Cultural Responses to Pain Management
Culture plays a hand in terms of how people perceive and receive pain. People learn how to have different reactions to pain by the way they are raised regarding how to cope with pain from their own cultural norms and traditions. In addition to this, pain also takes on personal meaning and relevance for people based upon their belief systems and past experiences with it. Though you can never stereotype people or cultures on different subject matters you can still see common behavioral patterns in different areas.
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Social Structure
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Social structure and shared ways of living coupled with gender, age and economic issues all tie into how social behavior in circumstances are controlled and deemed acceptable. These all are important key influences in how different cultures respond to pain and how they choose to manage it. It is the values and ideologies of a society that dictate how each one faces the challenges he is forced to deal with, including one of the inescapable facts of life which is pain.
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Stoic and Emotive
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There are two basic categories in which people fall into according to their responses to pain. The two categories are stoic and emotive. People who fall into the stoic category tend to not express their discomforts with pain as much and are usually socially withdrawn when they are experiencing painful discomforts. They are the ones that try to deal with their pain quietly and appear strong and tough. They try to carry their pain alone and keep their discomforts private. People with stoic reactions to pain tend to come from Asian and Northern European heritages.
Varying Culttures
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People who fall into the emotive category tend to be a lot more expressive of their pain. They are more willing to share their pain with others and have others help them with relieving their discomforts. They are more open to discussing their painful discomforts with others. People with emotive reactions to pain tend to come from Latino, Jewish, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern backgrounds.
African Americans
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African Americans have the same amount of suffering and battles with pain issues as others. Unfortunately due to the known lack of access to proper healthcare within their community, as well as in the communities of other people of color, pain is dealt in accordance to their own circumstances. The longevity and intensity of their pain issues have major significant and devastating effects upon their lives. Without proper health insurance due to their economic situations, this culture is forced to live with these consequences.
Hindu Culture
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Pain is viewed and accepted as something to be endured within the Hindu culture. In accordance to their belief system properly enduring pain is a part of their faith. They believe that pain helps to prepare them for the after life. When they have a strong sense that death is approaching they will prepare for it by allowing themselves to fully feel and experience their pains and every event associated with their oncoming death which is considered, in their culture, as a proper way to die.
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