By Ravi Mandalia | ParityNews.com

We’re taught not to swear in several stages throughout life, especially as children. In a wide number of social and formal situations, using expletives can in fact land someone in quite a bit of trouble. But when we’re by ourselves and under stress, the ability to yelp out a forbidden word or two might be more therapeutic than it would seem on the surface. This idea is perhaps most prevalent in those instances where we stub a toe or otherwise accidentally hurt ourselves, one of the most popular instances in which people let loose with swear words. Drawing on this common occurrence, a team at Keele University in Blightly has performed a study, with interesting implications for the worlds of psychology and pain relief.

The study was a delicate operation –after all, asking participants to endure a bit of pain and then sound off with words they’ve been instructed not to utter in the presence of others is a lofty quest, even in the academic environment. But the study met this challenge with the use of icy water. Participants were asked to submerge their hands into the water, and some subjects were encouraged to let out any “bad words” that came to mind, while others were limited to saying something defined as non-offensive. The results proved interesting: those who swore reported less pain, and on average were able to endure submersion for forty seconds longer than their clean-mouthed counterparts.

While it isn’t exactly cause for replacing every other word with something deliciously uncouth, the study does suggest that allowing ourselves a greater range of speech in times of stress –which may include therapy sessions– may be helpful in allowing us to work past our basic sensory barriers.