Pain Asymbolia, The Complete Absence of Physical Pain

Pain asymbolia or pain disassociation is a disorder in which the person reacts abnormally to pain. The most common characteristic is not experiencing any discomfort, to the point of being able to tolerate rather dangerous situations. The origin of this alteration is neurological and, although it’s rare, it’s still very striking because it involves something as primary as pain. It was in 1927 that Paul Schilder a psychoanalyst, and Erwin Stengel, a neurologist, first described this medical condition. The case is well-known. It involved a woman who injured herself with the sole intention of trying to understand what was happening to her….