The psychological experience of pain may sometimes exceed the physical feeling. A pain is what a person feels when he or she is injured or has some chronic illness. If a tissue is injured, it sends a signal in a form of aching. Still, pain is a more complex experience than simply a message of the tissue, as it is the human brain that forms it. The pain every person feels is very subjective. There are several psychological factors that have impact on this experience. They include, for example, emotional state of a person, tolerance, attention to pain, and context. Jonathan`s pain depends on his emotions, attention, and prior experience much, which can either strengthen or weaken his perception.
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Firstly, much depends on the age of Jonathan. The reaction of a small boy and an adult man would differ. A boy who cuts a finger in the presence of his mother may wish to seek comfort and support. As a result, the boy may emphasize his experience of pain and whine or even weep bitterly. These factors mean that a boy pays much attention to pain, and that is why it is felt as more severe. It is not necessary that a mature man would feel less pain than a small boy. Nevertheless, the age factor can result in greater toughness and tolerance, so an adult person with more experience and understanding may feel less acute pain than a little frightened boy. Therefore, if Jonathan is small, he may feel more severe pain than an adult man, but here the individual factors play a great role.
Secondly, the person`s emotional state influences the perception of pain greatly. People who are depressed or in anxiety can feel a greater pain than those in a clam state. Fear also emphasizes the experience. In general, the distress of a person can increase the intensity of pain. If Jonathan is cheerful and is feeling no distress or anxiety, his attitude towards cut can remain average. Moreover, he may even pay less attention to the injury and feel less physical discomfort being in a good mood. On the contrary, if he is depressed or unhappy, the experience of pain may become more intense.
The third important factor is the context of an injury. As it has been mentioned, the attention of a person to pain matters much. If a cut occurs in the course of some interesting activity, it can be left unnoticed for some time. As a result, if Jonathan does not see the cut immediately, he may even not feel pain in the beginning. Under some other circumstances, if Jonathan is more preoccupied with the injury, he may feel pain in a more intense way.
The psychological factor of expectation is also important. If a person`s expectation is inflated, the pain can be experienced as more acute. For example, if Jonathan expects the pain to be severe, the receptors may emphasize his feeling.
Additionally, the pain threshold plays its role in the perception of the received injuries. Every person can tolerate his or her level of pain. Yet, a point at which a person starts feeling pain differs and is called pain threshold. This individual feature may either emphasize or alleviate Jonathan`s discomfort connected to a cut. If he has a higher threshold, he may even not feel a small injury. Otherwise, if his threshold is low, he will feel more severe pain compared to the average value at the same depth of a finger cut. Consequently, much depends on the personal characteristics of a person. There are also the strategies of pain coping that every person can learn and practice. Such approaches are more common for chronic pain, but they can also be useful in case of receiving an injury. The strategies include distraction, positive affirmations, and other psychological methods a person can use. As a result, if Jonathan knows some of the coping strategies, he can reduce his pain experience.
To conclude, there is a variety of factors that define Jonathan`s experience with pain. His age may affect the way he perceives pain and thus, his feelings. Moreover, emotions, such as depression, fear, and distress, may increase the pain intensity. The context, in which an injury is received, has impact on the pain level too, and if Jonathan does not notice a cut, it may sore less. Finally, the pain threshold and knowledge of coping strategies may also reduce his pain.
