# How do you react to Pain?



## great_pudgy_owl (Apr 20, 2015)

Physical or emotional? Typically I hide it if it's emotional, usually remain silent when it's physical (chronic or sickness), and laugh hysterically if it's physical pain involving an accident or something unexpected


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## SalvinaZerelda (Aug 26, 2010)

Emotionally, I don't like to talk about what's bothering me or ask for help.. I try to figure out things out myself when I can and once the frustration from hitting a brick wall over and over is overwhelming enough, I'll talk to the person or people I trust most.

I don't mind letting people know when I'm hurting physically, and I'll make small half-hearted complaints about my blisters, or headache, or whatever.
When I'm in a whole lot of pain, I will curl up into a ball and cry.. I don't like to be alone when I'm hurting, I've discovered.


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## Proxybitch (Jul 28, 2015)

Physically Ill scream and wail and bitch. Fact is it helps. Why do you think kids fall n stumble all the time just to continue on like nothing happened an hour ago? 

Emotionally? Silence. Not in my head, but everything else, yeah. 

Same on laughing when its unexpected !


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## Rainbow Catfactory (Jan 14, 2015)

Physically: Shock, stoicism, a few tears

Emotionally: Shock; plunging into a deep, deep watery abyss of Fi profundity and solitude; tears and/or defensiveness. Very mature


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## Chips (Apr 21, 2015)

I usually gladly accept it, although I prefer croissants. (Sorry...)


Phsically: yes, screaming and swearing do help (at least in the case of a sudden pain due to an accident or something like that)!

Emotionally: like most others here, I don't like to talk about it and try to hide it.


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## great_pudgy_owl (Apr 20, 2015)

@Chips Thank you...and I love your avatar


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## 54-46 ThatsMyNumber (Mar 26, 2011)

Emotional pain? What is that? You take that and bury it deep down inside where no one can see or find it.

Sudden physical pain? Curse like a motherfucker.

Prolonged physical pain, I am not my body, I am not my body, I am not my body, you get the point.


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## Satan Claus (Aug 6, 2013)

Physical pain: Swear

Emotional pain: Cry to myself, think about who I want to talk to, assess why I feel this way and go over everything that happened and then cry to my friends.


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## BenevolentBitterBleeding (Mar 16, 2015)

Poorly. :snowman:


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## Maiko_Hima (Jul 12, 2015)

It really depends on what hurts.
Please don't punch me in the boobs.



Usually I just make a face and some grunts.
If it's emotional I go walk off the anger or sadness.
I'm not known for being emotional actually.


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## Chips (Apr 21, 2015)

great_pudgy_owl said:


> @Chips Thank you...and I love your avatar


Sorry for the late reply, I just moved and finally installed Internet in my new flat. And it turns out the mobile version of this forum is not super convenient for retrieving old messages. So, just to say thanks... though this is not my creation, I just googled "animal mashup".  Also, I like your username, and it even taught me a word I didn't know in English...


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## AdroElectro (Oct 28, 2014)

I react to physical pain by completely ignoring it. I can seriously decide to think about anything else and completely forget about it. I've gotten so good at blocking out physical pain that I've had many instances of cutting myself and not even realizing it, until I look down and see that I'm bleeding. I think it's an advantage of inferior Si.

Emotional pain isn't something I can ignore. I don't hide it from others, because it would be inauthentic to pretend like I'm okay when I'm really not. I do suppress it though, if I let others see the full extent of how much emotional pain I'm in then that would just make people feel uncomfortable. I tend to fixate and obsess over my emotional pain until I can figure out a way to reframe my thoughts, or come up with a solution to fix it. Sleeping helps a lot too. If I'm in emotional distress I can just sleep it off and feel a LOT better.


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## Tetsuo Shima (Nov 24, 2014)

Physical pain: I shriek at the slightest bit of it. I would love to be able to LARP, but this is why I can't.

Emotional pain: It's all that I know.


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## Dania (Oct 31, 2009)

Emotional pain: I will try to rationalize the situation to figure out the positive side of that painful event or otherwise try to find peace in the situation. I may cry a while before I start letting it go. I will imagine myself looking back on this past pain and find strength in my future self's detachment, acceptance or lack of sorrow. I will slowly detach from the cause of pain. I don't generally discuss all the emotions I feel during this time so people dont ever know what I'm going through. If they know about the event they will be worried that I dont express sadness.


Physical pain - long term moderate pains I generally ignore. Will more affect my irritability that anything else.

Strong sudden physical pain will cause a yell once or maybe twice... followed by silence. Last week I flashed my head (mosquito in my ear) suddenly and caused my neck to crick followed by intense muscle contraction which held my neck in that position.. That was my response... silence was my focus on easing out of the contraction. Hurt like a bitch.


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## sweetraglansweater (Jul 31, 2015)

"more"


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## LandOfTheSnakes (Sep 7, 2013)

I like physical pain as long as it's not too over the top. To be honest, I think I kind of enjoy emotional pain, too. Crying is the fucking greatest.


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## great_pudgy_owl (Apr 20, 2015)

LandOfTheSnakes said:


> I like physical pain as long as it's not too over the top. To be honest, I think I kind of enjoy emotional pain, too. Crying is the fucking greatest.


You weirdo, XD Now I think about it, I think I may enjoy that a bit...only a bit. I have the read inclination to poke at what hurts, mainly curiosity


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## Blue Sphere (Oct 14, 2015)

I bitch when I receive emotional pain.

On the other hand, I get almost no reactions (sometimes I wouldn't even know I was bruised until someone informed me about it) when it comes to physical pain as long as it's not too severe, and when it is I at most laugh for a few seconds. Dunno why though I have always been like this.


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## Wisteria (Apr 2, 2015)

emotional - walk away from people. find somewhere by myself to avoid anything and everyone.
sudden physical - try not to make a sound so someone doesn't ask me if i am okay as I hold back tears of pain. 
prolonged physical - try to ignore it but usually it is only thing I can think about. if there are other people around that I don't know i will try to hide it.


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## shoot4thestars (Jul 30, 2015)

Physically-- I have the lowest pain threshold. :frustrating:
Emotionally-- I can be prone to bottle it up and hide it until it consumes me and everything that I've bottled up comes crashing. I long for a connection where I feel free and trust enough to express everything I'm feeling emotionally.
Person-- "How are you?"
Me-- "I'm good." *half-hearted smile*
.. None the wiser.


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## Shade (Oct 11, 2013)

Emotional: I'm quite funny with this. I get easily depressed over the smallest things, sometimes for no reason at all (I'm starting to suspect that I'm bipolar) and will go to great lengths to pretend I'm not upset or down. I will keep everything inside of myself and wallow in self-pity, but then, when it's all over, I will miss it. Like, a lot. I think it's the same impulse that makes you want to push that part of your body that hurts (more about that in the physical pain section). Depression is such an intense state of mind, so when you've finally managed to ride out the storm, and you exhausted look back at the dark clouds drifting farther and farther away towards the horizon, some part of your being can't help but to yearn for that magnificent, pitch-black adversary to turn around and once again invite you to join it in yet another fiery dance. 

Physical: Like I mentioned earlier, I can't help but poking parts of my body that hurts, like bruises and wounds, it's just too tempting. It's like when you put your hand to close to a candle, the heat will hurt you, but as soon as you pull it away, you will feel cold until your body has grown accustomed to the contrast. That being said, I've never experienced any major injury like breaking an arm. The worst I've ever done is to cut my foot open a bit on a sharp stone or piece of glass at the beach, didn't even notice it until I jumped feet first from a three meter high tower... Now that I think about it, a few of the hits with round objects I've taken to the groin have been way worse than that... Now, that kind of pain I can do without...

But pain can get you fired up, I just started kickboxing, and the sparring is among the most enjoyable things I can think of. Short instances of quite intense pain coupled with a slight fear is really exhilarating. I think it's something like what is explained in this video, violence minus aggression is intimacy: 




So... yeah, that's my thoughts on the subject.


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## Hearts And Dreams (Sep 18, 2013)

For me... Emotionally, I become a recluse. I don't feel motivated. I don't feel inspired or upbeat. I stay indoors. Even though I want to go out and find happiness and be myself again, it becomes difficult to do that. My creativity shifts to a more darker and mellow offset. The things I write and play and listen to noticeably change as well.

I have to will myself to find happiness again or at least get myself talking to my friends again to begin to climb out again.


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## Doktorin Zylinder (May 10, 2015)

I'm in constant physical pain. I can't do anything other than accept it. Few people know about it, too. Most people think I'm just fine because I don't show it. I sprained my ankle last week and someone who was their asked if I needed to go to the doctor. I said no and kept limping home. I was at my physician the other day and she asked me genuinely how I could exist in daily life without screaming all the time. I also have an incredibly high pain tolerance and I can't take anything over the counter because most of those things will kill me. I just deal with it one moment at a time.

Extreme emotional pain will result in me shutting down or going into psychological shock.

I'm silent and stoic in most cases with anything and everything.


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## Another Lost Cause (Oct 6, 2015)

As far as emotional pain goes, I just have something of dialogue with myself, trace down the roots of it and let myself feel it. For physical pain, I try to somewhat mentally remove myself from it, see it as just physical processes, tell myself about how it's all nerve pulses and how the throbbing syncs with the heartbeat, etc. It requires a lot of focus though. It's basically how I dealt with a broken tooth for a week until I could see a dentist.


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## great_pudgy_owl (Apr 20, 2015)

Another Lost Cause said:


> It requires a lot of focus though. It's basically how I dealt with a broken tooth for a week until I could see a dentist.


Ouch. That sounds like something that'd be particularly hard to ignore.


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## michaelthemessiah (Jun 28, 2014)

FEEL PAIN KNOW PAIN @UchihaSqueaker


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Act of Sensation (Apr 19, 2010)

> Physically-- I have the lowest pain threshold.




Will you have to take 2 weeks off work if you got a paper cut?


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## Korvyna (Dec 4, 2009)

I've got a pretty high threshold for physical pain. At least, to the point where it makes me actually show it. I had a girl sitting across from me watching my every move when I got my tattoo on my wrist. I never so much as flinched. Even the guy doing it was surprised that it didn't phase me because he couldn't finish the tattoo on his wrist because it hurt so bad. I think I gave her a false sense of security...because she apparently cried the entire time she got hers. And none of my ear piercings hurt, either. Though, the healing process is obnoxious, but nothing that makes me want to cry or scream in pain. 

I'm notorious for burying emotional pain deep down. I'm _trying_ to be better about actually talking to people I trust when I'm dealing with emotional pain. I recently got called on something, and I didn't even realize I had something that was bothering me until I got called out on it. After that, I felt better since it gave me a chance to talk about it and move on. For me, I have an issue with feeling like I'm burdening people with my issues if I talk to them about it. 

As far as sudden, unexpected pain... Oh I'll f*ing curse up a storm. And then I'm over it.


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## Soft_Sound (Feb 25, 2013)

I tend to either yelp a little or becoming shocking quiet for intense pain. I'll just breath through pain if it's real bad but if it's like a really serious pain that stays around for hours I'll get help most of the time, well, if I have people to turn to. I once accidently poisoned myself by eating raw lima beans (in case you didn't know, lima beans are treated before sold to stores since they contain arsenic. They have to be processed before consumption. ) I had the most intense pain in my stomach, all I could do was keep rolling around in my bed. *There was a long delay before those beans started to effect me and it kept building. Actually with any sort of intense pain I have to keep moving, I won't cry or anything, actually it would be pretty impossible for me to speak from some of the pain anyway. For some reason, most doctors see this as a weird reaction or at least the ones I mentioned it to once or twice did. Anyway, that pain was awful, lasted like a week and I could not walk well because my legs kept giving out and when they actually were okay, I discovered I could not stand in the shower either, my legs just could not do it. I think also at the time, I had trouble breathing too. A few days later I actually called poison control and they were like, you just had the flu. I've never had a paralyzing flu like that before. >.> I blame the beans. I've had the flu before, and the stomach flu before and it was nothing like that.

In any case, I like to think I have decent pain tolerance. I don't tend to ask for help until I might as well not bother. This goes for emotional help as well. Honestly, for the most part, I just write about it and hope it goes away. I don't really have anyone I would share most of my thoughts to, and for the most part once I understand what I'm feeling, I can begin to solve my own problems. Or I just cry like a crazy person, one time I just burst into tears in English in college and was so embarrassed I could not stop crying, but nothing would be more humiliating then telling people about why I was crying. I hate it when people talk to me when I'm emotional, please just pretend I don't exist, I'll recover on my own. And I did but I was terribly embarrassed after that. At least I cry quietly so I don't bother people, nothing worse than that. :S


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## justjay (Dec 2, 2013)

Physical pain is a drop of rain compared to the flood of emotional hurt . Beat me with a stick, but please don't break my heart. 

I internalize most things, but only because I really don't want to draw too much attention to myself. Whether it is an aching bone, or an emotional conflict both are my own, and I much prefer to mend other's pain instead.


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## Experiment 626 (Mar 27, 2015)

Minor physical pain such as a tattoo, I'll just lean back close my eyes and breathe through it.

Long-term physical pain such as tendonitis, just deal with it, maybe some minor bitching when it flares up but not much else that can be done when I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do.


Harsh, sudden physical pain such as stubbing my toe or hitting my funny bone, I cuss profusely and loudly. If it's bad enough I will start laughing which then turns into crying. 

Emotional pain, I retreat back into my internal castle, fill the moat and raise up all the bridges, lock all the doors, blocking out everyone & everything until I've processed the pain. If people try to break through those barriers I load the cannons and let loose. I need time alone to work through it and when I'm finished I'll come out again.


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## Experiment 626 (Mar 27, 2015)

Minor physical pain such as a tattoo, I'll just lean back close my eyes and breathe through it.

Long-term physical pain such as tendonitis, just deal with it, maybe some minor bitching when it flares up but not much else that can be done when I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do.


Harsh, sudden physical pain such as stubbing my toe or hitting my funny bone, I cuss profusely and loudly. If it's bad enough I will start laughing which then turns into crying. 

Emotional pain, I retreat back into my internal castle, fill the moat and raise up all the bridges, lock all the doors, blocking out everyone & everything until I've processed the pain. If people try to break through those barriers I load the cannons and let loose. I need time alone to work through it and when I'm finished I'll come out again.


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## MaggieMay (Dec 27, 2014)

I compartmentalize emotional pain. 
If I need to I can stuff it in my heart-shaped box and deal with it later. 
Most "fights" do not phase me unless I let it. 

Sometimes I wonder if I have to force myself to feel how I think I should be reacting because I am relatively calm even if I am upset. When it comes to heated fights with my ISFJ husband I instantly go & stay silent but I only do this because I feel he understands I am upset better if I use silence than my words. We usually work it out quickly unless I need to cool off and "feel mad" for a few. 

I feel I, unconsciously, think in order for him to value my feelings I must "show" him I am hurt so even though I could choose to get over quickly and put it out of mind, I will choose to feel upset instead to hopefully have him meet me in the middle and for us to work out whatever conflict we had started. I think it gets the process of problem solving done faster than if we "talk it out" because he likes to argue instead of come to a common ground. I don't like hurtful words either and as a writer & someone who believes words, no matter how accidentally they slip, carry weight with them and they either build people up or bog them down. 

I'm unsure if it is just how I feel comfortable addressing emotional problems or if I just don't see the point in wasting emotions on misunderstandings. The older I get, the more I feel this way. It nearly bothers me because I don't want to feel like I am manipulating him by acting in a way I know the outcome will most likely result with him reacting in an apologetic manner, a hug, and our exchanged apologies. or if I have just figured out the best way to solve our quarrels quickly. If I am the offender, I am quick to apologize and hug him. 

I have a high pain tolerance in both respects. I will complain more if I am uncomfortable than in pain. Only if I am worried health-wise will I mention it. I don't like to worry those close to me, especially as of late. I can be easily overwhelmed by physical pain and my reaction is much more vocal than emotional turmoil.

I will want to be left alone if I am angry, sad, or hurt but will quickly want to make up afterwards, I always need a vocal confirmation the conflict is resolved and there is no tension between us and usually a long hug. When I am in physical pain I only want to be held tightly.

I hope this was understandable, I feel I am rambling.


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## Yasminec19 (Sep 16, 2015)

Physical pain : A lot of cuss words.
Emotional pain : Repress it and work a lot to get my mind out of it.


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## dragonfruit (Nov 30, 2015)

Physical pain: Hiss slightly, assess the damage, fix it (as well as I can), and move along. 

The physical pain of other people: I don't like it when people gasp or scream or whatever as their first response when they're scared or possibly even slightly hurt, because I get really concerned for their well-being and am immediately on red-alert. When I turn around and really they were just scared by someone popping a ziploc or something, I am not happy. However, if they are hurt I immediately react to fix the situation and kinda blank out, so I don't remember it later, but apparently I'm helpful :laughing: Is this normal???

Emotional pain: Convince myself out of it, ignore it, listen to rock music, whatever works.


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## angelcarnivore (Apr 15, 2015)

Physical pain: ignore it unless it needs to be dealt with to avoid more damage.

Emotional pain: Wait until I am in private; wallow until it becomes ridiculous. Laugh about the ridiculously. Go back to watching Judge Judy.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

Physical: As practically as possible. Deal with it and make sure the damage is minimal.

Emotional: I don't. I hide it. I pretend I'm a rock, while inside, I'm a raw nerve.


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## telepariah (Jun 20, 2011)

I thought I had answered this thread but it must have been a similar but different thread. 

I have a complicated relationship with pain. I live with constant, chronic physical pain. I've had a lot of bad wrecks that have resulted in 37--at this point--broken bones, a lacerated heart, 8 major surgeries, and nerve damage in my face and head. The neuralgias are somewhat under control these days thanks to cranio-sacral therapy. I still get it a couple of times a month but that is a lot better than the constant hot knives in my head that I had for more than ten years.

Emotional pain for me is worse than physical pain. I have had depression most of my life but right now is a pretty good time for me. I'm not in the depths of despair that I was in a few years ago. 

I've confessed this before but I'll relate it again if only because it might help someone else recognize something in themselves that might be similar. I say I don't do this deliberately, but I do it with some regularity, so maybe I'm not a reliable enough observer to really say. I say it's perhaps subconscious but I use physical pain to mask emotional pain. Here's how it works for me. When I am really in a bad place emotionally, I grow reckless... even more so than I might seem in general. I begin taking bigger risks in skiing than I usually do, going for bigger airs, skiing faster in tight places, getting bolder in tempting the avalanche dragons, or testing myself in no-fall zones. And while I don't consciously set out thinking, I'm depressed and I want to hurt myself to cover up the emotional pain, it does happen. 

When I have an acute injury--the last was in April when I hit a tree while I was airborne--it's not easy to explain but I get a feeling of euphoria that lasts for several days if the pain is really severe. My leg didn't break but it took such a hard hit that I had nerve damage that didn't resolve for about 4 weeks. I could walk but if I stopped and just stood, I would be on the floor in about 5 seconds. It was the strangest thing. But aside from that, I felt amazing. I know it's self-destructive and at my age (about to turn 60) I can't predict how many more of these I'll be able to take. I don't *think* I want to keep doing it. But the fact remains, when I am at my lowest, I always end up doing something like this and it always snaps me out of my depression. Two years ago it was 3 broken ribs that separated from my spine... again from too much air. 

I wish I didn't have to get so physically trashed just to break the cycle of emotional pain. Skiing by itself should be enough to keep my on a more even keel. And while I've learned some meditation techniques that help me regulate my amygdala responses, those are not yet enough. I crave the endorphins and the adrenaline rush of skiing fast and going big. I've been doing it all my life and I don't think I will ever stop having this compelling need. I don't want to stop because more than anything else, skiing is what defines me for myself.

Maybe pain is also what defines me. Some of it comes and goes. We were in Paris for a few days last week and I had back pain the whole time. But we walked all over the city every day, averaging 8 to 10 miles a day. And I was happy, at my best emotionally. I refuse to take pharmaceuticals for depression or anxiety. I won't take narcotics for physical pain. I do smoke weed, which takes the edge off both, but I can't do that outside of where I live (it's legal here). Pain is a constant companion reminding me that I am lucky to still be alive. I'll take that, I guess.


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## itsbobo (Sep 28, 2016)

I usually talk over with someone bit by bit whilst trying to thinking 10 steps ahead on how to solve it myself.


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## JayShambles (Aug 9, 2016)

I yell "CUNT" to both Physical and emotional pain. It's the best remedy.


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