Scott Adams (Dilbert) claims that Your Body Hates You. He describes the body as a dysfunctional collaboration - your back hates your guts, the back is evil.
If he suffered (after Christmas especially) from griping indigestion, he might well have expressed this the other way around. Most of us have a weak spot - the part that most readily produces pain and discomfort, especially when we're tired or stressed. Some people suffer from toothache, others from migraines, and so on.
But in a POSIWID world, can anything natural be described as evil (except by a humorist)?
Pain has a perfectly valid function - it is the body's way of communicating something important to the mind. If you ignore a small child, it will misbehave louder until it gets your attention. And pain works the same way. If you completely ignore your back until it seizes up, then you shouldn't be surprised if it seizes up from time to time. That's how systems work.
In my view, it is painkillers that are evil - or rather the casual use of painkillers - because they interfere with the natural communication between the mind and the body, and the natural balance of work, rest and play.
Update: I have closed comments to this post. I am not interested in providing free advertising for pain-relief therapists.
Update: Scott Adams has removed older posts from his blog, so I am linking to an archived version of the page. Includes dozens of comments from fellow sufferers.
Last update 4 May 2013
