I can say from experience that class A drugs make pain seem more like something you can see, or you're aware of, rather than something you feel. You know it's there but it isn't part of you, you feel it objectively rather than subjectively.
Madness string 105715
To your point, I assumed you were a philosophy degree touter when you used 'pitiable', 'sangfroid', and 'gumption' within the span of five sentences.