extreme pain. My heart rate slows down when I'm in that sort of pain, probably due to the release of endogenous opioids.

What I learned in psychology class about pain is that there are two components--the physical damage and the message passed to the brain from the site, and the emotional reaction to the pain. The emotional reaction is there to cause you to protect yourself from further injury; it's the instinctive interpretation of pain as negative. Apparently, I don't have this emotional reaction for some kinds of pain. Other kinds, I feel very strongly.

BTW, by "emotional reaction" I don't mean what you'd think of when you first think of emotion; you know, sadness, frustration, anger. I mean the interpretation your mind does when it gets the "pain" message, the one that says "this is bad, I don't like this," the thing that makes pain an aversive stimulus. For some kinds of pain, I just don't do that.

I have a weird sensory system; pain sensation is no exception.

I have a pretty high pain tolerance - for example, I didn't flinch at a chunk of my ear cartilage at the thickest part being sliced out of my ear with nothing to dull or mask the pain at all - it didn't bother me much at all. Within 3 hours it felt almost as if it hadn't happened.

My pain tolerance is honestly too high. I injure myself fairly often without noticing it. I just find the bruises, or sometimes bleeding cuts, later.

I must have a very high tolerance to pain.

When I was 6 I had some fingers chewed up by a lawn mower - It hurt, but I didn't need pain killers.

About 2 years ago, I broke my leg and ankle in a ice skating fall. The hospital workers said I must have a very high tolerance to pain when I asked to refuse them because they made me feel sick.. After breaking my leg I started back learning to figure skate as soon as the doc said I could.

Several times I wiped out on my bikes, some times close to 30 mph.. Each time I got back on and finished my commute. One time my face was covered in road rash. Later that week I went bike touring for a few days.

I still have a desire to bang my head against a wall or hit it with my fists... I usually don't feel much, but it can bruise my face.

Mental pain is different and I have very low tolerance... Loud noises like car horns cause pain, too...

That's the honest truth.

I have a pretty high tolerance combined with a sort of desire to seek out some forms of pain (nothing insane/self-injurious or sexual) like getting shot at with frozen paintballs or adding a new body modification (tattoos/piercings).

I like adding new body modifications. Considering getting my lobes pierced at 6g (I've had a good deal of stuff done, but so far have not gotten the most common piercings, haha) - or maybe getting my other ear dermal punched. I like the pain from stretching piercings, as well.

What's pain?
No, seriously... I have a high tolerance to pain as long as it's fleeting or constant
When it's itching (like a scab healing) or it's something that comes and goes in waves (gut issues) then I'm not so good with it.

I once smashed my face into gravel (fell off my bike when a car clipped me) and tore two quarter sized chunks of flesh from the right side of my face. An inch forward I would have lost my eye, an inch back I would have bled bad out my temple; as it was I rode the side of that car for 8 blocks, was pulled off by some construction guys and was just going to walk home and wash it off. The construction guys held me down and called an ambulance on me.
Even three hours later (yeah our hospitals are slow) I ddin't realize I had done massive damage; I thought I'd just got a mild scratch. Had to pee before they did the stitching and got a good look at it. Was totally amazed.

Interesting note: The needle the dentist gives you to anestretize doesn't usually do much for me.
Even had one of those needles in my head once when they removed an abcess. The guy was amazed as I gave him a play by play of him pulling the thing out.

I'm at 00 and have been since 7th grade. It's the largest I can go and still easily conceal them with my sideburns and flesh-colored plugs. I also selected easily concealable areas to get inked. Tongue bifurcation would be very nice, but I'd probably lose my job if I went that far.

I am usually pretty stoic about pain, I may cry if it really hurts. However, starting with one incident my senior year of high school, whenever I hurt myself where I get a sharp wave of pain I now pass out pretty immediately.

Pain does not disturb me. I am like a terminator in that respect: I just keep going regardless of injury. Anticipation of pain is very different, though. If I am, for example, donating blood I cannot stand the tension leading up to the actual insertion of the needle. Even though the actual pain has no effect on me, thinking about it kills.