Its where you look

I went to the dentist office today to have one filling filled. Instead, I had SIX fillings filled. Besides being about $1000 poorer, I learned some things about pain and how the brain processes it.

When I get a filling, I never opt to have a shot (must to the dismay and amazement of my dentist...he thinks I'm a tough macho man's man for taking it like this). Instead, I just get "the gas" (technically known as Nitrous oxide, or N₂O). I like this because I am never numb after my visit, it doesn't hurt, and I think I get high. Much like other great artists, musicians, and philosophers, I am pretty sure I start thinking differently when I am under the influence of this drug. I got to thinking about the various parts of pain. Much like there is different parts to most anything you do, there are different ingredients to feeling pain. There is usually an outside stimuli, nerve receptors, interpretation of those nerve impulses, and your reaction. I came to an understanding of how the gas works that anyone can understand. I shared this with the dentist after I was done, and he about fell out of his chair laughing and told me he was going to use it to explain the various options of anesthesia to his patients. Here it goes:

Any type of pain (including the pain felt when the dentist is drilling into your teeth), is like a heard of elephants running by. Now, its natural for you to stare at those elephants as they run by, unless something is introduced. When you use something like Novocaine, it is like someone covering your eyes so you can not see the elephants. You know they are there, but because you don't see them, the "pain" goes unnoticed. Nitrous Oxide, on the other hand, is like being tapped on the shoulder by someone saying "look over here". When you look, there is a beautiful woman flashing her boobies at you. Now, the elephants (pain) is there, but you don't bother to notice because, quite frankly, who cares about elephants when there are boobies to be looked at.

When in doubt, if you find yourself in pain, make the choice to not look at it if it helps you get through your day.