Pain really is 'all in the mind'

"Doctors and nurses have known for many years that some people are more sensitive to pain than others. Now brain scans of people experiencing the same painful stimulus have provided the first proof that this is so. But the scans also suggest that how much something hurts really is "all in the mind".

"We saw a huge variation between responses to the same stimulus," says project leader Bob Coghill of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "The message is: trust what patients are telling you."

Another article from NewScientist.com. Now this is something I truly believe in (except in the case of headaches). Many a time have I heard someone complaining that their legs hurt or their neck hurts. That would probably be due to an overdose of running or using a mobile phone for too long. But what irks me most is when someone says that they cannot bear the pain.

I can't understand why people can't bear pain, especially the mature ones. They should realize that pain is just the result of a few electrical signals transmitted by the nerves to the brain, to stop whatever it is we're doing which causes that pain. Its a normal reaction, nothing unbearable.

I've always been able to bear pain as far as I can remember (though some people complain that I have a short term memory). It doesn't take a lot of effort to bear pain, just concentration. Keeping my mind on something different works for me. When it comes to a friend of mine, he finds it easier to bear pain by concentrating on the area of pain and repeating to himself "there is no pain" (There is no spoon either).

Apropos, there is another article on the same site showing how pain can be prevented by using a method of "brain-watching", which involves placing electrodes on the scalp, ergo not yet used on humans. Imagine the possibilities. Injections would be painless for babies. People could walk barefoot over fire. And many more...

But it also has its negative aspects. More number of cowards would start committing suicide, since the fear of pain is lost, but not their fear of life. Euthanasia would become an art form, and so on.

The next time someone says they can't bear pain... I think I should send them this. Or should I?