HOLISTIC LIVING AND PAIN

Holistic Living and Pain

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to enlighten and explore the concept of pain in holistic manner. The core objective of the paper is to enlighten and explore different conceptions about pain. Moreover, the paper aims to discuss the conception of pain is diverse fields. This paper will discuss pain in biological perspective, psychological perspective, spiritual perspective, behavioral perspective and social perspective. There are diverse sources that are used in this paper for the understanding and enlightenment of the topic; moreover, the paper explores different conceptions regarding the topic.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Pain: Biological Perspective5

Pain: Psychological Perspective6

Pain: Behavioral Perspective7

Pain: Spiritual Perspective8

Pain: Social Perspective9

Conclusion10

References11

Holistic Living and Pain

Introduction

The feeling of pain is not actually caused by an injury in itself. In order to experience pain, it must be made conscious. This requires activity in brain areas involved in emotion, attention, and assessing significance. Such activity can create the pain experience in the absence of a cause. Pain is primarily a warning signal. It tells you there is something wrong and forces you to take action. Pain usually occurs as a result of stimulation of specialized nerve fibers that extend throughout the body. Pain-transmitting nerve fibers permeate almost every part of the body. When stimulated by an injury, they send electrical signals from the site of the stimulus to the spinal cord. The signals then cross over the cord and continue up to the brain. This crossover means that pain from one side of the body activates the opposite side of the brain. As they pass through the medulla in the brainstem, pain signals trigger automatic bodily responses. The signals then arrive at the thalamus and are distributed to various regions of the brain to be processed.

Pain usually arises when pain receptors are stimulated by heat, cold, vibration, overstretching, or by chemicals released from damaged cells. Specialized nerve fibers transmit this information to the brain. However, certain types of pain are processed and experienced in different ways, for example the facial nerves connect directly to the cranial nerves, whereas visceral pain, from internal organs such as the heart, can be difficult to locate. Damage to the nervous system itself, such as a trapped nerve, is known as neuropathic pain. The body has a natural opioid (pain relief) system that acts in much the same way as opiate drugs, such as heroin and morphine. Natural opioids, which include endorphins and encephalins, are produced by the thalamus and pituitary gland during stress and pain. These substances are also produced in situations associated with feeling a natural “high,” such as strenuous exercise and sexual activity. Nerve endings in the brain and throughout the body have special receptors on them that bind to opiate substances. The opiates then dampen the pain signals carried in those nerve endings, thus reducing pain.

Pain: Biological Perspective

Pain signals are transmitted to several areas of the cortex, where they activate neurons that monitor the state of the body. Two such areas are the somatosensory cortex, which lets the brain know ...