Pain is well, painful, and few look forward to an experience that will leave them wincing. However, as explained in a recent Brit Lab video, not all pain is experienced the same, and certain factors can control and even manipulate how much pain you will experience. As a result, two individuals experiencing the same event could feel very different sensations.

Though pain is inflicted on the body, it’s actually "felt" by the brain, Brit Lab host Michael Mosley explained. As a result, different factors may adjust how an individual feels about an experience. For example, the context of the painful act and the environment in which it is felt can adjust sensation. A calm and carefree environment may help to calm the brain, and cause an otherwise painful experience, such as getting a tattoo or piercing, to be far less of an ordeal.

Read: What Is Chronic Pain And Why Is It So Hard To Treat?

In addition, Mosley explains that the reason why a painful act is happening to you, and how you feel about the experience, can also adjust your perception of the sensation. For example, if the experience is malicious, this can cause dread. Brit Lab explained that the emotion of dread activates the same part of the brain as the pain itself, therefore attenuating the experience.

On the other hand, receiving pain for an experience in which you are rewarded at the end may cause the release of dopamine in the brain. This can inhibit pain receptors, News Medical reported, and make the experience hurt less than it otherwise would.

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