Swearing Can Help Raise Pain Tolerance?

Language is meant to be colorful, and over the years, people have learned to be creative in expressing themselves. Perhaps you know someone with a colorful, yet unsavory, choice of words whenever they string out sentences. Interestingly, these expletives serve a purpose beyond just venting emotions. Research suggests that swearing can help raise pain tolerance.

In a foundational study in 2009, pioneered by Richard Stephens and his colleagues at Keele University, participants were tasked to immerse their hand in icy water — and those who repeated a swear word amidst their task were able to tolerate the pain significantly longer than those who used neutral words. The researchers suggest that swearing triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, allowing for adrenaline to be released which helps alleviate pain.

In 2020, the same team from the foundational study analyzed the hypoalgesic, or pain-reducing, effects of conventional and novel expletives. Conventional expletives significantly increase pain tolerance and pain threshold by up to 33%, in stark contrast to the novel ones which did not have the same effect. This suggests that the emotional and cultural context of expletives influences the effectivity of their hypoalgesic properties — in layman’s terms, the more heartfelt it is, the better.

Mind that this piece of information is not intended to be used as an excuse or justification to randomly shout expletives in public. However, should you still wish to do so, let it be done at your own risk. After all, letting a few words fly just might be the first aid you need for your pain.