In 2009, Richard Stephens of Keele University designed an experiment in which he asked college students to plunge their hands into very cold water for as long as they could. Some of the students were told that they could use words they felt were offensive – curse words. Other students refrained from such language.
Those students who cursed reported feeling less pain from the cold water than the students who kept their language clean. The cursing students were also able to keep their hands in the cold water for an average of 40 percent longer than the others.
The cursing students were experiencing the benefit of lalochezia, the satisfying emotion that comes after uttering crude language that is taboo. Using forbidden language brings about a specific kind of pleasure, and that pleasure has the power of counteracting both emotional and physical pain.
