Out of the Mouth of Babes: A Lot about Pain has Nothing to Do with Pain

Despite centuries of research focused on elucidating answers regarding pain, research continues to progress without a definitive essential characterization. Using research from the largest longitudinal studies to date studying the development of acute pain responses over the first five years of life, the current paper reviews four key lessons about understanding pain that resonate across the lifespan. First, it is argued that early social relationships may fundamentally influence anticipatory threat appraisals that modulate pain perception. Second, evidence is presented that managing acute pain may be more about what one does not do, than what one does. Third, to optimally manage pain-related distress, it is best to manage distress before the pain. Finally, the last lesson sets out to encourage a healthy distrust of when individuals report on another’s pain. Ironically, deciphering the fundamental mysteries that define pain requires studying factors beyond pain.