Could swearing actually be good for you?

Given the political and economic turmoil of the past few days, it wouldn’t be surprising if you’ve found yourself swearing more than usual. Although it may have lost some of its shock value in recent years, swearing hasn’t quite become mainstream yet, so hopefully, you’ve only been doing it in appropriate company.

But should you have to? Does swearing serve a greater purpose beyond shock or emphasis in everyday exchanges?

Swearing has something of an image problem, being viewed as everything from a sign of aggression, of low IQ or just of having a lack of sophisticated vocabulary to call upon. This has also been the view of science, as until recently there has been little in the way of scientific attention given to it as a subject.

Fortunately, that seems to be changing, with some academics embracing swearing and exploring its potential impact, including any effect f-ing and blinding might have on our mental and physical health. This includes experiments which involve people plunging their hand into icy water, and measuring the subjective effect that swearing has on the discomfort and pain those participants experience. Here swearing wins (very cold) hands down, as swearers report experiencing less pain than those that don’t employ cursing.

Other investigations have found that swearing can trigger the fight or flight response in humans. Here, the physical and psychological intertwine, with an increase in heart rate accompanied by, for example, an emotional response such as shock.

Neuroscientists have tried to locate and map the brain’s response when swearing. This research suggests that swearing takes place in parts of the brain that are responsible for emotional processing and memory. If you’ve ever slipped up and accidentally sworn in front of your boss or a small child, it may not surprise you to learn that researchers have found that swear words get more attention and are easier to retain than other vocabulary.

This could explain why people with dementia or other brain conditions who sometimes lose their usual depth of vocabulary still retain some swear words. This can, depending on the person, result in some very out-of-character exchanges as their condition worsens. While it can be somewhat funny in certain situations, it can cause a lot of distress to relatives and carers that have rarely heard their loved one use that type of language.

As with all research, context is everything. Neurobiological research is important and interesting, but it can miss critical social and environmental factors. Your age, where you are from, your social position and the relationship you have with someone are all factors that play a part not only in how often you swear, but in the types of swear words you use and the circumstances in which you use them.

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As the son of a vicar, I still find it hard to swear with any conviction or not to judge those I encounter who swear – even in my fifties. I am acutely aware that many people use swearing as a way of communicating without any intention of offence or aggression, but I find it difficult to shake off my parents’ strict line on cursing.

But I’m no angel: from an early age I learned to adopt a kind of bilingual vocabulary, which would serve me both inside the vicarage and outside of it.

Even here the science is unclear. My old-fashioned and uncomfortable feeling when hearing swearing doesn’t appear to be supported by the evidence. Being punished as a child for swearing doesn’t seem to have a lasting impact, and doesn’t really explain the emotional response some of us have to hearing a swear word.

If it turns out that swearing could offer some form of relief from psychological or physical pain, surely it’s worth giving people a break when they do so. Whatever your thoughts on the matter, let’s hope we all have fewer reasons to reach for that part of our vocabulary over the coming weeks.

Ian Hamilton is a senior lecturer in addiction and mental health at the University of York