The Most Agonizing Things a Human Can Encounter.

Have you ever pondered the extent of agony you could withstand? It's not exactly a cheerful topic to contemplate, but rest assured, whatever forms of bodily anguish you have envisioned, there is undoubtedly someone, somewhere on this earth, who has endured it at some point in time. When envisioning such terrifying situations, we often conjure up scenes of distress, the dark fiction portrayed in Hollywood movies depicting impromptu tooth extraction or the forcible removal of fingernails. We may also reflect on past eras, both ancient and medieval, when individuals were subjected to being burned alive, having their limbs torn asunder, or having their hearts torn out.

In this piece, our main emphasis will not be on those dark aspects of human behavior, but on the agonies that any individual may endure in the present time. Accompany us on this tortuous journey of the extent to which we can be afflicted in this article, The Most Agonizing Things a Human Can Encounter.

First and foremost, we should discuss pain itself. We all handle it differently, while some studies indicate that men appear to have a higher tolerance for it. For a long time, it was believed to be the opposite, as women's bodies and minds are equipped to handle childbirth. The results of the studies were also attributed to men enduring more pain due to societal ideas of masculinity and not necessarily having a natural ability to withstand more pain. How do we even find participants to test the limits of pain so that we can measure it? Would you be willing to be part of a research group that allows scientists to burn you? Well, participants at Cornell University did just that in the 1940s in what was known as "Studies on Pain: A new approach to measuring pain threshold." Childbirth was compared to burning, with a pregnant woman being burned while giving birth. Technology media outlet Gizmodo states, "As the heat caused blisters on her hand, the participant helped establish a measure of pain intensity experienced during childbirth." The issue was that in other pain studies, people simply could not endure any more pain, making it impossible to measure. There have been various scales to measure pain, but none are definitive. For example, some individuals may faint more quickly than others due to extreme pain. This occurs when the stress on the body affects blood flow to the brain. You lose consciousness, and your body gives you a much-needed break. While you are unconscious, your brain begins to release serotonin and endorphins so that you wake up feeling better. Going into shock is quite common, so if you have ever witnessed someone losing a limb or limbs, you may not see them screaming. The brain has its own pain relief system when it is absolutely necessary.

While we cannot quantify the most agonizing encounter, we generally concur on what constitutes the most severe forms of distress. Perhaps the act of being set on fire is one thing that instills fear in all of us, particularly the prospect of being consumed by flames. There exist various categories or levels of burns, and it is worth noting that the more severe the burn, the less pain one might experience due to the impairment of nerve endings. Consequently, fourth degree burns that have essentially charred an individual and induced shock may not be as excruciating as third or even second degree burns. Most individuals who have endured pain will attest that the treatment is the most dreadful aspect. "One of the most distressing realizations is that the pain intensifies once the fire is extinguished," remarked an individual in a Reddit discussion about burns. Another person concurred, stating, "The treatment itself is truly agonizing."

Certain insect stings are actually believed to cause the same level of pain as burns. Among all the stings available, the bullet ant inflicts the most excruciating pain. Dr. Justin O Schmidt, the creator of the pain index for insect stings, ranked the bullet ant as the most agonizing, describing the sensation as akin to "walking on burning coals with a 3-inch old and rusty nail piercing your heel." As part of a tribal initiation in Brazil, members are required to insert their hand into a glove filled with bullet ants. You can witness for yourself online how one courageous individual copes with this experience...which is not very effective.

What appears even more dreadful is a cluster headache. Females who have undergone childbirth have stated they are the most excruciating pain imaginable. They occur on one side of the head and can persist for up to three hours. Numerous television shows have depicted the absolute torment individuals can endure, filming sufferers screaming and writhing on the ground. According to the Migraine Trust, they only impact about 1 or 2 out of every 1,000 individuals, but the unfortunate news is that they are believed to be incurable. Victims won't die or even experience anything other than the pain itself. Writing on one treatment forum, a sufferer of these headaches said heroin, morphine or OxyContin didn't assist him at all. Some progress has been made using alternative, and mostly illicit treatments, such as Psilocybin mushrooms and LSD. According to the Daily Beast, LSD's discoverer Albert Hoffman was actually searching for a way to treat headaches and migraines.

Britain’s National Health Service has provided a valuable service by compiling a catalog of what it claims are the most excruciating conditions in the world. It may come as a surprise to learn that, according to the NHS, shingles ranks higher in terms of pain than cluster headaches, cancer, heart attacks, or gout. Shingles occurs when the virus responsible for the itchy nightmare of Chicken Pox reactivates. Similar to a sequel in a horror movie, when it returns, it is even more agonizing than before. Another commonly experienced painful condition is kidney stones. In a Reddit thread, individuals were asked to describe the most excruciating experience they ever had, and many responded with kidney stones. These stones form when calcium and other substances accumulate in the urine. They can grow to the size of a ping pong ball, and if they fragment, it can result in intense agony as they attempt to pass through the urinary tract. If they are too large, they can be fragmented into smaller pieces using shockwave therapy. It is advisable to avoid reaching this stage, so it is recommended to drink ample amounts of water each day.

You might be too healthy or young for kidney stones, but that won't prevent bone fractures. We've all seen athletes with flapping limbs looking more shocked than in agony. But what is the most agonizing bone to fracture? A fractured fibula might only cause discomfort for a few days, but a fractured rib could result in weeks of persistent pain and sleepless nights. According to American football players and online discussions about the pain of broken bones, the second most severe fracture you can have is a torn Achilles. Former Oakland football star Ronald Curry described the pain as "immediately unbearable with the following months being significantly worse." The top spot on the worst fracture list, however, was the femur, the largest bone in the body.

Accidentally hitting your toe on a corroded nail could also have catastrophic consequences. It is crucial to ensure that our tetanus vaccinations are kept up to date for a valid reason. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms that very few individuals die from tetanus as a result of the immunizations available to us, but occasional instances still occur. It begins with trismus, commonly known as lockjaw, and subsequently the entire body experiences spasms and becomes rigid. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that hundreds of cases arise annually worldwide. If left untreated, Tetanus will claim the lives of 10 to 20 percent of its victims. Moreover, what doesn't kill you may not necessarily make you more resilient.

Many individuals on pain forums claim that dental abscesses are the most severe, although one condition appears to surpass it. This is known as trigeminal neuralgia, an illness that affects approximately 1 in every 15-20,000 individuals and has been nicknamed the 'suicide disease' due to its propensity to drive individuals to such extreme measures. People have described it as feeling like a bolt of lightning striking the face, describing the 'shock attacks' that occur when the largest nerve in the skull is under stress. A 63-year-old woman from Wales, in an interview, described it as "the most excruciating pain known to mankind," stating that neither treatment nor pain medications have provided any relief for her lifelong condition. "My head jerks back and I can hear myself screaming," she said, adding, "It's only afterwards that I realize it was my own screams of agony." The Trigeminal Neuralgia Association in the UK has labeled it the most agonizing condition in the world. In 2013, the Daily Mail reported that 27 percent of sufferers took their own lives.

While a few of the aches above are claimed to be more severe than giving birth, it ranks very high on the pain spectrum. Fortunately, not as high as the suicide disease, as many children would be left without a mother. In one interview, a 49-year old woman stated that the final push is not the most dreadful part. She described the labor as a sensation of "compressing the waste out of your intestines on a timer for what seems like an eternity until you're completely exhausted." Others have likened it to expelling a watermelon or bowling ball during defecation. The most unfortunate aspect is that it is probably the most prevalent and natural form of excruciating pain. So, what is the most agonizing pain you have ever encountered? Share with us in the comments!