Poll: Physical or Emotional Pain?

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Emotional pain is worse in a sense. It sticks with you and it's difficult to deal with so most people don't bother. I'm one of those people, it's far easier just to ignore it and do something else having no one ask about it than physical pain. With physical pain you have it burdening on you with whatever move you make, you can't ignore it and people ask how it happened. I don't like that at all.

Physical pain.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Emotional pain is the worst in my opinion.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of soul crushing heart ache.

Except real heart ache.

In extreme cases, one can lead to the other. There have been cases of people genuinely dying from a broken heart.

If you want proof; you cant be driven insane by emotional pain. You can be driven insane by torture. The deepest, darkest emotional pain has nothing on the deepest, darkest physical pain.

... my ex-gf (and to some extent, me as well) would like a word... while I agree with you to a certain degree, I will say that you can be driven insane by emotional pain.

Physical pain is by far the worst of the two. Emotional pain is all in your head, there are several methods to easily and healthily deal with such (depending on your personality and whatnot). It's honestly easy to deal with, especially if you have any degree of discipline.

Physical pain on the other hand is much harder to deal with without narcotics. It's nigh impossible to ignore, by virtue of the fact that it's specifically designed that way, and it can be all consuming all too easily.

Emotional pain can be dealt with and processed over long periods. Physical does not have that luxury. It is right now, and always will be until you heal.

This, on the other hand, has some merit... though there is the issue of 'lingering' pain. Unless you have a medical condition that results in permanent pain as a result of either nerve-damage or oversensitive nerves (can't remember their names, but they exist), then all physical pain passes. The emotional pain that results from the passing of said intense and acute pain lasts for a while after (usually for a longer period of time).

Once again, it is a question of context, for the most part...

OT: I'm undecided... I'm a masochist, true, but I have my limits like everyone else (well, almost everyone else), but I've gone through more than my fair share of emotional traumas so...

Scenario: you're a soldier, and one of your squadmates with whom you are very close notices a grenade that's been thrown into your general vicinity. He/she runs for the grenade to save your life but almost doesn't make it in time, so you get wounded by the explosion, but you see your squadmate blown apart. In that moment, what hurts you more, the bits of dirt and metal in your body? Or the sight of your squadmate having his/her chest blown apart? Difficult, no? Five years later, which do you remember more?

It is impossible to imagine physical pain, that's why the experience of it makes it worse, while it is all too easy to imagine emotional pain, that's why the thought of it makes it worse.

As I said... I am undecided.

 

[Yopaz]

Physical pain is by far the worst of the two. Emotional pain is all in your head, there are several methods to easily and healthily deal with such (depending on your personality and whatnot). It's honestly easy to deal with, especially if you have any degree of discipline.

Physical pain on the other hand is much harder to deal with without narcotics. It's nigh impossible to ignore, by virtue of the fact that it's specifically designed that way, and it can be all consuming all too easily.

Emotional pain can be dealt with and processed over long periods. Physical does not have that luxury. It is right now, and always will be until you heal.

Kidney stone is the worst pain I've ever felt. The pain went away 15 minutes after I had received pain killers. Both emotional and physical pain takes time to cure. Ignoring either only serves bad causes. Medications that affects the mind are not very effective. Emotional pain wont heal unless you actively work on it. If you've never experienced something truly traumatic then you belong in the majority. Those who do experience it though might never recover from it. Same thing with physical pain though. It might be permanent and incurable. Saying that physical pain is far worse is wrong though. It might be worse, it might be the same, it might be better.

 

[Vault101]

physical pain...its easyer to block out emotional

but then again its a very hard thing to measure eather way

 

[SSoSFAGTiaCaGwaP]

I'd rather live a happy life and have a leg chopped off than live a miserable life with my limbs intact.

 

[RemuValtrez]

I look at it as physical pain can be overcome. Sure it hurts like hell, and you can be in pain for quite some time. Emotional pain can wreck people and make them do stupid things to try to get over it. Sure there are medications you can take for both, but Emotional pain takes the cake in my eyes. I would that at all costs.

Edit: Plus, chicks may dig physical scars, but I tend to find they shy away from people with emotional scars...

 

[pearcinator]

I say physical pain is worse because with emotional pain you can't get infections (unless you call depression an infection) and physical pain comes with unsightly contusions on your body and may not heal fully.

Emotional pain will eventually heal (as in you will move on).

 

[SckizoBoy]

Edit: Plus, chicks may dig physical scars, but I tend to find they shy away from people with emotional scars...

*sigh* I have a great deal of both... and guess why my luck with women currently sucks... regardless of gender, no-one wants to take the time with 'damaged goods'...

 

[The_Fezz]

Emotional is harder to get away from, the only way you can fight it is to accept it, which usually ends in further misery.

Aren't we cheerful people?

 

[Section Crow]

emotional

because emotional pain is a hurt that never permanently goes away...

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

Emotional pain because I can ignore it

 

[Danny Ocean]

Physical.


Emotional pain is nothing, it's literally just in your mind.

So is physical pain.

Physical pain can be cured or deadened, and always goes away.

Emotional pain can stay with you for your entire life, no matter what you do. It can resurface with the correct provocation or recollection, and it can be just as debilitating as having limbs removed...

Which is why the worst emotional pain is often likened to having limbs removed.

Plus everyone helps you when you're in physical pain. Only a few people will help you untangle emotions.

 

[Daipire]

Physical pain.

Emotional pain you can work through and grow from.

 

[No_Remainders]

Emotional, by far. It's much easier to find the root cause of physical pain and fix it.

Physical pain may be easier to stop but that's not the question.
Would you rather be shut in a dungeon with insults blasted in your ears 24/7 or be thrown in some shithole where a dude drills your teeth out with a rusty drill? I think I'd go with the insults.

He doesn't necessarily mean "someone insulting you", and assuming that he does is a pretty ridiculous thing to do. He just said "emotional pain", which could be an awful lot of things.

OT: Emotional pain is definitely worse. One can use painkillers for physical pain, and it's much easier to know what's wrong.

 

[Steel_crab]

Fear. When your muscles tighten up on your organs, and your heart tries to pound its way out of your body - your skin crawls, vision starts to blur, and the air tastes sickly sweet in your lungs.

As to whether you count that as physical or emotional, I don't mind - but I know one often goes hand in hand with the other.

 

[Pieromancery]

For minor pain, I'd rather a broken arm over friend dying. For major, complete limits of pain, I'd rather emotional over physical. One thing to be said is that physical pain usually passes eventually but with emotional, while you can get over it, it stays with you.

 

[vivster]

both are available in various degrees
so they both suck equally

 

[TriGGeR_HaPPy]

Even after some pretty bad injuries, I've taken it better than most would. Emotional pain can be trickier...

I don't think you can really ask which is worse, because they're not really the same. At least, to me.
But, since I had to choose, I voted that emotional pain is worse.

 

[SoulSalmon]

Emotional... Pain?
I've never been able to understand the concept really...
(Don't start the whole "Zomg heartbreak blah blah death blah blah" thing again, EVERYONE has been there, myself included, nothing is gained by forcing yourself to depression over it)

Physical pain in great enough quantities can physically kill you, I'd say it's worse.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Physical pain may be easier to stop but that's not the question.
Would you rather be shut in a dungeon with insults blasted in your ears 24/7 or be thrown in some shithole where a dude drills your teeth out with a rusty drill? I think I'd go with the insults.

... that's not emotional pain... that's just verbal abuse. Sure, some people might crack under it, but that's not really emotional pain. Emotional pain in that context would be you tied up and being forced to watch your best friend/partner/family member getting tortured.