The Common Swore: What Swear Words Teach Us About Communicating With Others

I swear a lot. It’s not something I do intentionally. Just the way I think and feel and use language to process the world. Of course, there are times I intentionally try (try, try) to keep it buttoned up. But those times are increasingly infrequent. Thank goodness!  Because it looks like both science and literature say swearing has its place in life. Here’s clip from a great write-up over on LitHub:

Take, for example, the effect of swearing on pain: if you use a curse word you are likely to be able to keep your hand in ice water about 50 percent longer than if you use a neutral word. When we swear we feel stronger, have more stamina, and send subtle social messages about liking and belonging. Swearing acts on our body to get the blood pumping and change how amped-up we feel, whether we hear the words or use them.

I *&^$#@! love it!