It is needless to say that swear words have a different kind of power  in our society today.  Most prevalent among adolescents, it has become a sort of trend. According to psychology professor Timothy Jay, the average teenager uses 80 to 90 swear words per day.

In the human brain, the meaning of a curse word has crossed over from something simply being spoken to an actual emotion. This feeling in the brain is equivalent to emotions like laughing or crying. Swear words are stored and accessed in the brain in a completely different way compared to normal speech.  That line between linguistics and emotions is slightly blurred.

Even though swearing utilizes words, the syntax in which they are used is in a cathartic form.  Instead of responding to an event with emotional thoughts or actions, the human brain automatically vocalizes the emotions we are feeling. Laughing is a form of catharsis because it releases endorphins and promotes positive feelings.  Crying is also cathartic because it releases the buildup of emotion whether it be stress, sadness, or joy.  Cursing is similar because it releases the same amount of emotion – or at least that’s what our brain thinks.

The same concept is used if you step on a dog or cat’s tail- they usually release a yelp or hiss in reaction to the pain.  Cursing is very common in conjunction with pain.  According to a study of Britain’s Keele University, researchers revealed that cursing can actually increase a person’s pain tolerance.  A group of 64 college students were broken up into two groups.  Both groups had to place one hand in a bucket of ice cold water for several minutes.  One group was allowed to say a curse word of their choice repeatedly while enduring the pain from the water.  The other group was allowed to repeat a word used in common everyday language during the experiment.  The group using profanity while participating in the experiment lasted longer on average in the bucket of ice water than the other group.

Researchers extrapolated that releasing emotions through swear words not only increased the student’s pain tolerance but it also released stress caused by the pain they were experiencing.

Is has also been studied that if swear words are used very frequently in day to day use, their ability to reduce pain diminishes due to the constant use.  Therefore, limiting the everyday use of swear words could prove beneficial in the long run.