Pain is a complex experience that affects individuals’ physical and emotional spheres at different levels. Each person has experienced pain at some point in their lives, with some people suffering more than others from the same experience. According to Tabriz et al. (2019), people cope with pain differently depending on their beliefs and perceptions. In many cases, people have associated pain with the physical experience and the mind. Since the mind and body are two separable entities, one can feel pain without physical injury and vice versa. When discussing the different perceptions of pain, it is crucial to examine predisposing factors that determine how individuals respond to painful experiences.
There is a close link between pain and emotional condition. The perception of pain depends on a pre-existing emotional situation. A person’s emotional state determines how they see things around them, including how they view painful experiences (Tabriz et al., 2019). For a person who has undergone emotional turmoil, any experience can cause pain, even if it is not accompanied by physical pain. For instance, people with stress and depression may view pain as a traumatizing experience, making them suffer more from a painful experience than normal people with no emotional challenges (Tabriz et al., 2019). When people think more about pain, they are bound to suffer more than if they diverted their attention elsewhere. Thus said, the perception of pain can be seen as beginning in mind, affecting how people think about it and for how long they fix their minds on pain. Concentrating on the pain affects the emotional state as people begin to feel depressed, lonely, and traumatized.
Culture, religion, and socially constructed gender perspectives also play a crucial role in pain perceptions. Ennew (2019) highlights the impact of shame on perceptions of pain among children. When children are abused at an early age, they develop a resistance to physical pain, although they may experience emotional turmoil. In a similar study, the perception of pain at the end of life has been shown to depend on cultural and religious views (Martin and Barkley, 2017). Many religious people perceive pain as a necessary passage to the afterlife. In many cultural settings, men have been raised to view pain as a common experience, and therefore they tend to concentrate less on pain. Depending on the cultural background and faith, many people tend to view pain at the end of life as an indicator of happiness in the afterlife, and therefore, they embrace it rather than block it.
In conclusion, pain is a common experience in every individual’s life. Although people may experience the same painful situation, their responses may differ depending on their perceptions of pain and suffering. People with a pre-existing emotional condition tend to give more attention to pain and have negative perceptions about it. As shown in the cited research in this essay, many people perceive pain based on how they have learned to view it culturally or from personal experiences. Culture and religion have shaped how people perceive pain, giving people the strength to cope with painful experiences.
References
Ennew, J., 2019. Shame and physical pain: cultural relativity, children, torture and punishment. In Childhood Abused (pp. 7-34). Routledge.
Martin, E. and Barkley, T., 2017. Improving Cultural Competence in End-of-Life Pain Management. Home Healthcare Now, 35(2), pp.96-104. Web.
Tabriz, E.R., Mohammadi, R., Roshandel, G.R. and Talebi, R., 2019. Pain beliefs and perceptions and their relationship with coping strategies, stress, anxiety, and depression in patients with cancer.Indian journal of palliative care, 25(1), p.61. Web.