Pain Is In Your Brain | Exercise Biology

This is a pretty interesting article and video discussing the sources of pain, which is something I’ve become intensely interested in since I’ve come to the conclusion (especially after my injury) that I have an abnormal pain tolerance. It also helps explain one of the big historical mysteries for me that inspires awe every time I  think about it:  Thich Quang Duc.

For those who are not familiar with the case, Thich Quang Duc was a monk who set himself on fire to protest religious inequity during the Vietnam war. The photographer who took the award winning photos of the event had this to say:

As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.

I don’t know about you, but that level of control over yourself is awe-inspiring to me. When I touch a hot pan, or the side of an oven when pulling food out, I jerk back involuntarily. I don’t think about it, it just happens. This man had such serene control over himself that he was consumed by flame and never twitched.

In any event, the more I read about the mind-body connection and the huge biological feedback loop that is us, the more I realize that what we are and what we can do is fundamentally limited more by our minds than our bodies.

For a more thorough read about pain, check out this article by Bret Contreras.