Step four: reducing our pain leads to more pain
We all know that pain feels unpleasant. We may naturally think that the more we can avoid pain, the better off we’ll be. But, as with pleasure, a funny thing happens when we try to avoid pain. If we take headache medications to avoid headaches, they tend to cause rebound headaches.
If we consume alcohol to soothe our nerves, it often increases our anxiety in the long run. Those who experience painful trauma and then avoid facing the resulting pain tend to be the ones that have the most prolonged chronic post-traumatic disorders, compared to those that are willing to engage with their difficult feelings.
Generally speaking, when we try to artificially reduce the amount of pain in our lives, sudism teaches us that this will lead to an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, it we shrink our pain today, we are also boosting our pain—or shrinking our pleasure—tomorrow.