Most linguists agree that the reason we have such a thing as cursing in human language is because it's fucking awesome. But why do we do it when we're in pain?
Like maybe you were making yourself a cup of coffee in the break room or kitchen and turned around to find that someone left a cabinet door open and that door is now smacking you right in the god damn face. Hurt like hell, didn't it? But it seemed to hurt a little less when you screamed "OH FUCK A SHITTING WHORE."
Feeling better?
That's because cursing can increase pain tolerance. It's science. Dr. Richard Stephens of Keele University's School of Psychology got 64 undergraduate students to stick their hands in ice water. In one round they were to choose a curse word of their choosing (though we have to wonder how they decided what was a curse word since for some, "dickfeathers" qualifies). The next round they put their hand in while repeating a commonplace word.
Ahhhh Kelly Clarkson!!
Cursing increased pain tolerance amongst participants, who lasted longer than when they said a common word. While psychologists haven't established why, they believe "downplaying feebleness in favour of a more pain-tolerant machismo" unlocks something in the brain, perhaps the same thing that long ago helped us survive fights with other cavemen by getting good and pissed off the first time they hit us with a rock. They also noted cursing starts from the more emotional right brain than the uppity school boy left brain, where most language occurs and the parties are all boring and shit.
So the next time you bang your shin on an open desk drawer at work and involuntarily scream "FUCK!" at the top of your lungs, explain to your boss that you were just dealing with your pain in the most readily available way possible and that none of this would be happening if they didn't demand that you stop popping vicodin at work. Then show them this article to back up your point. |
Pac