Wow, this book I found very interesting (confusing medical explanations and all!). I really liked the fact that Wall has successfully steered around many commonly accepted theories, ideas and traditional ways of thinking by proposing new ideas with examples that make very much sense. My favorite example of this is when he discusses “that the brain analyzes the input in terms of what action would be appropriate” rather than “the brain analyzes the sensory input to determine what has happened and presents the answer as a pure sensation.” With all the biological terminology in this book the theories that Wall introduces may seem like gibberish alone, but as he uses many real-like examples I am better able to connect and see the theory as plausible. I am not a science person and some of the medical explanations about pain, although interesting, were not my expertise. This being said, the multiple real-life examples in each chapter were very helpful to show how the ideas come alive. These examples were things that unfortunately, we suffer or have close ones that suffer from. The sad reality is that everyone suffers from pain, whether acute or chronic, small or large.
Also, I found it great how Wall was very blunt about why pain is such a taboo subject, and neglected in our society, even though it is something that everyone has to deal with at some point. I never knew that medical students merely spend 3 hours in lectures about pain, when reading that I was shocked! Most of the time people are going to the doctors in order to relieve their pain and the doctors (with all of their schooling and all) are barely even considered knowledgeable on the subject. Along those same lines, I found it disturbing that charities are responsible for more funding for cancer research than the government. But why is there no charity for pain relief? I honestly do not see why not. I realize that curing diseases are important, but I also think it’s important to help improve a person’s value of life by helping them not to suffer. As with many things in society people do not want to address issues of which they fear or cannot explain, pain being a perfect example of this fear of the unknown. As long as we do not address the problem than it is not important, WRONG! Too many important issues in society are suppressed because of this mindset.
Wall discusses the concept of dualism, which he rejects and I totally agree with him on this issue. I believe the body and mind are interconnected, as the body as a whole interacts together. Also, the medical discussion shows that pain is not always felt in the place of which you would expect it to be felt. Wall shows us how nerve fibers and different parts of the body are interconnected as we feel pain. Along with this idea Wall discusses mental factors such as attention, anxiety, and depression which are also interconnected. My point is, throughout the book a reoccurring theme to me was that there is a fluidity that connects all the parts of the body and all the parts of the mind and also both can have a great effect on one another. Discussing the subject of pain in this reading has gotten me to realize that the whole body is involved in the pain processes and trying to relieve the pain. Before this reading I thought of pain as getting a burn or feeling depressed, not as an entire bodily process.
I thought it was also interesting how Wall discussed pain with unknown causes and how people were looked down upon. I think this is awful and is the worst way to approach a situation. How are doctors supposed to find what’s wrong if they have the cynical view that the person is making up the pain in their head??
Although the book was very interesting and made me look at pain from multiple different angles; I think some of the book gets a little repetitive at points. Also, I wish that Wall discussed more about emotional pain not associated with any physical pain.
Ending on a more humorous note, I liked how Wall added funny facts throughout the reading to keep us alert and awake. For instance Wall states that the Bayer Company discovered heroine as a strong narcotic that was not addictive at all…
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I appreciated your comment and interest and thought I would return it. It is nice to see other people, you and others in class, who felt it would have been interesting for Wall to mention the emotional or psychological side of pain that can be even more complex and hard to explain than the physical.
I was also a bit shocked when I heard most doctors only have about three hours in lectures about pain. I guess it explains a lot when you take into account the way doctors tend to disregard much of what a patient says. I don't mean this as an insult to anyone in the medical field or going into it. All I'm saying is that with exceptions the majority of doctors I have encountered are some of the most pretentious people around. Not necessarily by personality just by the fact that they tend to take their degrees and school time as a statement of fact that they always know more and better than any patient in regards to anything medical. Like I said not all but sadly more than there should be think like this. Such is the case with chronic pain or rare diseases, who are you to tell them what's wrong with you just because you've been dealing with it your whole life they went to school. there also should be more research into actual pain relief but, to finish off my sarcastic cynicism, some people just prefer to sound like they are contributing and saving the world by writing a check. And as sad as it is saying you are helping to cure cancer sounds better than to relieve pain.
You asked about the placebo response and I think he was dead on in the book when he said a lot of us experienced it as kids with the adage, "Mommy will kiss it better."
You also asked about my opinion of dualism. Personally I think the issue is much like most that have two sides that conflict, the truth is generally neither but in the middle or a combination of both. I think there are three parts to it in all the body, the brain, and the mind. The body and the mind are separate, yet connected by the brain. I view the mind in a more metaphysical sense, more like consciousness. There seems to be more to consciousness and the way we think and reason than solely electrical signals in the brain. They're both right and yet they're both wrong. To be honest I'm probably wrong too, this is just what I currently believe which is always subject to change.
Nice blog title, am I right in assuming it is from the Three Days Grace song?
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