Pain: Understanding the Subjective, Objectively

Pain: Understanding the Subjective, Objectively

Pain is a universal element of the human experience. Everyone, at some point in their lives, experiences pain in one form or another. Pain has numerous causes, effects, and is itself a highly complex biological phenomenon. It also carries with it important emotional and social concerns. Pain cannot be entirely understood within the context of any one field of scientific inquiry. Indeed, it must be examined across a range of disciplines, and furthermore considered in relation to important non-scientific influences, such as emotional responses and social determinants. I conducted my explorations regarding pain with the following question in mind: to what degree is pain subjective? I found several avenues of inquiry to be useful in my explorations: they are (1) the expanding specialty in the medical profession of pain management; (2) pain in individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and (3) pain experiences of children. Examining these issues led to the conclusion that pain is in fact a highly subjective phenomenon.

"The philosophy that you have to learn to live with pain is one that I will never understand or advocate," says Dr. W. David Leak, Chairman & CEO of Pain Net, Inc. (1). Indeed, the notion that pain is an essential element of life, and that one must endure pain to achieve something positive (as conveyed in the omnipresent athletic mantra "no pain, no gain") has informed our sense as a society of how pain is to be dealt with. Only recently, with increasing awareness in the health care community that managing a patient's pain is a complex, yet crucial aspect of their care, has society's view of pain and its management begun to change. "Pain Management" is itself a ne...

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...duality as there are other factors that must be taken into consideration. An examination of the emergence of the field of pain management, pain in individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), and the dynamic of the childhood experience with pain provides evidence that the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of pain require that it be considered a subjective phenomenon.

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This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated.

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