ABSTRACT
Western civilization has a puritanical history of pleasure being associated with shame and lack of morality, yet negativity with feeling too good persists today. A case history is offered of a man who traced his lack of pleasure during sex and his lack of progress at work to his father shaming him for “feeling great.” Pleasure is more than the absence of pain, and it is not enough to only work on pain in therapy. Pleasurable feelings and experiences are expansive in the body, encouraging exploration and creativity, while painful feelings contract the muscles and viscera and trigger avoidance. Pleasurable experimentation and reclaiming playfulness during therapy are essentials for therapy to be truly transformative. Research explores the connection between hedonic and eudaemonic pleasures. Hedonic pleasure is associated with positive emotions and sensory pleasures while eudaemonic pleasures are associated with living a meaningful and engaged life. Neurobiological studies show that the two kinds of pleasure are interconnected—happy people enjoy sensory pleasures and report meaningful lives while meaningful living also encourages sensual enjoyment. Good feelings are highly adaptive, broaden the scope of attention, enhance cognitive and behavioral repertoires, and contribute to personal evolution and loving relationships. Couples who maintain sexual aliveness in a long-term relationship are the happiest couples and can maintain romantic love for a lifetime. Erotic pleasures involve moving beyond the sexual routine.
