Pleasure After The Pain by Savannah Chase

“Another observation is that the facial expressions during orgasm are often indistinguishable from those in pain,” he says.Īlong these lines, a study into how paracetamol affects emotions found that the painkilling drug not only relieves emotional pain, but also blunts feelings of pleasure. If their pain returned, so did the orgasms.īarry Komisaruk from Rutgers University, who authored the imaging study, thinks there’s a fundamental link between pain and orgasm pathways.

Another found that cancer survivors, who had nerves in their spinal cord cut to relieve chronic abdominal pain, lost the ability to have orgasms. One study, in which researchers used fMRI to visualise the brains of women as they stimulated themselves to climax, found that more than 30 areas of the brain were active, including those involved in pain. The link between sex and pain is not confined to the world of BDSM. “If an animal took a rollercoaster it would be scared, and it would never go again.” says Rozin. The theory is also thought to explain why we seek out and enjoy other intrinsically unpleasant experiences, such as fear-inducing rollercoasters or sad movies. The signals are interpreted as a burning sensation in the legs, usually causing the runner to slow down or stop. The acid irritates pain receptors in the muscles, and these communicate their plight to the brain through electrical messages, sent through the spinal cord. Bursts of intense exertion release lactic acid, a by-product of the breakdown of glucose when oxygen is in short supply.

The relationship will come as no surprise to those who run. For a start, all pain causes the central nervous system to release endorphins – proteins which act to block pain and work in a similar way to opiates such as morphine to induce feelings of euphoria. The link between pleasure and pain is deeply rooted in our biology. “The pain subsided pretty quickly and then it was just the high of the adrenaline and euphoria from the peppers,” Jason explains. But that’s not always the case – various activities involve pain, including running, hot massages, tattoos, piercings and even BDSM (an abbreviation for bondage, discipline, domination, submission, sadism and masochism).įor McNabb, the pain from the peppers produces a rush that is similar to that produced by food, drugs or sex. Common sense tells us that people seek pleasure and avoid pain.

Pleasure After The Pain by Savannah Chase