Are we wimps for pain?

Hey, I don't take a Tylenol unless I have some kind of a shit-kicker headache...and I frown on drug use if I can help it, but sometimes, it's just the knowing that there is some possible pain relief waiting in the wings so to speak, that keeps me going sometimes.  I have been DREADING going to the dentist.  No, no check-up needed...those are the easy appointments.  I have a tooth that is being overly sensitive to the point of warm water making me hit the ceiling (and not just cold or hot water).  I dug in the back hallways of my brain and realized that about 10 years ago, I had a crown put on that tooth..or something....great.   I thought I could get a few more good years out of it.  So, I've been dreading it.  Yes, our on-post dentist will see you, and they do have dental sick call for dependents here, BUT for most folks, they will send you off post for the actual work...meaning, I will have to see a Belgian dentist to get it "fixed" if it needs "fixin".

Why am I being hesitant?  Because of the pain soothing alternatives, or should I say none!  I've come to find out that Europeans have a different sense of pain than Americans...they really do. Europeans EXPECT higher level tolerances for pain.  You see that in the kids at an early age on the playground, skinning knees and rolling off playground equipment with no safety features.  No parents come running when the little one falls....just a quick glance to assess the blood and look for any bent limbs from a distance, usually from the nearest bench.  European kids are conditioned growing up that pain can be a good thing and no one even hovers over them. 

I birthed two children in a German hospital.  I was told right away not to expect an epidural or any pain relief.  Their answer to pain relief is to sit in the warm water (if it's available) or to get an enema which will supposedly speed things up (I won't even go into that one).  I knew I had to do something as an American, so I ended up teaching myself the Bradley Method.  Honestly, it worked swimmingly, and I went through two babies...or should I say they went through me...with no pain pills, epidurals, shots or anything else...perfectly natural and no issues.  Okay, so I hurdled over that challenge but only thanks to Dr. Bradley.  And that's of course with almost picture perfect labors (and fast too)...no saying what I would've done with difficulties along the way!  I might've been telling a totally different tale here.

My former neighbor's teenage daughter had to get her wisdom teeth taken out...yes, they were impacted, meaning they had to be dug out.  The German dentist scheduled her to have all four done at once!  I swear, when I had them out as a teenager in the US, I was drugged during the procedure, had only two taken out at a time AND got some mind-alternating drugs for the recovery....both times.  Not so here.  You'll be lucky if they deaden the nerve right in the vicinity, and I have plenty of German relatives who choose NO pain relief when getting a cavity filled!  Back to the neighbor's daughter...yes, she did have pain relief during her procedure, but she was sent home with nothing...no pills, nothing and had trouble handling the pain.  Her cheeks were ballooned to chipmunk size, and she was so miserable, her mother went by the medical facility on-post, and they were able to prescribe her something to make her more comfortable.  They laughed...and said that this is the norm over here, and they typically give out drugs to those who've been to the German dentist.  I am hearing similar stories here in Belgium.

So, my question to you is this....do you think this gives Americans a low threshhold for tolerance of pain....and does it translate into tolerance of anything else?  I see little ones running around without coats and people biking somewhere before they would drive, like my neighbor lady who must be close to 80 but dutifully pedals her bike up and over the bridge in all kinds of weather.  This is certainly not the easy way...in fact, it's gotta be painful, right?.....are we too pampered as Americans?  Is this going to hurt us in the long run?  You know, survival of the strongest and stuff like that.  I read somewhere that our soldiers in WWII were such good fighters and fought long and hard because they had come from Depression-era life, and that this is what made them so strong, especially when the chips were down.  Any thoughts on this or am I way out there again?  I would just like to hear another opinion or have someone tell me I've been smoking dope or am otherwise unrealistic here.