/sci/ - Science & Math

>>14613901

Well, I'll just preface that pain and trauma psychology and management is far from my field and even of it were subjective stimuli are the devil to rigorously study so all this is just my take. My understanding is that emotional and physical pain are invaluable signals that help navigate our environment. I can recommend the book "Pain - the gift nobody wants" by Dr. Paul Brand, it's very outdated and only deals with physical pain but it's a very good read and presents a very insightful perspective on pain and the horrors of its absence. I believe many of his points apply to emotional pain and trauma as well. Now, in my opinion there naturally is a point where most sensations or instincts hinder rather than aid survival and quality of life, for example, it's hardwired into our brain to instinctively dislodge anything near or in our mouth I'd we feel we can't breathe - this is a very practical and functional instinct. It is however also the reason some scuba divers drown with air in their tanks and a functional respirator because they clawed it out of their moment in instinctive panic. In the sense of pain gradients it's optimal that the level of pain correspond to the severity and urgency of the situation. A sore knee just makes you walk a bit slower, sitting down on a hot coal makes you jump up in an instant - even before you consciously register what's happening. This is how it works ideally. The problem is when overaction or harmful behaviour results from being unable to either make the pain stop or the persistence of pain beyond the point of any possible remedial action. Chronic pain for instance or permanent psychological trauma. I also often ponder that too much pain or being too used to a state of pain is debilitating. I know a guy with a spine injury and chronic pain who kept walking on a broken angle because he was so used to pain it didn't register as critical. The same thing I suppose could happen with emotional pain. Good thread anyway.