6 Random Things (Other Than Drugs) That Reduce Pain
Your nearest drugstore is full of completely fake pain remedies, from shoe magnets to magical ground-up shark bones. But while these new age medicines are little more than placebos, science has found a whole lot of unexpected -- and downright weird -- ways you can control pain without ever swallowing a pill.
Things like ...
#6.
Touching Money
There is more to life than money. Money is the root of all evil. Money can't buy happiness. You've been warned your whole life not to become too attached to money, so after all that brainwashing, you should be repelled by the mere sight of cash.
"Seriously Rick, stop tracking that shit into my house."
Not exactly. Despite society's best attempts to keep you grounded, your brain loves money. It loves it so much that just handling it actually works as a drug. In a study in China, participants placed their hands into very hot water for a short period of time. The participants who had just handled a stack of bills before the test showed a higher pain threshold than those who had just handled blank paper.
A stack of Franklins does more than any sled.
That is, the people who got to hold money right before shoving their hands into hot water found the temperature more bearable than those who held regular paper. Keep in mind, the people didn't think they would get to keep the money or anything like that -- simply being in physical contact with it made them feel less pain.
Based on these results, the researchers think money might also help lessen emotional pain, making things like breakups easier to deal with.
"You keep right on banging my brother, Shelly!"
#5.
Eating
In our ever-expanding society, "comfort eating" has become a pretty familiar concept. You get emotionally or physically hurt, you comfort yourself by eating the shit out of your favorite food, most likely some sort of dessert.
Such as the Gingerdead Man.
But that's just because we're a gluttonous culture, right? It doesn't matter if you aren't hungry -- you just keep eating because for whatever reason, you feel happier shoving that next Oreo into your mouth.
Actually, we can thank evolution for this one. Humans haven't always had it so good on the food front -- for most of our history, food was pretty damn scarce. If you managed to find or kill something to eat, you damn well found a way to make it last, because who the hell knew when you'd get your next meal. Due to this sad reality, our brains developed in a way that said, "If there is food in front of me and I am eating it, everything else can fuck right off," including any wounds you may have suffered in achieving said food.
It's hard to swallow while you're choking back tears.
Today, with food readily available to almost everyone in the Western world, this comforting, pain-relieving feeling may be contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Cheeseburger pizza might also be playing a substantial role.
#4.
Music
If you've ever had a massage, you know they play soft, relaxing music in the background to help relieve some painful tension. But, the smooth sounds of Enigma might not necessarily be the best thing for you.
Or for anyone, really.
It turns out that listening to your favorite music -- even if that music is death metal songs specifically about pain -- allows you to tolerate up to twice your normal threshold of pain. Basically, the amount of pain you think you are feeling drops significantly.
And we're not talking getting through a headache or stubbing your toe on your Rock Band drum set. This study was done on people enduring long-term hospital stays and people who suffer from chronic pain, and all of the study participants were on seriously hard drugs for treatment. The addition of their favorite music to their hospital rooms dramatically decreased the pain they were feeling.
Listen to Slayer, gain a barbarianlike immunity to pain.
Now you might shrug this off and say, "Of course, it's a distraction. You're not thinking about the pain, so you don't feel it so much." But the weird thing is that only music appears to have this effect. The study also looked at other forms of brain-occupying stimuli, such as math puzzles, artwork and listening to comedians, none of which had anywhere near the same effect as music.
Sometimes comedians cause pain.
I found video games are good for pain relief, I used to get really bad asthma, I would pay so concentrate so much on the game I forgot I was sick.
ReplyI already knew about the music one. I had a knee injury back in 07 and have had chronic pain in my knee ever since, but when I turn on some Metallica, Volbeat, or Five Finger Death Punch, I can deal with it much much easier. Sometimes its like the pain goes away completely.
ReplyNow I just have to convince my physical therapist to let me listen to that stuff during our sessions instead of rihanna and little wayne and that kinda crud *shudders and cries*
They left out the best one - swearing! (Yes, someone studied that.)
ReplyOk first of all is it just me or is the chick with the headphones really hot. Second anytime i listen to journey it relieves stress and pain. 3rd everyone have a good day
ReplyI find painting or possibly any act of creating works best for blocking pain--better than passively listening to music. Any creative person can relate to the "zone" that I'm talking about. When you are there nothing else gets through.
ReplyI can agree that painting helps. But personally listening to music helps me more. I cant get into that zone while painting without music. "Passively" listening to music is better for me.
Tho sometimes I feel guilty that I'm not being productive....
Is it me or does this article seem based on whatever the writer just thought of first?
ReplyMaybe the order, but there are scientific studies backing up his claims.
I believe you mean her claims. The author's name is Kathy Benjamin. Although it would be weird to see a guy named Kathy.
Of course religious belief lessens pain. The whole reason people become religious is because it's a source of comfort and solace. I'm an agnostic but even I understand that much.
ReplyOh, and you left out laughter, which has proven to have a literal biochemical effect on the body - it reduces stress hormones and releases endorphines into the bloodflow. Whenever I'm in pain that won't go away with drugs, I look up a decent comedian on youtube and try my best to laugh as much as I can. It usually lessens the pain.
And Sex! You're right though, laughter has been proven to lower pain levels, but laughing still doesn't feel so good when you have a gaping abdominal wound.....
As far as sex...the pain relieving effects are supposed to last for hours afterwards.
I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that Cracked could produce an article that touches on the pain-relieving power of imagination without covering the pain reduction that men experience when visualising themselves having a threesome.
ReplyI think Cracked should have an article fully supporting either religious views or atheist views then saying that the real fun is in the comment section. I love the people who feel like other give a s**t about their opinion, especially faceless strangers on the internet.... I may need to submit an article O_o
ReplyThat grilled cheese lady is wearing black lipstick - Goth Grilled Cheese Lady?
Replyreally suprised sex isnt on here
ReplyI applaud you for the Citizen Kane reference
ReplyI totally believe music helps relieve pain. I once had a migraine so bad I wasn't trusted to drive myself the three hours to get there. I went anyway (driven). I realize the vibrations and frequencies may have had some influence, but when I left, I felt great. Not the expected result of listening to rock at dangerously high decibel levels when you feel like your skull is shrinking. Since then, I grab headphones first, situation permitting.
ReplyAlso, on the religion thing... it's a strong belief system that's key. The article says "devout Catholics." That's a group of people who bring ritualization into their homes as well as having many items of symbolism. A newly converted would not fair as well, nor I imagine, would someone of a religion with less... paraphernalia attached to it. Southern Baptists believe strongly, too, but a picture of the Virgin Mary doesn't have the same significance to them.
You are probably right, the ritualization may have something to do with it. It is possible that they wouldn't find the same effect with other religions, such as Protestants simply because their belief system isn't as steeped in ritual as Catholicism and other kinds of religions. It may be that the ritual surrounding images of the Virgin Mary allows the devout to experience pain relief because the ritualization allows them to slip into a different form of conciuosness as opposed to simple religious belief, or it may be that the image/item presented has to have some deeply religious significance in itself for the item to be effective. I wonder if there have been studies looking at these different factors? Pain relief is a huge problem--especially for chronic pain. Keep in mind most of these studies only look at acute (short-term) pain and most of these effects (pain reduction or increased pain tolerance) are short-term. Then again, so are pills and pills often have side-effects.
I think one could argue that number 3 and number 1 are the same.
ReplyNeo-Atheists just need to look at some picture of Richard Dawkings, Darwin etc and bang - say goodbye to pain. :-)
ReplyHey, "Return to Innocence" is a great song!
ReplyI like all the people in the comments coming up with excuses about how religious belief doesn't /really/ lessen pain, it's only the belief in something, for example religion. Well done, cracked readers.
ReplyI have agree with you, that is circular logic: You believe so it works but it only works because you believe---well DUH! That doesn't change the significance of the finding and this study did demonstrate a difference in effectiveness depending on the type of religious belief. Besides if it was just a matter of belief it would work the same with any religious belief or any kind of belief--as long as you believed enough. But that's not exactly what the study found. Nontheless, belief alone CAN make a difference and we call this the placebo effect. But if I remember right, the particants in the religious pain study weren't told to expect a reduction in pain, and that's the difference between this study's effect and a placebo's. People who take placebos are told or lead to believe that the placebo itself would reduce their pain.
Who zapped Catholics? I want to shake their hand(s)!
ReplyHowever, if I was being administered electric shocks whilst looking at a poster saying "You've been right all along, there is no God," I'm sure I'd feel some pain relief, too.
ReplyNo because then that would mean you were being an atheist, therefore, feeling everything
Yes I agree. It probably has more to do with seeing imagery you are familiar with. Show an agnostic a picture of a question mark with a shrug and theyll feel less pain. Show a satanist a pentagram, itll be the same. Its just whatever makes people feel safe.
religion may help take pain away, but i f*****g hate religion!
Reply