Cursing: Inappropriate slurs or pain relieving phrases?

So you accidentally bang your elbow on the hard edge of a countertop and out comes something like “You little f*ck sh*t!” And for some, this sudden outburst of cuss words after being hurt happens without even thinking about it. But, this might actually be for a good reason. A study from Keele University in England found that swearing can trigger a person’s body’s stress response and actually increases your tolerance to pain. The study used 64 undergraduates who were asked to put their hand in a tub of ice water while repeating a swear word and, in a second experiment, repeating a regular word used to describe a table. The swearing increased pain tolerance, increased heart rate and decreased supposed pain compared with not swearing. Even The New York Times points out examples of foul language among Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth 1 and even the Bible, and says, “Researchers point out that cursing is often an amalgam of raw, spontaneous feeling and targeted, gimlet-eyed cunning.” Researchers continue to say that swearing is often used as a form of stress relief and anger management, and may actually be an under-appreciated way to blow off steam.