Without pain, would we really be able to experience pleasure?

Question

Please elaborate.

I went through an intense period of depression for about 7 months. I felt no pleasure of any kind. Food, family, hobbies, sex, my home, my many blessings. None of these things brought me joy or pleasure. I did not appreciate any of it as all I could feel was mental and emotional pain. Life without a hint of pleasure isn't worth living. I finally went to the doctor and was put on the right meds. That was 3 months ago. Within the first 2 weeks that glimmer of pleasure began to return. I am feeling so blessed now that I am better. I don't think I would appreciate this pleasure of living unless I had gone through the deep depression. That is what I am trying to get at w/ my question. Sometimes it takes pain in our lives to truly appreciate all the pleasure that life has to offer.

Answer 1

I really think that the yin and yang in life are both equally important, and help to maintain balance.
Otherwise the good in life would not feel as wonderful as it does.
Some forms of pain are actually conducive to growth and transformation as well.
Blessings

Answer 2

LOADED QUESTION :)
i think it is possible to experience pain without pleasure no differently than it would be to experience pleasure without having experienced pain. The good things in life dont always need an equal bad in order for them to stand out. I think we as humans are constantly looking for answers within answers - meaning why can't there be meaningless sex for example. We are the only species besides dolphins to even contemplate the idea of having sex for pleasure, so why do we have to associate so much red tape to the act? Although that example can almost be a question on its own, another example would be possible being a good christian. Good christians can be good and experience the pleasure of pleasing a higher power without having to be a prostitute or drug dealer to understand the other side of the coin. Some people are born/raised prone to disaster and other are blessed with enough upstains and inside to make the right decisions all the time. The true question to your question is : Is there a definition to what true pleasure or true pain is? Your pain might be my pleasure.

Answer 3

True joy, true pleasure does require that we also experience pain and sorrow.

It is quite possible to experience bliss without knowing pain - it is that experience that drug addicts, and religious devotionals hope to achieve. It is not an experiential reference, it is not connected to this world, but is instead a cutting off of the world around us - trancing out, achieving nirvana, tripping, whatever you choose to call it.

But real pleasure requires that we know and acknowledge the pain and sorrow that comes from loss and hardship. This is why the greatest art comes not from the privileged elite of society, but from the poorest, the downtrodden, the oppressed. The blues were not invented by plantation owners and business tycoons. Gospel music wasn't invented by Popes and Cardinals. It has to come from striving for something better than what you've known.

Myself, I'd sooner take joy over bliss any day, even if does mean I have to remember the bad times too.

Answer 4

Well, i am not really sure how to answer the question, other then , I think we would still be able to experience pleasure, but have no true appreciation for it.
Not to mention, it is all about balance in the world. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Karma and balance do not know the differece between good and bad. It is a strictly non biased deal. That is the law of balance.

Answer 5

Pain, both physical and emotional, serves as a warning to the system. It sends a message to your brain of "don't do that again." When you touch a pot that is too hot and burn your hand, the pain lets you know that if you continue to do that it will cause you damage and that would be bad.

Pleasure is a method of reinforcement. A way to encourage us to do things that are supposed to be good for us, like eating and sex (Assuming both are done in moderation! But note the above. Too much eating or sex causes discomfort or pain which is your warning "don't do that again!")

Of course it's possible to experience one without the other, but the fact is that without the pain you wouldn't appreciate the pleasure as much. It tempers it, just like an alloy tempers metal, making it stronger.

Answer 6

Yes, because there is a range in between of feeling neither pain nor pleasure, when you feel 'normal.' All you need is to deviate from that 'norm' to know that an experience is unusual. So yes, pleasure can exist without pain.

Think about it this way--you'd be able to tell that something is 'hot' even if you never felt cold, because it's hotter than room temperature. There is something between the extremes.

Answer 7

No one ever had experiensed pleasure without facing the pain. It is gr8 that after bearing lot of mental stress and emotional hits you are living your style of life now which is a God blessing. It proves that you had experiencd the hardships and reality of life.

Answer 8

if it were physical pain, then yes, because physical pain and pleasure are not correlated.

However, emotional pain, then no. There is a continuum of emotions. Say extreme sadness and extreme joy. If you get so sad that you go emotionally numb, then you can no longer feel the opposite side of the continuum, or joy. There are other positive emotions that you can feel along the continuum, but each opposite side cancels out the other if you stop feeling that particular emotion.

Answer 9

Yes, I would like to think that we can experience pleasure without pain. There is suppose to be pleasure without pain in heaven. As above, so below.

Answer 10

Yes. Pleasure is an activity which affords enjoyment. Pain is an indication of discomfort. The two experiences are not codependent.