Flashback Friday: Swearing when you hurt yourself actually makes it feel better.

Photo: flickr/racchioWhen you stub your toe, the first words out of your mouth are probably NSFW. But does that string of curses actually do anything for the pain? In this study, the researchers tested whether swearing actually makes people more tolerant of pain. Since swearing varies from person to person, they asked the participants for "five words you might use after hitting yourself on the thumb with a hammer" and chose the first word on each list. They found that saying this swear word made people more tolerant of sticking their hand in icy water, and even lowered their perception of the pain, compared to saying a neutral word. The authors hypothesize that swearing "induces a fight-or-flight response" - basically, making people less afraid of the pain and more willing to confront it. Hardcore!Swearing as a response to pain. "Although a common pain response, whether swearing alters individuals' experience of ...