Countdown’s Susie Dent says individuals can beat ache by swearing loudly
Telly word guru said tests showed folk who shout swears rather than ‘bus’ can keep hands in freezing water for double the time – and there’s a word for it
Countdown’s Susie Dent says folk can beat pain by swearing. She says it has been medically proven people can defy the effects of ice cold water better if they cuss.
The telly word guru said tests showed folk who shout ‘b******s’ rather than ‘bus’ can keep their hands in freezing water for double the time. Dent, 61, who also stars in 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, said using taboo words when in pain allows ‘catharsis’- Greek for ‘cleansing’ – meaning people can tolerate it much better.
The mum-of-two, told Russell Howard’s Five Brilliant Things podcast relief triggered by swearing was called ‘lalochezia’.
She said: “It’s a slightly clunky title for a subject that I find absolutely fascinating – and that is swearing and the history of swearing. Specifically lalochezia is the relief that you get from swearing at the right time in the right place.
“So if you are in pain, stress, if you feel frustration, even if you feel really happy, it has been proven – this is what I find really fascinating – that by having a good swear you release endorphins, you raise your serotonin levels which are happy hormones, and you decrease your cortisol levels which are your stress hormones.
“There is an absolute tangible physiological benefit to swearing. Obviously at the right time. And we’re not talking about aggressive swearing towards someone else.
“But I find the history of swearing and how our squeamishness kind of shifts over time really, really fascinating. It’s such a hot topic now medically as well.
“It’s quite a famous experiment now where someone puts their hand in a vat of ice-cold water and sees how long they can keep it in while saying something like ‘bus’ as opposed to shouting ‘b*******’ for example. You can keep it in twice as long if you’re swearing. You can withstand the pain of ice cold water if you’re swearing.”
Susie said the actual word spouted was ‘irrelevant’ except it must be ‘considered taboo’ at the time.
“In the Middle Ages if someone was to do it and they were to shout ‘Jesus’ or whatever, which was really, really profane for them because taking the Lord’s name in vain was the kind of big no-no, then it would have had the same effect,” she said.
“It’s basically reaching for language that you know is taboo and getting catharsis through that.”
A review paper published in Frontiers In Psychology found the cathartic effect of swearing depended on how often folk cussed ‘in their daily lives’.
“Individuals who swore less often in their daily lives experienced a more pronounced hypoalgesic effect compared to those who swore more often,” it said.
“This suggests that excessive use of swearing in everyday situations diminishes its efficacy as a short-term intervention for reducing the perception of pain.”
