Pain Discussion Series
Learning what causes pain and how to manage it is extremely important for humans.
How we are able to tolerate pain is highly variable between people, and even within the same person at different times.
Some people cannot tolerate sharp, short jabs of pain and someone else may find a lower level of pain that goes on and on to be unbearable.
Mood and temperament can also influence the way pain is experienced. A usually happy and optimistic person tends to cope with pain much better than a depressed and pessimistic person.
The internationally accepted definition of pain is as follows:
Wikipedia
The IASP definition of pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” is derived from a 1964 definition by Harold Merskey, and it was first published in 1979 by IASP in PAIN, number 6, page 250.
http://www.iasp-pain.org/Education/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=1698#Pain
There have been many previous definitions and it is expected there will be many more to come.
Why? Because pain is a unique experience for anyone who experiences it. Because pain is not yet fully understood. Because for every definition of pain, there are exceptions.
We live in wonderful times. The research into pain is providing many new insights, from which are growing exciting ideas and treatments. Every time a discovery is made, the rulebook is redefined in unexpected ways.
If you have experienced pain, you may feel that you know all about the subject.
The truth is that there are many different types of pain.
The two major categories are: Acute Pain and Chronic Pain.
Even these two categories have been defined differently at times. Generally speaking, acute pain is the sensation we understand to be pain that has occurred for a short time, but definitely less than three months.
Chronic pain is most often recognized as the sensation of pain lasting with minimal respite for three months or more. (some definitions state 6 months – so between three and six months is accepted for a diagnosis of chronic pain).
You may notice that the severity of pain is not part of the definition. Most would expect acute pain to be worse than chronic pain.
Our upbringing will also influence how we may react to pain because education and experience of previous pain along with a belief system associated with why the pain may be there can foster different reactions to that pain.
To learn more, please read
Part 2 The Brain pain experience
GeriTraK. Good To Know