Pain Tolerance

Alright. . . . . today, we venture into the realm of the theoretical. This is a topic that everyone wonders about. . . . and that very few know the answer to. I don't claim to know the answers, by any means . . . . but I thought I'd share my thoughts, along with some pre-med knowledge. :-) Pumpernickel, I'd welcome your comments on this one. :-)

Pain tolerance. . . . . we've all looked at someone else and thought, "Gosh, what a WIMP" or "Holy hell! How did she deal with THAT!?!?!?" So, the question is. . . . . what it is? What drives it? Why is everyone different?

First, we have to look at pain. What is it? Well, basically, it is any stimulus of the nerves that could be described as "unpleasant". Pain obviously varies in intensity, location, blah blah blah, and there are several different ways of PERCEIVING pain. Now, we're looking at pain in the context of a spanking. . . . . We'll say hand, otk, bare bottom. Being bent otk stretches the muscles and skin a bit taut, bringing the nerves that much closer to the surface of the skin. A slap. . . . . a small section of nerves are irritated, but the irritation quickly goes away. The increased blood flow is quickly hampered, and all systems go back to normal. Well. . . . . that was just ONE slap. If they keep coming, and coming, and coming. . . . . all nerves get up in arms. The irritation builds, and the body begins to panic as the stimulus becomes sharper and sharper. Ok. . . . now we have the basic set-up.

On to pain tolerance. Pain tolerance is technically defined as the amount of pain a person can handle before breaking down. That "breaking down" can be physically or emotionally. I'm not here to argue specifically what "breaking down" entails. . . . . we're just going to say it involves a safeword. That's a safe bet that someone can't take any more of the stimulus provided. . . . aka, get your hands off me. . . . it hurts! Now, here comes the touchy part. . . . . is the tolerance TRULY physical. . . . . or is it mental? Does pain tolerance simply come down to "mind over matter"? Short answer: NO.

Let's talk about me for a minute, since, obviously, I can't feel anyone else's pain. I can observe the results. . . . . but I can't feel their pain. My pain tolerance is. . . . . odd. And I'm sure that if you ask any spankee, they'll say the same thing. *shrugs* It runs towards the higher end of the spectrum. . . . while, at the same time, it can be incredibly low. I was born with a higher than average pain tolerance. However. . . . . I was shaped and molded from a very early age to not show, nor acknowledge, pain. It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. . . . just I don't show it (or allow myself to acknowledge it). . . . and therefore, don't break down. My tolerance very much depends on my emotional state. Put me over your knee when I'm in a "never say die" mode, and I can garuntee you. . . . . I can outlast anything you can throw at me, and still stand up, fighting mad. No matter how severe the actual pain gets, my emotional response won't let the pain fully connect with my brain. Make sense? There's the emotional aspect.

Then enters another aspect. . . . . will power. This is part of the mental, granted. A person who grits their teeth saying, "Go on. . . . . keep it coming. . . . . I'm ok. . . . . come on. . . . . Is that all you have!??!" obviously has a higher pain tolerance, and stronger will, than some. However, it's not all the "grin and bear it" effect. If we take a spanking model who TRULY has a low physical tolerance, and say, "Ok, I have FAITH in you! Hang on tight. . . . . grit your teeth. . . . . you'll be ok! Come on, stay strong. . . . . " it won't change a thing. She can determine to make it through all she wants. . . . . if her body can't TRULY handle it, her willpower means nothing.

Which brings us to another aspect. . . . . true physical tolerance. Now, I'm not talking about the factors that influence physical tolerance (weight, weight distribution, height, blah blah blah), but the actual physical tolerance a person's body is made to withstand. You can put two models, same size, weight distribution, and background side by side, and it might take a brutal paddling to get one to finally break down and safeword, and the other is squirming and crying from an otk hand spanking. (And I don't mean ahandspanking from Dallas or Tom. . . . . . just your everyday, average handspanking. :-D) So what's the difference? There are potentially two. . . . . there's a gene that has been found that links into the pain receptors in the brain. One factor remains constant in everyone who has a higher pain tolerance. . . . . the presence of this gene. (For those science minded geeks, it's called COMT. More "repeats" of the tag of this code gives a higher and higher pain tolerance.) Another aspect, especially in females . . . . .hormones. The more estrogen is in a girl's system, the higher her pain tolerance. *shrugs* Nuff said there. . . . . but spankees, around "that" time. . . . . be careful. Things hurt more. :-D This is often why spankees are like, "OMG That hurt SO bad, but it shouldn't have. . . . .wasn't any different than the paddling I took last week. . . . " Well, I hate to tell ya, girls. . . . . but your body enjoys playing tricks on you.

So. . . . .(and for those of you still with me, cool beans!) to answer the question. . . . . pain tolerance starts with your genes. It is then influenced by your will-power, and, (to a greater effect in women. . . . sorry guys, you have estrogen, too) hormones. Gotta love life! :-D

Now . . . . . random cool fact. Well, I think it's cool. Pain receptors can "learn". You would think they would learn to feel LESS pain. . . . . wrong. Your MIND can become more conditioned to handle it. . . . .but this is where your body betrays you, yet again. (Daggone. . . how rude of it!) Repeated exposure to the same pain causes your pain receptors to be MORE easily stimulated in the future. Spankees, I'm sure you've all had the "I wasn't spanked in a couple weeks, and now, it hurts so much worse!" effect. Simple. . . . .your body learned. It was spanked. . . . . spanked. . . .spanked. . . . . and, in the break, your receptors figured, "Huh. Maybe if we register the pain SOONER, she'll stop doing this!" *evil cackle* If only they knew. . . . . .