farmdoc's blog post number 557

Swearing. It’s an activity I do a bit of. Usually it’s when something, or someone, bothers or frustrates me, and I need to let off steam quickly. I see no harm in it as long as it doesn’t offend anyone. Now UK researchers have found that when sudden pain occurs – e.g. when you hit your finger with a hammer, or catch it in a car door – swearing can reduce the pain’s severity. They submitted each of 66 volunteers to pain – by putting a hand in iced water – followed by saying (or yelling, more likely) either swear words or non swear words. Compared with not swearing, swearing decreased perceived pain. Why? A clue is that swearing increased the heart rate. Yes, you’re correct: swearing causes release of adrenaline which induces a fight-or-flight response which pre-occupies the swearer’s brain so much that it reduces its capacity to perceive pain. Much the same as downloading two items simultaneously from the internet restricts your computer’s capacity to download a third item at the same time. The message? Next time something painful suddenly happens to you, don’t be afraid to let off steam by swearing. But prevention’s better than cure. So be careful when you’re hammering, and when you’re shutting car doors.