The Pain~Pleasure Continuum

Have you ever laughed so hard you started to cry--or maybe experienced being tickled until it hurts?
Over the centuries it's been proposed that pain and pleasure are at opposite ends of a continuum...

It has been established scientifically that these pain and pleasure neural pathways may at least overlap. From the standpoint of evolution, it would be important to be able to discern pain from pleasure for the ability to survive. Some who have studied this topic say that having pain and pleasure on a continuum is the most efficient way to accomplish this. As diametric opponents, when you feel true pleasure you really don't feel much in the way of pain, and vice versa.

Truthfully, there's been a lot of thinking on this topic, but there are no clear answers as of yet.

In the realm of pain management, we look at this continuum as a model for methods that can be used to remediate pain. For instance, a chronic pain sufferer may dwell emotionally on the "pain" end of the spectrum due to living with pain, depression, and isolation. The goal is to find a way to move that individual back into balance, a place where they are in the center of the continuum and can experience life in a more meaningful fulfilling way.

Sources: PainWeek.org; Wikipedia; Flickr

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