Dark Science: Pushing the limits of fear, flesh, pain and your psyche.Dark Science: Pushing the limits of fear, flesh, pain and your psyche.
All In The Mind
Join us at the Dark Science night at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum for a spectacle of side show science and (almost) R-rated research. Suspension artists hang from hooks through their flesh, tattoo artists ply their wares, and don't miss the spiders and coffins too - it's the science of fear and pain as you never heard it before
30:08•26 Sept 2009
Dark Science, Sharp Hooks and Fear: How Pain, Pleasure and Phobias Play Out in the Mind
Episode Overview
- Pain is produced by the brain as a response to perceived danger, which explains why chronic pain can persist even when scans show no ongoing injury.
- Body modification and suspension can function as controlled, cathartic encounters with pain that leave some people feeling stronger and more capable.
- In drug and alcohol settings, self-harm often reflects attempts to avoid overwhelming emotions, and therapy focuses on safer ways to regulate those feelings.
- Graded exposure, as used in spider phobia programs, can significantly reduce intense fears and even shift family attitudes and habits.
- Human skin’s layered structure, rich in collagen and elastin, gives it surprising strength and elasticity, allowing extreme feats like suspension.
“It doesn’t matter how much threat there is, what matters is how much threat your brain thinks there is.”
What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This episode of All In The Mind heads into some pretty wild territory to ask where fear, pain and pleasure meet – and what that can teach you about the mind. Broadcast from the Dark Science night at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, the show watches suspension artist Ben McCulloch-Dennis hang from hooks in his skin while a crowd looks on.
For Ben, it’s not about showing off, but reaching a blissful mental state: “I’m not thinking about tomorrow or the future, I’m not worrying about the past… it’s a really cathartic experience for me.” Body modifier Bernadette Knight and performer Rob Valenti talk about piercing and suspension as a way people test their limits and come away feeling brave, rather than broken.
Clinical psychologist Monica Schweikler, who works in a methadone clinic and forensic settings, connects this to what she sees in drug and alcohol work – people hurting themselves to avoid overwhelming emotions, and learning safer ways to manage those feelings. Pain scientist Dr Lorimer Moseley explains that pain is created by the brain as a “danger” signal, which is why chronic pain can be real and intense even when scans don’t show ongoing injury.
His experiments with electric shocks and magnifying hands show how changing perception can dial pain up or down. Arachnophile (and former arachnophobe) Warwick Angus shares how his spider program at Taronga Zoo helps people with severe phobias gradually face fears, sometimes changing not just their anxiety but family habits and attitudes.
If you’re curious about why some people chase pain, why others run from it, and how fear links to self-harm, addiction and survival, this episode gives you plenty to think about – and might nudge you to ask what you’re really trying to escape from, and what you might be brave enough to face next.
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