3 ms·

This seems unbelievable, but I've had some bad bloody wounds in circumstances where I was fully aware third party assistance was nowhere to be had. The mind/bo

This seems unbelievable, but I've had some bad bloody wounds in circumstances where I was fully aware third party assistance was nowhere to be had. The mind/body enters an interesting mode in my experience, where I become disassociated from the situation and can focus on what needs to be done. The pain strangely suppresses temporarily, until a sense of completion/achieving stability is restored. Living things are inherently survival machines.

deleted 6y ago
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pmoriarty 6y ago
"Living things are inherently survival machines." How fascinating, then, how despite this so many people manage to voluntarily give up their own lives.
- rv-de 6y ago
  If life feels for too long more like surviving than living one might get tired of it.
  - marnett 6y ago
    This is so succinctly profound. Thank you
  - bookofjoe 6y ago
    Yes. A retired professor emeritus of anesthesiology in my department, in his 80s, bedridden, and on dialysis, told our department chair that his life had become too unpleasant and boring to continue with the round the clock routine of treatments and tests that would be his lot until he died. He directed that the dialysis machine be disconnected and died comfortably shortly thereafter. >A natural death from kidney failure does not hurt. As toxins build up in your blood, you will start to feel sleepy. https://lifeoptions.org/living-with-kidney-failure/comfort-care/#:~:text=A%20natural%20death%20from%20kidney,toxins%2C%20to%20make%20you%20comfortable https://lifeoptions.org/living-with-kidney-failure/comfort-c....
    - pengaru 6y ago
      My childhood cat died of renal failure in our home. It was anything but painless if her cries throughout the night, too weak to stand, until finally succumbing were any indicator.
- pengaru 6y ago
  I guess, if you find it fascinating that we're capable of overriding our instincts. As someone fertile who has managed to avoid reproducing for >40 years, I don't find that particularly fascinating.
Balgair 6y ago
> The pain strangely suppresses temporarily Pretty sure that's called shock. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_%28circulatory%29#Signs_and_symptoms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_%28circulatory%29#Signs_...
- 1123581321 6y ago
  Where do you see reduced pain on that page? I would have guessed adrenaline to be suppressing the pain, but that link talks about adrenal insufficiency. “Pain” is only mentioned in the context of experiencing new pains in the abdomen.
  - Balgair 6y ago
    Hmm, I think I needed to read that a bit closer. Maybe neuralgic shock is the term then. I hadn't realized they had broken shock up into so many categories now. Thanks for the second-check.
- pengaru 6y ago
  I'm pretty sure it isn't. Edit: To elaborate, I've had other experiences medical professionals assessed as shock. They were paralyzing, and usually involved uncontrolled involuntary shaking and tears. This is something quite different. If I entered into such states of shock in the survival situations I'm referring to, I would have bled to death. My assumption is it's a massive release of adrenaline and endorphins.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

pmoriarty 6y ago

"Living things are inherently survival machines." How fascinating, then, how despite this so many people manage to voluntarily give up their own lives.

rv-de 6y ago
If life feels for too long more like surviving than living one might get tired of it.
- marnett 6y ago
  This is so succinctly profound. Thank you
- bookofjoe 6y ago
  Yes. A retired professor emeritus of anesthesiology in my department, in his 80s, bedridden, and on dialysis, told our department chair that his life had become too unpleasant and boring to continue with the round the clock routine of treatments and tests that would be his lot until he died. He directed that the dialysis machine be disconnected and died comfortably shortly thereafter. >A natural death from kidney failure does not hurt. As toxins build up in your blood, you will start to feel sleepy. https://lifeoptions.org/living-with-kidney-failure/comfort-care/#:~:text=A%20natural%20death%20from%20kidney,toxins%2C%20to%20make%20you%20comfortable https://lifeoptions.org/living-with-kidney-failure/comfort-c....
  - pengaru 6y ago
    My childhood cat died of renal failure in our home. It was anything but painless if her cries throughout the night, too weak to stand, until finally succumbing were any indicator.
pengaru 6y ago
I guess, if you find it fascinating that we're capable of overriding our instincts. As someone fertile who has managed to avoid reproducing for >40 years, I don't find that particularly fascinating.

Balgair 6y ago

> The pain strangely suppresses temporarily Pretty sure that's called shock. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_%28circulatory%29#Signs_and_symptoms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_%28circulatory%29#Signs_...

1123581321 6y ago
Where do you see reduced pain on that page? I would have guessed adrenaline to be suppressing the pain, but that link talks about adrenal insufficiency. “Pain” is only mentioned in the context of experiencing new pains in the abdomen.
- Balgair 6y ago
  Hmm, I think I needed to read that a bit closer. Maybe neuralgic shock is the term then. I hadn't realized they had broken shock up into so many categories now. Thanks for the second-check.
pengaru 6y ago
I'm pretty sure it isn't. Edit: To elaborate, I've had other experiences medical professionals assessed as shock. They were paralyzing, and usually involved uncontrolled involuntary shaking and tears. This is something quite different. If I entered into such states of shock in the survival situations I'm referring to, I would have bled to death. My assumption is it's a massive release of adrenaline and endorphins.