What causes us to dream? How do we move our muscles? Where do feelings come from? How do we know we are in pain? The brain controls all of these critical aspects of our everyday life, which is a magnificent thing. The brain is our headquarters, our every move, feelings and thoughts are processed in our brain.

Imagine for a moment that you put your hand on a hot stove. How do you know it is hot? According to Fida Mourtada, who has a background in psychology and philosophy, “Pain receptors receive the  information, which is transmitted via the peripheral nervous system, to the central nervous system, ultimately the brain. There the brain interprets the pain, so that you can react to the information.”

How does the brain interpret the message it is receiving. According to verywell.com “When the pain signal reaches the brain, it goes to the thalamus, which directs it to a few different areas for interpretations. A few areas in the cortex figure out where the pain came from and compare it to other kinds of pain with which it is familiar. Was it sharp? Did it hurt more than stepping on a tack? Have you ever stepped on a rock before, and if so was it better or worse?

Signals are also sent from the thalamus to the limbic system, which is the emotional center of the brain. Ever wonder why some pains make you cry? The limbic system decides. Feelings are associated with every sensation you encounter, and each feeling generates a response. Your heart rate may increase, and you may break out into a sweat. All because of a rock underfoot.”

Mohamad Jaber, a personal trainer,  injured his back as he was working out. The pain has lasted for more than 12 months now. When pain contiuse for more than a year, it is called chronic pain. This type of pain cannot be completely healed, so Mohamad has been attending physical therapy, and taking painkillers to reduce the pain.

The brain processes the situation, and compares  your pain to other pains you’ve had before. When the brain knows what happened it creates a certain amount of pain to warn you that you are in danger. This shows that pain is always an illusion, and as if your brain is screaming danger! Danger! To warn you.

As you can see, pain is actually very helpful. You might want it to go away, but if a person has cancer, for example, and it did not hurt, they would not feel anything is wrong. Therefore, they would not visit the doctor for the cure, and would eventually suddenly die.    

Mohamad Moutrada, A Middle School Journalist.