How pain can weaken or strengthen us
Scientific litsketch on boosting mental health
Research shows that experiencing adverse life events like a serious illness, death of loved one, physical or sexual assault, parents’ divorce or a natural disaster can strengthen mental toughness in the face of a stressful event (Seery et al., 2013). However, experiencing more than six adverse life events starts to weaken our mental strength.
In an experiment, people were asked how many of the 37 adverse life events they have experienced in their lifetime. Next, they were asked to put their non dominant hand in a bucket of icy water for as long as they could for up to 5 minutes. They reported how painful it was every 30 seconds and immediately after they pulled out the hand. Their emotions were also measured before and after the experiment.
The results revealed that those who have experienced a moderate number of adverse life events or between four and six adverse life events felt less pain and less negative emotions compared to those who experienced less than four adverse life events or those who experienced more than eight adverse life events.
People who have experienced very few adversity or those who have experienced too many negative life events are more vulnerable to a new stressful event. But experiencing a moderate number of adverse life events strengthens our minds to be more resilient and prepared for a new stressful event.
It’s true that suffering produces endurance and what doesn’t kill you can make you stronger but only up to a moderate number of adverse life events. Indeed, science shows us that the struggles you face and the pain you’ve gone through can become your mental strength.
Seery, Mark D., Raphael J. Leo, Shannon P. Lupien, Cheryl L. Kondrak, and Jessica L. Almonte. "An upside to adversity? Moderate cumulative lifetime adversity is associated with resilient responses in the face of controlled stressors." Psychological science 24, no. 7 (2013): 1181-1189.