The Psychology of Pain Thresholds

A sensitivity threshold is a person’s subjective response to pain-causing traumatic factors. Each person has a different threshold of sensitivity, which is formed at the genetic level. For example, some people are unable to tolerate headaches and work, while others, on the contrary, immerse themselves in work to distract themselves from the pain. In this article we will talk about The Psychology of Pain Thresholds.

What You Need to Know About Pain Thresholds

If you understand what the threshold of sensitivity depends on, you can change it in the ways that exist for it. As a rule, a person can tolerate unpleasant sensations up to a certain point – this point is the pain threshold. There are no equal pain thresholds, because many factors influence this indicator. In the most disadvantageous situation is a person with a low threshold of sensitivity, even the simplest procedures, such as blood sampling, become for him a real ordeal, and brings unbearable pain. People with a low threshold of sensitivity should warn the medics in advance if any traumatic surgery is being prepared, in order to avoid psychological trauma. A low sensitivity threshold complicates a person’s daily life. 

The human body with a high pain threshold endures stressful situations more easily. Specialists have proven that a person’s psycho-type has an impact on pain sensitivity threshold. The body becomes more active and prone to extreme situations, if the level of fear of physical impact is absent. Men and women have different sensitivity to pain. Testosterone has an analgesic effect on the male body, and as a result, it more easily endures injuries. Experts believe that the level of testosterone in critical situations increases dramatically, and it makes a man forget about the danger and pain. 

A woman’s threshold of sensitivity is lower than a man’s. During the morning period, the female body is more vulnerable to traumatic influences from the outside. The more sensitive female nervous system contributes to the fact that the woman succumbs more quickly to fear and panic, resulting in a lower threshold of sensitivity at the psychological level. Nature has arranged it so that at critical moments in life there is a hormonal surge that acts as a pain reliever. This is very important, the level of estrogen, for example, during childbirth becomes higher than all permissible norms and the threshold of pain sensitivity increases significantly. 

Diseases of the nervous system, acute and chronic inflammatory processes in the body have a great influence on the pain threshold. In addition, fatigue, stress, overexertion, the individual physiological characteristics of the human body are a psychological setting for a stressful situation. It must be said, however, that a considerable part of these factors may well be corrected, and disease symptoms are either completely eliminated or reduced to a minimum. In the course of therapy, the psychological state can be changed. Vitamins will also be useful. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *