Does swearing relieve pain?

By Judy Foreman  |  November 9, 2009

Q. Does swearing relieve pain?
A. Holy @//!#!, does it ever! Or so concludes a British study published recently in the journal NeuroReport.
The idea for the study first occurred to psychologist Richard Stephens of Keele University in North Staffordshire, when he hit himself on the finger with a hammer and let loose with a few choice words. It solidified when his wife swore gustily during a breech delivery of their daughter and one of the midwives “mentioned that women often swear in childbirth, which I found intriguing,’’ said Stephens in an e-mail.
So he set up an experiment in which he compared the pain tolerance of 67 male and female undergrads when they uttered neutral words and when they cursed as they endured a painful stimulus, in this case, putting one hand into icy water and leaving it there as long as possible. In most people, swearing increased pain tolerance - they could keep their hands in the ice water much longer - and decreased perceived pain compared with not swearing.
“It seems to [work] via the emotional content of swearing - people appear to shock themselves into a state of emotional arousal (the fight or flight response), which is known to have a pain-lessening effect,’’ Stephens said. Women and men both benefit from swearing, he added, but it’s likely that the more a person swears habitually, the less shock value it has during pain.
All this makes sense to Jamie L. Rhudy, director of the Human Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of Tulsa. “Swearing could reflect the activation of brain circuits involved in emotional processing,’’ said Rhudy. The emotion circuits connect to “descending’’ circuits - nerve signals that travel down from the brain to the spinal cord - which could alter the way in which pain is processed, he added.
So should you swear when you’re in pain? Go for it, said Stephens. “What’s the harm in swearing if it helps you cope? Provided there are no children around, of course.’’
E-mail health questions to globeanswers@gmail.com

Tongue Tied

For Pentecostals, A Generational Split over Speaking in Tongues- Tim Townsend

Elders in the Assemblies of God are worried about what a younger generation's more practical theology might mean for the future of the practice of speaking in tongues. Read all about it here.....

Discerning Signs and Supernatural

By David Coker

What's the purpose of supernatural signs that point toward your destination?

God is building and establishing His Kingdom. But He's not pressured to build His Kingdom using media hype and hocus-pocus. No, He's doing it His way, according to His Word. He's setting apostolic governing churches in territories to build His Church. One function of true apostles and prophets is to expose the counterfeit operations of Satan that try to slip in and subvert the credibility of the Word. If Satan can discredit the quality of a move of God by sending the false, he is able to successfully restrict and limit the effectiveness of the true move as it happens. In this season, it is vital that we build everything we do upon the foundation of the Word of God. I'm not trying to criticize any particular move of the past or present. My goal today is to equip you with knowledge and understanding to help identify a true move of God.

Imagine you are driving to your favorite vacation spot. When you get about 30 miles from your destination, you see the first road sign with the city's name. Do you slam on your brakes, slide across the median and jump out at the sign? I would hope not! Yet, in the body of Christ, it seems we have become sign hunters. At the first sign of a "miracle" or the "supernatural," we bring everything to a screeching halt so that we can take pictures of the sign, dance around the sign, and even build churches to the sign. How foolish we have become! The sign's purpose is to reveal location. Spiritual signs are no different. When you see a spiritual sign, it is not advertising itself, it is merely pointing the way to where God wants you to go.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:39, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." Jesus didn't say they were "slightly in error." He called them.... Keep Reading »

Desert Call Prayer and Pastoral Counseling Center to be Established in South Bay, San Diego

In just a few short weeks, Desert Call Ministries will have established its first prayer and pastoral counseling center, which is intended to serve low income individuals and families in the South Bay area of San Diego. These services are offered in Spanish, and there is no fee required, though donations to the ministry will be accepted.

This is a much needed service in our community" said Pastor Dallas Bullock, Director of Hispanic Ministries for DCM, and resident of South Bay, “We combine the counseling interview and prayer ministry model to bring people to real wholeness." 

Desert Call Prayer Counselors are trained in counseling on a graduate level, as well as being highly anointed prayer ministers.  Rev. Josh Acton, Desert Call's Executive Director said, “our prayer counselors will be supervised regularly by a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Carol Sheffield-Green, who serves as co-director of the Center for Christian Healing in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas." 

If  you are interested in serving as a prayer counselor for Desert Call Ministries, and would like to know more about the training and commitment required, please call the Rev. Josh Acton at 928-257-0905, or Dr. Carol Sheffield-Green at 972-934-2925

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Conferences, Retreats, Missions and Programs
 

Dec. 4-5 2009:  Hearing God's Voice Conference (San Marcos, Calif.)
Details to follow....
Venue: Anglican Church of the Resurrection in San Marcos, Calif.

Contact:  Carolyn Burns:  carol.burns@earthlink.net

Jan 28-30, 2010: Journey Into the Depths of God Prayer Retreat (Oceanside, CA)

Venue:Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, California

Contact:Carolyn Burns: carol.burns@earthlink.net

January 2010:  Int'l Healing Conference (Tijuana, Mexico)

Details to follow ...

Venue: TBA

Contact: Dallas Bullock: dallasdrb@aol.com

The Fallacy of Unconditional Love

What is the question? Simply this: "If God loves me unconditionally, why does it matter how I live my life?" Or it could also be phrased this way: "If God truly loves me unconditionally, why should it matter whether or not I 'become a Christian?'" Be careful to not miss how powerful and deadly this question really is. It is not just a clever twist of wording, meant to sidetrack the evangelistic efforts of well-meaning proselytizers. Far from it. This question is the stake in the heart of the modern evangelical notion of God's "unconditional love." In fact, I challenge you to search for the phrase "unconditional love" in the Bible or find the concept that God unconditionally loves every person on earth being taught anywhere in Scripture. In fact, R.J. Rushdoony makes the bold claim that "unconditional love is contrary to the Bible." Read more here......

Doctor Describes Miracle in AIDS Treatment

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 12, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A doctor dedicated to helping African AIDS patients is affirming that these people are "coming back to life," but adds that he sees an even greater miracle in his work.
                Doctor Elard Alumando, the director of DREAM -- Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition -- in Malawi, affirmed this today during the Twelfth General Congregation of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.
                In this session, some of the auditors such as Alumando gave interventions to the Synod.
The doctor explained that his program has treated some 80,000 people with HIV/AIDS in ten African countries.
According to an English summary released by the Vatican, Alumando stated, "I believe that healing the sick is the true way of preventing the spreading of AIDS in Africa, as the Holy Father said with authority during his visit to Cameroon."
                He continued: "I am a witness to many stories of resurrection of people who were ill, especially women and children: women who were considered dead, and started to live and work again; women who rose out of the dark pits of condemnation due to the AIDS disease, out of the prison of social stigma, and who regained their place in the life of their cities."
                The doctor reported that he has seen several thousand children born healthy, free from the virus, due to this treatment.
                The DREAM program is carried out by the Community of Sant'Egidio in Africa, in communion with other members in Europe.
                Our treatment centers, the doctor explained, offer "state-of-the-art tri-therapy," as is administered in the West.
He reported: "All the treatment and nutritional support offered to the patients is given for free. In our world dominated by money and corruption, gratuitousness is important."
                Alumando explained that this helps the Africans to "look at disease and healing in the perspective of the Gospel and of the Church, removing them from sorcery and from the mystification of sects."
                He concluded, "These acts of healing are not mysterious and incomprehensible wonders, they are the fruit of work, of communion, of prayer and of the love of the Gospel, and that is the true miracle."