It Hurts!

Why is it our natural reaction to grimace when we hurt?

Wincing doesn't make it feel better. Gasping doesn't help. Saying "Ouch" is only useful if you're trying to tell someone (who cares) that what they are doing to you is painful, and that they should stop.

If you're in a situation where nothing makes it feel better, like with a pulled muscle, sprain, or deep bruise, why is it the natural reaction to tell people or make it obvious that you're hurt?

If you're in a situation where you asked to be hurt, and you can't get out of the pain until it's over, as with getting tattooed or receiving a deep-tissue massage, why is it the common reaction to tense, move, yell, complain, wince, etc?

(Image pulled from Google Stock Photos)

When working while limping, many more customers than normal become aggressive and rude, compared to how the average customer acts when I'm healthy.
To cope with the unkindness I have encountered when obviously injured, I sometimes tell myself "Nobody cares. Nobody wants to hear if you are hurt. It doesn't help people understand if they know that you're hurt. It's just another null excuse."

What is pain? Why do we experience it even when we cannot help it? When you get a nerve pinch, the nerve is misfiring. It's giving pretty false information. When you sprain a joint, you experience pain that is useful. Rest it until it doesn't hurt, or you're going to cause more damage.

While being stuck in the middle of a severe headache, I accepted it, relaxed into it, and I got a rush from how painful it was. It was like an adrenaline rush. I'm wondering if the pain that can't be helped could be shifted into another sensation.

I can not remember when I first experienced pain and decided it was unpleasant. I do remember being able to focus until I found pain interesting and sometimes even pleasant.

Could the experience of agony be shifted into a positive feeling?

Acknowledge the sensation, tell yourself it's okay to feel it.

What is agony? Why is it so distracting to the point of being debilitating and preventing us from activities?

A friend of mine pointed out that our society rewards those who keep running on a broken ankle; praise the 'heroes' who finish the battle with an arrow sticking out of their side, or worse.

We are uninterested and unimpressed by those who stop, protect their bodies, and rest an injury.

I certainly suffer from this mindset. I want to be the fighter who keeps going even though she's been stabbed and is actively bleeding.

Contrary to this, I think I'm finally giving up and licking my wounds. Every time I am shocked by pain, I am going to analyze it and see what I can create. Can I shift it to be informative, but not unpleasant?

Can I smile every time I feel that knife twist in my ankle, instead of wince?

What are we really capable of, and how good a quality of life can really be achieved?