It is ultimately impossible to understand the exact nature of pain that a person feels at a given time. As the saying goes, ‘only he who wears the shoe knows where it hurts.’ Pain is subjective, given that only an individual actually knows the quality, strength, or unpleasantness of their pain. Pain can be simply described as a sensory and emotional experience that may occur for a short or long duration of time. The subject of the experience of pain is, however, a complex one. Two people with similar underlying issues or aspects, subjected to a given stimulus, may experience pain differently. Two infants, for example, can have different reactions or experiences to a particular form of pain. Individuals who receive treatments for pain do have varying pain experiences, prompting medical professionals to prescribe varying types of medications, even if the underlying conditions are similar. The complexities surrounding the subjective experience of pain makes the topic an interesting one, and one that warrants more research and understanding. More information on the subjective experience of pain can help in pain treatment and to minimize complications that arise due to under or over treatment of pain. The paper presents a discussion on the subjective experience of pain, and also provides applications of the knowledge gathered from the discussion, on the understanding and treatment of pain.
Subjective Experience of Pain
Acute and Chronic Pain
Acute pain can be likened to temporary pain, or pain that resolves after a short time. Acute pain is categorized as the kind of pain that lasts for less than three to six months. Touching a hot stove or accidentally hitting a nail or finger with a hammer are examples of acute pain. An even better example of acute pain is labor pains experienced by women. Acute pains can be very unpleasant and unbearable, but they last for a given period of time, after which they are resolved ( Olson, 2014) . Chronic pain, on the other hand, is continuous and may last for more than six months. More surprisingly, chronic pain can continue for longer periods, even after the underlying condition or injury that caused it has been treated or healed. The signals of pain remain in the nervous system for months or even years and are subject to stimuli. Nerve damage pain and headaches are examples of chronic pain. Arthritis presents as an excellent example of chronic pain, often experienced for years, especially in older adults.
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Factors influencing Pain Experience among People
A lot of factors have been thought to influence how pain is experienced differently by various individuals. People from different cultures, with different parental upbringings, different life experiences, gender, among other spectra, will experience pain in different ways if a similar pain stimulus is used. Some of the common and most accepted factors that influence how people experience pain include age, life before the onset of pain, gender, culture, ethnicity, spiritual beliefs, socio-economic status, a similar experience, and support systems ( Pasquale et al., 2011) . It is undebatable, for instance, that older people can withstand pain better than children. Pain than can easily be shaken off by an adult can be unbearable for young children. The life and experiences of infants and children before they begin to experience pain may determine how they experience and handle pain. Using pain to warn infants or young children by parents, for instance, instills the idea that pain is a hugely dreadful thing. They, therefore, have a raised expectation on the intensity and unpleasant nature of pain. Children raised in such atmospheres may always experience pain in an aggravated manner.
Gender, Culture, ethnicity, and spiritual beliefs also influence the intensity by which people experience pain. Girls’ for instance, tend to experience pain on a deeper scale as compared to boys. In certain cultures, individuals are taught and prepared on how to deal with pain, among other challenges of life. Such individuals are able to accept pain and not fear it. These individuals with therefore withstand and not experience pain in the high intensities as expected of others from other cultures. The belief that pain should be welcomed and learned from as people develop spiritually may also affect how one experiences or perceives pain. In contrast, those from cultures where pain is never used as a learning experience or emphasized as a factor for development, tend to fear pain and may not be able to withstand it.
The kind of environment an individual lives in, the support they receive from those in their surrounding, their socio-economic status or that of their families, and a lived experience, can groom that individual to experience pain in a certain way. Those from low-income families tend to experience pain and suffering from an early age and get used to it as they grow up. In addition, they do not have ready access to healthcare and, in some instances, may have to endure pain unnecessarily. Those from wealthy families rarely get to endure pain as they live in more conducive environments and have ready access to healthcare. They are not built or prepared to endure pain. If subjected to a given stimulus of pain, individuals from two different socio-economic backgrounds will experience pain differently. A person who has already experienced an ordeal that subjected them to pain is better placed to withstand that pain as compared to one who has never experienced that kind of pain. For example, women who have experienced labor pain and the pain of giving birth are better placed to withstand that kind of pain during another occasion, as compared to those who are giving birth for the first time ( Afolayan et al., 2015) .
Individual Difference
The individual difference in the experience of pain often brings about complexities and issues in the treatment of Pain ( Kolber, 2007) . Some people often lie or exaggerate the kind of pain that they actually feel, to either avoid medication or get more drugs. Given that the subjective experience of pain is what determines the kind of treatment and the amount of drugs to be offered to a patient, it is almost impossible to ignore the statement of the patient. Also, the fact that different people will perceive pain in different intensities even if they have similar underlying conditions makes it fitting to administer medication or treatment according to the subjective experience of the patient. Sometimes, however, the patient is honest, even if they are exhibiting higher intensities of pain than normal for various health conditions or injuries. Treatment and medication are mostly guided by self-reports obtained from patients ( Coghill, 2010) . Their subjective experience of pain is considered as the basis by which a given treatment should work.
Application
The information on the factors influencing how different people experience pain is vital for health care providers. They have the responsibility of providing the most appropriate form of care available to patients. Sometimes, providers end up prescribing medications unnecessarily to individuals who intend to use the drugs for other purposes. One of the most common sources and causes of substance abuse cases is prescription-pain-medication. Chronic pain is often associated with drug addictions. Even after they have fully recovered, some patients continue to get medicines in the pretense that they are still under immense pain. Because self-reports or subjective experience guide treatment, providers, in most cases, have no choice but to prescribe medication. Knowledge of the factors influencing pain experience in different people such as age, culture, socio-economic status, among others, can guide the provider to arrive at an appropriate decision regarding the prescription of the drugs.
Complications do arise from either under or over-treatment, when doctors solely rely on the subjective experience of patients regarding their pain. Some pain treatment procedures are quite unbearable. Patients with chronic conditions may sometimes downplay the intensity or strength of their pain just to get to avoid the treatment. In other cases, due to addiction or other factors, patients may exaggerate their pain and request for more medication than necessary, leading to complications. These complications, occurring due to under or over-treatment of pain are, in most cases, very difficult to control, as providers mainly rely on subjective experiences. Understanding the factors for pain experiences in different persons, will guide the health provider and allow them to put various factors under consideration before actually providing prescriptions. This will ultimately minimize complications arising from over-treatment or under-treatment of pain.
Conclusion
The topic of the subjective experience of pain is undoubtedly a complex one, and one that requires more research. It is only the individual who truly knows how much a given condition or injury pain them. Physicians offer treatment regarding the report made by an individual on their experience of pain. Sometimes, the information provided by an individual may be misleading. The health care provider may still provide medication given that different people may experience different intensities of pain for a similar stimulus. An understanding of the various factors influencing how different people perceive pain, such as age, culture, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, among others, may help minimize complications and issues arising from over or under treatment.
References
Afolayan, J. A., Oyeleye, D. I., Adebiyi, F. O., Durojaiye, A. O., &Bitrus, D. (2015). Factors influencing perception of pain among clients attending a Nigeria teaching hospital. Int J Nurs Midwifery , 7 (8), 133-140.
Coghill, R. C. (2010). Individual differences in the subjective experience of pain: new insights into mechanisms and models. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain , 50 (9), 1531-1535.
Kolber, A. J. (2007). Pain detection and the privacy of subjective experience. American Journal of Law & Medicine , 33 (2-3), 433-456.
Olson, K. A. (2014). History of Pain: The nature of pain. Practical Pain Management (available at http://www. practicalpainmanagement. com/pain/acute/history-pain-nature-pain .
Pasquale, M., Worker, L. O. S., & Center, A. C. (2011). The emotional impact of pain experience.
