Pain is an evolutionary and adaptive mechanism to prevent harm to an individual. Beyond this, how it is defined, expressed, and borne is dictated culturally. Thus, the study of pain requires a holistic approach crossing cultures, disciplines, and time. This volume explores how and why pain-inducing behaviors are selected, including their potential to demonstrate individuality, navigate social hierarchies, and express commitment to an ideal. It also explores how power dynamics affect individual choice, at times requiring self-induced suffering. Taking bioanthropological and bioarchaeological approaches, this volume focuses on those who purposefully seek pain to show that, while often viewed as “exotic,” the pervasiveness of pain-inducing practices is more normative than expected. Theory and practice are employed to re-conceptualize pain as a strategic path towards achieving broader individual and societal goals. Past and present motivations for self-inflicted pain, its socio-political repercussions, and the physical manifestations of repetitive or long-term pain inducing behaviors are examined. Chapters span geographic and temporal boundaries and a wide variety of activities to illustrate how purposeful pain is used by individuals for personal expression and manipulated by political powers to maintain the status quo. This volume reveals how bioarchaeology illuminates paleopathology, how social theory enhances bioarchaeology, and how ethnography benefits from a longer temporal perspective.

In our most painful moments in life, it's natural to question God's purpose. Why me? Why now? Why this? But growth is waiting behind the pain, if you can find the strength to face it. Lauren G. Jackson shares her personal journey through a pain that began in childhood and culminated in a devastating divorce in adulthood. In these darkest moments, she caught a glimpse of God's will and found the purpose in her pain.

Learn How to Turn Tragedy and Pain into a Catalyst for Growth and Success! It's been said that pain is a fundamental part of life-a darkness that acts as a contrast to the light. Most, if not all of us experience pain at some point in our lives, particularly the emotional pain of loss. While it may be true that pain is unavoidable, it doesn't have to lead to meaningless suffering. Pain can serve a far greater purpose in your life than something to be feared. Jay Nixon, the bestselling author of The Overweight Mind: The Undeniable Truth Behind Why You're Not Losing Weight is back with a groundbreaking new book, The Purpose of Pain: How to Turn Tragedy into Triumph, Because Life's Not Supposed to Suck! The Purpose of Pain is a transformational guide that shows you how to turn pain into a catalyst for change-how you can turn your story of tragedy into a life of triumph. In the book, Nixon chronicles his personal struggle with the pain of losing his father at age five in a devastating head-on car crash - an event that cast a two decade-long shadow over his life. Using a combination of direct truths and a touch of humor, Nixon walks you step by step through the process he used to overcome the tragedy that had dominated his life, and turn it into a life of triumph and success. The result is a compassionate guide that anyone can use to conquer emotional pain in all of its many forms. In this book, you'll learn: How honoring your pain helps jumpstart the healing process Tools and tactics to avoid tragedy that dictate your future How to shift your mindset from victim to warrior How to use your pain for purpose instead of sadness Why rituals are powerful and how to use them to heal Permission to stop feeling guilty about claiming the happiness you deserve What the Personal Development Vortex is-and how to avoid it. ...and much more! Most of all, you'll pinpoint the habits and thinking patterns you've been unconsciously using to sabotage your own progress, so you can overcome your pain and turn it into a catalyst for progress. Jay Nixon is an internationally recognized transformation coach who has been profiled by ABS, CBS and FOX. He has also been featured in magazines such as Health and Triathlete. With his extensive coaching and speaking career and deep life experience, plus his witty but purposeful writing style, there's no one better qualified to explain the benefits (yes, benefits!) of suffering than Nixon.

In our most painful moments in life, it's natural to question God's purpose. Why me? Why now? Why this? But growth is waiting behind the pain, if you can find the strength to face it. Lauren G. Jackson shares her personal journey through a pain that began in childhood and culminated in a devastating divorce in adulthood. In these darkest moments, she caught a glimpse of God's will and found the purpose in her pain.

When pain is experienced, one endures intense suffering, distress, and torment. You might ask, how can purpose be the final product of such agony? Furthermore, how does one gain power from a weak place? The answers to these questions are nestled in this 21-day journey toward healing. You are sure to be encouraged and empowered by the author's personal pain and triumph. Moreover, each devotion provides a step-by-step process that allows you to discover the purpose and power in your pain.

An exploration of why people all over the world love to engage in pain on purpose--from dominatrices, religious ascetics, and ultramarathoners to ballerinas, icy ocean bathers, and sideshow performers Masochism is sexy, human, reviled, worshipped, and can be delightfully bizarre. Deliberate and consensual pain has been with us for millennia, encompassing everyone from Black Plague flagellants to ballerinas dancing on broken bones to competitive eaters choking down hot peppers while they cry. Masochism is a part of us. It lives inside workaholics, tattoo enthusiasts, and all manner of garden variety pain-seekers. At its core, masochism is about feeling bad, then better--a phenomenon that is long overdue for a heartfelt and hilarious investigation. And Leigh Cowart would know: they are not just a researcher and science writer--they're an inveterate, high-sensation seeking masochist. And they have a few questions: Why do people engage in masochism? What are the benefits and the costs? And what does masochism have to say about the human experience? By participating in many of these activities themselves, and through conversations with psychologists, fellow scientists, and people who seek pain for pleasure, Cowart unveils how our minds and bodies find meaning and relief in pain--a quirk in our programming that drives discipline and innovation even as it threatens to swallow us whole.