Is Pain in Your Body or Mind? How the Answer Can Help Guide Your Treatment

Is Pain in Your Body or Mind? How the Answer Can Help Guide Your Treatment
Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock
Updated:

People often use the phrase “mind over matter” to describe situations where aches and pains in the body are overridden using the mind.

For example, a gardener comes in from gardening and is surprised to discover a nasty cut on her hand, something she wasn’t aware of while focused on her plants. Or a soldier in Afghanistan is wounded by a bullet but feels little pain until he is safe in the infirmary. If pain was directly and entirely linked to bodily injury, these examples would be impossible. A cut would always lead to mild pain, whereas a gunshot wound would immediately cause severe pain. But this is not always the case.

Rich Harrison 
Rich Harrison 
Author
Related Topics