Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief

[question everything]

News - July 12, 2009
Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief
Dropping the F-bomb or other expletives may not only be an expression of agony, but also a means to alleviate it

By Frederik Joelving
Scientific American

Bad language could be good for you, a new study shows. For the first time, psychologists have found that swearing may serve an important function in relieving pain. The study, published today in the journal NeuroReport, measured how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water. During the chilly exercise, they could repeat an expletive of their choice or chant a neutral word. When swearing, the 67 student volunteers reported less pain and on average endured about 40 seconds longer.

(snip)

How swearing achieves its physical effects is unclear, but the researchers speculate that brain circuitry linked to emotion is involved. Earlier studies have shown that unlike normal language, which relies on the outer few millimeters in the left hemisphere of the brain, expletives hinge on evolutionarily ancient structures buried deep inside the right half. One such structure is the amygdala, an almond-shaped group of neurons that can trigger a fight-or-flight response in which our heart rate climbs and we become less sensitive to pain. Indeed, the students' heart rates rose when they swore, a fact the researchers say suggests that the amygdala was activated.

That explanation is backed by other experts in the field. Psychologist Steven Pinker of Harvard University, whose book The Stuff of Thought (Viking Adult, 2007) includes a detailed analysis of swearing, compared the situation with what happens in the brain of a cat that somebody accidentally sits on. "I suspect that swearing taps into a defensive reflex in which an animal that is suddenly injured or confined erupts in a furious struggle, accompanied by an angry vocalization, to startle and intimidate an attacker," he says.

But cursing is more than just aggression, explains Timothy Jay, a psychologist at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts who has studied our use of profanities for the past 35 years. "It allows us to vent or express anger, joy, surprise, happiness," he remarks. "It's like the horn on your car, you can do a lot of things with that, it's built into you."

(snip)

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-we-swear

[Birthmark]

1. That fuckin' shit is cool!

[Turbineguy]

2. Profanity is the crutch

of the inarticulate motherfucker.

[question everything]

5. Yup. This has been my approach to the profanity on DU

but, perhaps, DUers were under excruciating pain.

:P

[TexasObserver]

3. fuckin' A!!

[kestrel91316]

4. I've known that for years, lol. And it's good at keeping lightweights like me from

FAINTING after on-the-job cat bites to our sensitive little hands. If I can manage to get worked up and cussing and getting angry (at myself for not being more careful), I probably won't go all pale and shaky (commonly followed by fainting in my case, lol).

Of course, it's best if I avoid the damned bites in the first place. I have gotten really good over the years at that part.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Profanity is a necessity when dealing with or describing polliticians or bubble-wrap.

Especially when trying to get the former to shut up and the latter to open up.

[WillyT]

7. Abso-Fuckin-Lutely !!!

:evilgrin: