analgesia

is the fact of not feeling pain in moments of trauma.

As the battle fades, someone will point with amazement at his injury didn't it hurt like hell' It didn't. Such stress-induced analgesia is highly adaptive and well documented. If you are that zebra and injured, you still have to escape. Now would not be a particularly clever time to go into shock from, extreme pain. Finally, during stress, shifts occur in cognitive and sensory skills. Suddenly certain aspects of memory improve, which is always helpful if you're g to figure out how to get out of an emergency (has this happened before' is there a good hiding place'). Moreover, your senses become sharper. Think about watching a terrifying movie on television, on the edge of your seat at the tensest part. The slightest noise-a creaking doorand you nearly jump out of your skin. Better memory, sharper detection of sensations-all quite adaptive and helpful. (Sapolsky 'why do zebras' .pdf)

analgesia, n.All

analgesia