Why is all the things that cause me pleasure also the the things that cause me pain?

Question

wehwalt:

Without pain one cannot truelly experience pleasure.

I am not going to avoid my girlfriend just because she causes me pain, she also gives me pleasure.

Answer 1

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight

This is a quote from Kahil Gibran.
It takes most people a while to realise that the same things cause pleasure and pain but it is a truth... what a philosopher you are!

Answer 2

I cannot imagine how that could be, unless it causes you pain when you do not have whatever it is that causes you pleasure anymore. Or if you are either sadistic or a masochist. Well maybe though, something may cause short term pleasure, like chocolate or sex... long term pain like getting fat, or getting a disease or pregnant. That is an interesting way to look at it, but I still don't know if that is what you mean.

Answer 3

Psychoanalytic theory argues that masochism is actually a primary characteristic of human psychology: the reason for this being that when you open yourself up to stimuli you will be stimulated in both good and bad ways - you can't really pick and choose about what you let in. Attachments to other human beings (and by extension, to things and activities) are necessarily ambivalent - so it makes more sense to think of relating to a person/thing in terms of depth of attachment or detachment. Hence why couples have more fights - you're more attached to the person, so you're more sensitive to small variations in their behaviour, attitude towards you, etc. If a total stranger makes a snide comment, you wouldn't care, but with a friend or a lover that you've let in more, the same comment matters more and hurts you more. It feels more intense because you're more "exposed" towards that person. With a stranger, there's a protective barrier of indifference, so changes in their behaviour have a less stimulating (whether good or bad) effect on you.

Answer 4

There's no paradox here. Avoid doing the pleasurable things in an extreme and you will avoid pain.

Answer 5

Pleasure and Pain are like Ying and Yang. To know what pleasure is we have to have experience pain. So therfor we need both so we can feel, grow and understand

Answer 6

You must f1nd beauty in the sadness. The lowest of lows and highest of highs are the most amazing times in life, and the ones we learn from the most.. For having any emotion, as bad or good as it feels, proves that you are living and is therefore a beautiful thing.

Answer 7

foolish interpretations of pleasure, what makes you feel pain, you want to do, so just stop doing them, and do things that dont cause u pain, simple

Answer 8

if all you ever got was pleasure....how would you know?

the pain is there so that you learn to appreciate the pleasure more.....and don't take it for granted.

Answer 9

Just because something excites the senses doesn't mean it's good for you.

Remember how a bug zapper works.

Answer 10

it just the worlds way of saying you take things for granted or that you are way to much of a sap and agonize over everything. either way a change would be good.