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>We know that pain is not static and that it can be modulated by several factors. Early research showed that the central amygdala, long known for its role in pr

by Funes- 7y ago

>We know that pain is not static and that it can be modulated by several factors. Early research showed that the central amygdala, long known for its role in processing fear, can dial up pain signals. Interesting. A couple of days ago I was washing dishes and the water was too hot, so I almost burnt my hand--or so I thought--by putting it directly under the faucet by accident. Nonetheless, I started playing with it for a while: how long could I keep it there? I realized that if I put my hand under it, whenever I gave in to fear, the pain got unbearable, as if a switch had been turned on. I think that's why expert meditators can handle pain better. Also, meditation and yoga reduce the right amygdala's volume [0], which processes fear and negative emotions. [0] https://www.psypost.org/2019/08/meditation-and-yoga-practice-linked-to-reduced-volume-in-brain-region-tied-to-negative-emotions-54273 https://www.psypost.org/2019/08/meditation-and-yoga-practice....

ben_w 7y ago
I have another anecdote about pain. A few years ago, cycling at night on the then-under-construction path by the Cambridge Guided Busway, I bounced off an invisible kerb and noticed the “pain” from the fall before I hit the ground, when I was still at a ~45 degree angle; yet when I then picked myself up and cycled on to the cinema I felt no pain — even though, when I checked myself at the end of the film (one of the Hobbit films), I found I’d been bleeding enough to make quite a mess.
- mikk14 7y ago
  It is pretty common under situation of physical effort not to feel pain, which makes some sort of evolutionary sense. Another anecdote: during last year's Tour de France, halfway climbing the Alpe d'Huez (~13.8km at avg 8% slope, nothing to scoff at), Vincenzo Nibali got knocked off his bike because it got hooked on a supporter's camera strap. He got back on his bike and completed the rest of the climb faster than the top contenders in front of him. When the doctors checked him, it turned out he had a fractured vertebra. I suppose that must've hurt.
Giornito 7y ago
I wonder if there is an increase or decrease in risk taking activities in relation to people that meditate or do yoga often.

by Funes- 7y ago

ben_w 7y ago

I have another anecdote about pain. A few years ago, cycling at night on the then-under-construction path by the Cambridge Guided Busway, I bounced off an invisible kerb and noticed the “pain” from the fall before I hit the ground, when I was still at a ~45 degree angle; yet when I then picked myself up and cycled on to the cinema I felt no pain — even though, when I checked myself at the end of the film (one of the Hobbit films), I found I’d been bleeding enough to make quite a mess.

mikk14 7y ago
It is pretty common under situation of physical effort not to feel pain, which makes some sort of evolutionary sense. Another anecdote: during last year's Tour de France, halfway climbing the Alpe d'Huez (~13.8km at avg 8% slope, nothing to scoff at), Vincenzo Nibali got knocked off his bike because it got hooked on a supporter's camera strap. He got back on his bike and completed the rest of the climb faster than the top contenders in front of him. When the doctors checked him, it turned out he had a fractured vertebra. I suppose that must've hurt.

Giornito 7y ago

I wonder if there is an increase or decrease in risk taking activities in relation to people that meditate or do yoga often.