Power of the mind over body

When I was a super martial arts fanatic I read a book called Kurikara which focuses on the spiritual side of martial arts. In particular, the writer talked about pain control. I'll see if I can find that book, but from memory I recall he did extensive meditation to include being in uncomfortable positions and in ice cold water.

I think with an accident, perhaps adrenaline would take over for a time and suppress the pain.

I found on amazon:

Kurikara: The Sword and the Serpent

It looks good and has great reviews. Ordered for $14.

Going into shock or having an adrenaline rush is spot on, however are typical physiological responses that are involuntary as far as I know. It’s control after those wear off- now that would be something!

Again, I'm %100 certain mentally suppressing or ignoring pain is possible. I used to read a lot about the training Spec Ops soldiers underwent, and all of the programs I read about included putting the soldiers through some intensely painful experiences with the goal of teaching them how to overcome the pain, even after the adrenaline had long since worn off. The ability to do so often means the difference between life and death for the men in such lines of work. If you can't ignore or suppress the pain at will, it will distract you from what you need to be doing at that moment to improve your chances at survival. They also need to be able to switch this suppression off, because pain is also important to self assessment of injuries. If you roll an ankle during an engagement, you need to be able to ignore it until the action is finished, but afterwards you need to be able to tell yourself and your buddies "hey, my ankle is ganked, this is going to be a problem for us getting out of here."

I was in a class with a guy who was a swift boat driver. He went to BUD/S, but rang the bell at about 11 weeks. Everyone there was in outstanding physical condition prior to going, but he said it was the mental toughness that made the difference. Suppressing pain, fear, discomfort, etc. He said the thing that got him was the cold. There was no way to get warm and everything was wet and full of sand. Water was always up your nose and the sleep deprivation was insane. After 11 weeks his body just couldn't go any further and he rang the bell.