It is common to hear people talk about pain and also suffering. However, it is well known that they do not mean the same thing, but do we know exactly what the difference is? We know why pain is inevitable and suffering optional? What does this mean? Is pain necessary? Does suffering have any meaning? Next, in this Psychology-Online article we will see the types of pain and the difference between pain and suffering with definitions and examples.
Definitions of pain and suffering
Based on the definition of the RAE, the pain Its first definition is “annoying and distressing sensation in a part of the body due to internal or external causes”. For his part, the suffering has as a definition “suffering, pain, sorrow.” If we continue with the second definitions, we find that pain is the “feeling of sorrow and anguish,” while suffering is the “patience, compliance, tolerance with which something is suffered.”
As we can see, they are quite similar and close definitions, which makes it difficult to differentiate them from each other on some occasions. So what is the difference between pain and suffering?
To understand it, it may be necessary to go to a medical dictionary. According to Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, pain is a “more or less localized sensation of discomfort, distress, or agony, resulting from the stimulation of specialized nerve endings.” However, suffering does not appear in this dictionary since, at least on a purely physical level, suffering does not exist, so it would be reserved for the most psychological and subjective part. Suffering would be the reaction we have to the pain we feel.
What is the difference between pain and suffering?
When there is suffering, there may or may not be pain, so suffering could be defined as a psychological reaction in the face of an event considered negative.
Suffering is the interpretation we give to pain and, therefore, it is optional. To better understand the difference between pain and suffering, we will look at some examples:
- When doing a marathon, our legs may hurt, however, we feel happy and proud. On the other hand, if our body hurts due to, for example, cancer, we feel angry, sad, and anguished.
- When a person receives palliative treatment, they receive it to alleviate the pain of an incurable illness. However, the way to mitigate suffering is different, and depends on the person themselves.
About pain from a more psychological point of view
On the other hand, and as we saw in the definitions of the RAE, pain is a more direct feeling of what has happened to us. However, suffering arises when it comes to assuming that something is hurting us. Something can hurt us emotionally, however, on the one hand we have the path of moving forward, accepting the situation and even if it hurts, continuing our life, or we have the path in which we get stuck in that negative event that hurts us and we immerse ourselves. in that pain. At that moment, the suffering would begin.
This depends on the people. Some feel overwhelmed by different situations and suffer high levels of suffering. Others, however, have a greater capacity to endure painful events. These differences have their origin in the personality of each person and, in addition, they also have cultural, religious, social factors… That is, suffering depends, to a large extent, on the context. For example, many Catholics consider it necessary to suffer just as Jesus Christ suffered.
In psychology, the most current therapies deal with acceptance of pain andIn the initial moments, and in the same way, the different forms of let go of that pain so that it does not become suffering unnecessary extended in time. These therapies, therefore, are based on distinguishing pain and suffering and treating them in a completely different way and focusing the treatment along different lines depending on whether the patient suffers from pain or suffering.
Importance of differentiating between pain and suffering
Taking into account the difference between the two is of utmost importance at a professional level. We must understand that, after the death of someone important, after a breakup, a dismissal, among many other situations, It is normal to feel pain, emotional pain. It is something healthy and reasonable. The pathology would begin when the person is unable to feel any emotion other than sadness, unless they are negative emotions such as guilt or anger. In other words, the problem would start when there is sufferingespecially if this suffering continues after the initial moments of the negative event that the person has experienced.
To understand it better we can compare it with the most physical pain. Who would have the problem: the person who has a leg injury and it hurts or the person who does not feel the injury? And who would have the problem: the person whose pain subsides after a while or the person whose pain continues and gets worse even if the wound heals?
It must be normalized to feel, they help us, they let us know when something is not going well. However, when these are prolonged over time and become very intense, they become useless and unnecessary for our daily lives.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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References
- ROYAL SPANISH ACADEMY: Spanish dictionary, 23rd ed., .
Bibliography
- Cabrera Adán, M., LLuch Bonet, A., and Casas Olazábal, I. (2008). Reflections on non-physical pain and suffering from a nursing perspective. Cuban Nursing Magazine, 24(3-4), 0-0.
- Callahan, D. (2004). Pain and suffering in the world: reality and perspectives. Humanite Monographs, 5-16.
- Sancho, M.G. (1998). Pain and suffering. The problem of meaning. Rev. Soc. Esp. Pain, 5, 144-158.