We are hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain. But what if I told you that this approach yields poor results, as it deprives you of something critical. It deprives you of feeling truly alive. That is due to the Paradox of Pain Avoidance. So how does this work?

If you consistently try to avoid physical and mental discomfort and pain, you will feel more pain in life. Physically painful stimuli, for example, regular exercise, have been demonstrated to lower levels of pain, including chronic pain. This happens through repeated activation of the endogenous opioid system. Dynorphins are released by your exposure to discomfort and pain, and they sensitize your opioid systems with endorphins, your natural painkillers.

Moreover, painful hormetic experiences can bring pleasure, by raising dopamine levels for hours, without being followed by subsequent dopamine crashes. The best way to raise your happiness, energy, and motivation is by using such approaches, by paying for these elevated levels of dopamine upfront.

Finally, it has been demonstrated, that an effort to eliminate pain from life, for example by chronic use of painkillers, not only could lead to tolerance to those painkillers, but also, in extreme cases, to conditions like opioid-induced analgesia, increased sensitivity to pain. So avoidance of pain, leads to more pain, while embracing pain, can lead to more pleasure. That’s why it is extremely valuable to develop a love for struggle, challenge, and discomfort.

This was just a short summary of how the Paradox of Pain Avoidance works. If you want to learn more, check out this content here.

And finally, I would highly recommend learning about its twin effect – The Paradox of Pleasure. You can check it out here, or read about it here

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