You’re walking to the kitchen to get your second cup of tea when you knock your pinky toe on the table. The pain is sudden and it feels like the world has stopped until you scream ‘F*CK’ at the top of your lungs.
Swearing still feels a bit naughty but fortunately a new study has found that swearing after you’ve hurt yourself will help numb the pain! F*cking hooray!
64% of Brits believe that swearing helps take away the pain of a minor injury - and there was no argument when it came to the word as the most effective natural analgesic.
The study, by insights agency Perspectus Global, also found that the average Brit swears nine times a day - but it seems men have more of a potty mouth than women, swearing 10 times a day compared to 8 for women.
F**k seems to be the best pain reliever, with the majority of those polled (52%) using that when they’re in pain. S**t was another crowd favourite at 50%, followed by Bloody Hell, B*llocks, and Damn.
These are the 10 best swear words, according to Brits:
- F**k (52% said it was the best word to use when they hurt themselves to numb pain)
- S**t (50%)
- Bloody hell (25%)
- B*llocks (23%)
- Damn (23%)
- Bugger (22%)
- Crap (17%)
- Sh*te (16%)
- C**t (15%)
- C**k (6%)
Despite the frequency of swearing, 69 percent of us agree it is a powerful thing to do, and neuroscience backs this up.
“The science shows that when people swear, it can activate the amygdala which in turn triggers a fight-or-flight response. This then leads to a surge in adrenaline, a natural form of pain relief,” neuropsychologist Dr. Rachel Taylor said.
However, the research shows that conventional swear words are better at pain relief than novel ones. “And it also indicates that if you reserve swearing just for pain relief they are more analgesic than if you are a prolific swearer - you can become immune to the pain relief of swearing if you swear a lot,” Taylor adds.
This is bad news for the 17% of Brits who admit they ‘swear like a trooper’ - and also those living in Norwich, which is the swearing capital of the UK according to the poll (20 percent of residents of the city claim to ‘swear like a trooper’.)
The study also revealed how our attitude to certain words that would have been deemed very rude just a few generations ago has changed in recent years.
As time has changed 38% of those polled said they thought that some words that were completely unacceptable in the past are totally fine to say now. However, 47% believe that although language evolves, there are still lots of words we should avoid saying as they are offensive.
Nearly half of those surveyed think words that are racist, sexist, homophobic, or bigoted in any way should always be avoided.
“It’s interesting to see how some words and phrases that were seen as outrageously rude in the past are now commonplace - but that there are some anglo saxon words that are as powerful now as they were 1000 years ago,” Ellie Glason, MD of Perspectus Global said.
41% don’t consider saying Oh My God as swearing, whilst 36% admit to saying Damn without a second thought, and a quarter of us regularly say Bugger in front of children, friends, family, and at work.