Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It

by Gabor Maté

there is no dissimulation in their behavior around pain or discomfort, only, in a phrase of Friedrich Nietzsche’s, “a refined susceptibility to pain.” Sensitivity is affected by emotional states. People’s pain tolerance is lower when they feel anxious or depressed, partly because of changes in stress hormone levels and in the levels of endorphins, the body’s innate painkillers.