Chapter 7: Pressing on the Pain Side

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Life.

You know, it's like this constant search for balance, isn't it?

We're always juggling things, trying to find that sweet spot.

Always trying to make things work.

Exactly.

Yeah.

But what if I told you that sometimes leaning into the things that make us uncomfortable, the things we tend to avoid,

could actually lead to some pretty amazing benefits?

That's what we're diving into today, this idea that pain, and it can take so many forms, can actually be a pathway to pleasure and even greater well -being.

We've got a whole bunch of sources for you, personal stories, scientific studies, even some historical perspectives, just to really dig into this connection.

Yeah, it is pretty counterintuitive, isn't it?

I mean, think about, have you ever experienced that runner's high, you know, when your muscles are screaming at you, but you feel amazing, or how about that incredible feeling after a really tough workout?

It's like your body's rewarding you for pushing through that discomfort.

Exactly.

And we're going to explore why those things happen and what those experiences might reveal about your own potential for resilience and growth.

And to kick things off, we've got a pretty powerful story about a man named Michael.

Yeah, Michael's journey is a great example of this whole idea.

He was super successful in Silicon Valley, made a lot of money, but he was also battling addiction.

Yeah, he really struggled with that.

He even described himself as an attention whore, and initially, both cocaine and alcohol provided that for him, along with a ton of energy and that euphoric high.

He actually thought he could manage recreational cocaine use, but as we know, that rarely works out.

Yeah, that whole illusion of control, it's a story a lot of people can relate to, I think.

Definitely.

And for Michael, things changed when his wife basically gave him an ultimatum, his addiction or their marriage.

Tough choice.

It was.

But he didn't even hesitate.

He said he wanted his wife, he wanted the marriage, so recovery was the only way forward.

But getting sober was just the beginning.

He then had to face all those difficult emotions he'd been pushing down for so long.

Yeah, it's like when you take away the coping mechanism, you're left with all the stuff that was helping you avoid.

Exactly.

Michael talked about feeling intense sadness, anger, even shame, and probably the hardest part, a profound sense of emptiness.

He needed something, anything to fill that void.

Something to give him a sense of hope, some relief, and that's where his story takes a pretty unexpected turn.

He stumbled upon this really unusual solution almost by accident.

In the early days of his sobriety, he picked up tennis to keep himself busy, but he noticed that even after an hour of playing and a shower, he was still sweating like crazy.

Still overheated.

Yeah.

His tennis coach suggested he try ending his showers with cold water, you know, just a quick blast of cold.

Michael was hesitant at first, but he gave it a shot.

And what happened?

He said the initial shock was intense, like, whoa, what am I doing?

But his body adjusted pretty quickly, within seconds, really.

And then the surprising part, he just felt good afterward.

He said it was like having a really great cup of coffee.

Wow.

So a simple change, but a big impact.

Huge.

Michael noticed his mood was way better after these cold showers.

He was intrigued, so he started researching online and found these communities of people doing ice baths.

Sounded extreme, but he was desperate for something that worked.

So he gradually started incorporating colder and colder water into his routine, eventually going all in with full on ice baths.

So not just a quick cold rinse anymore.

He was fully immersing himself.

Yeah.

And he didn't stop there.

He started adding bags of ice to his bathtub to get the water temperature even lower, like down into the mid fifties.

And he stuck with this routine five to 10 minutes every morning and again before bed every single day for three years.

He actually credits this daily practice as a crucial part of his ongoing recovery.

It's pretty incredible.

I mean, going from addiction to ice bath, that's a journey.

Totally.

When he described the sensation, he said that for the first five to 10 seconds, his body was screaming at him to stop.

It was intensely painful, like he was in real danger.

But he learned to push past that initial shock, knowing it would pass.

His skin would go numb and then boom, right after you get out of the water, he'd feel high.

He even compared it to the high he used to get from drugs like ecstasy or Vicodin.

So this intense pain followed by this incredible feeling of euphoria.

That's exactly it.

And it lasted for hours.

It makes you wonder if this whole idea of finding pleasure through discomfort, it's not just a recent fad, right?

Yeah.

Does it go deeper than that?

Has this been around for a while?

It has, actually.

For most of human history, hot baths were a luxury.

Only are those who live near natural hot springs or have the means to heat water.

So for the vast majority of people, bathing meant cold water.

Makes sense.

Yeah.

Even the ancient Greeks, they built heating systems for public baths, but they still believed in the therapeutic benefits of cold water.

And then, fast forward to the 1920s, there was this German farmer named Vincenz Priestnitz who opened a whole sanitarium dedicated to ice water treatments.

He was convinced it could cure all sorts of things, both physical and mental.

A whole sanitarium for ice water.

That's commitment.

Right.

But then, with modern plumbing and heating, hot baths and showers became the norm.

But now, like you see with Michael, there's this resurgence of interest in cold water

Endurance athletes use it for recovery, and even that quick blast of cold water at the end of a hot shower, the Scottish shower, or the James Bond shower, that's become pretty popular.

Yeah.

I've definitely heard of that.

So it's not just anecdotal evidence, right?

Right.

Is there any scientific research that backs up these claims?

Oh, yeah.

Definitely.

There was a study done at Charles University in Prague where they had 10 men immerse themselves in 14 degrees Celsius water, which is about 37 degrees Fahrenheit, for a whole hour.

They kept their heads above water, of course.

And what they found was that their dopamine levels increased by 250%.

Wow.

That's a lot.

And dopamine's that feel -good neurotransmitter, right?

It is.

It's involved in pleasure and motivation.

But what was even more remarkable was that their norepinephrine levels shot up by 530%.

That's huge.

What does norepinephrine do?

It's linked to alertness, mood, and attention, among other things.

And remember Michael talking about feeling good for hours after his cold water routine?

Well, the researchers found that the dopamine levels remained elevated for at least an hour after the cold bath, and the norepinephrine levels, while they decreased somewhat, were still significantly higher than baseline even two hours later.

And this isn't just a one -off finding.

Other studies have shown similar increases in serotonin, another neurotransmitter that's important for mood and well -being.

So there's definitely a biological basis for these feelings of euphoria and invigoration that people report.

But is it just neurotransmitters at play here?

Are there other biological effects from this kind of extreme cold?

Get this.

Research suggests that extreme cold can actually stimulate neuronal growth in animals.

We're talking about new neurons, which is pretty amazing because neurons don't typically change their structure that easily.

Right.

The brain is pretty set in its ways once we reach adulthood.

Exactly.

But Christina G.

von der Ohay and her colleagues, they studied the brains of hibernating ground squirrels, and what they found was mind -blowing.

During hibernation, when their body temperature drops to near freezing, the neurons in their brains shrink.

They lose a lot of their branches.

It feels like a bad thing.

It does, but here's the kicker.

When the squirrels start to warm up and come out of hibernation, their neurons show this rapid and massive regrowth.

Like imagine a plant that's been dormant all winter suddenly bursting into life.

So their brains are basically regenerating.

Pretty much.

And get this.

The speed at which these neuronal branches grow back is comparable to what you see in the brains of developing embryos.

That's neuronal plasticity on a whole other level.

In a developing monkey embryo, these branches might grow around 114 micrometers per day, but adult hibernating squirrels, they show similar changes in just two hours.

Wow.

That's amazing.

So it's not just in our heads, this whole idea that pain can lead to pleasure.

There are some serious biological mechanisms at work.

For sure.

And it all comes back to this idea of homeostasis, our body's natural drive to maintain balance.

When we experience pain, like the intense cold of an ice bath, our body tries to counteract it and part of that response is releasing these feel -good chemicals.

So it's like our body is trying to protect us and reward us at the same time.

Exactly.

Think about it, even something like self -flagellation, which was practiced by some religious figures in the past, might have induced a sense of euphoria through this same mechanism.

It's a bit extreme, but the principle is there.

Okay, so our bodies have this built -in system for responding to pain and even finding pleasure in it.

But does our response change over time with repeated exposure?

That's a great question, and the research suggests that it does.

With repeated exposure to pain, our hedonic set point, our baseline level of happiness can actually shift, making us less sensitive to pain and more capable of experiencing pleasure.

There's this old study from the 60s, and I know it's ethically questionable by today's standards, but it offers some interesting insights.

They subjected dogs to repeated electrical shocks on their paws.

Oh, that's rough.

What did they find?

At first the dogs were terrified.

They were screeching, thrashing.

Their heart rates were through the roof, but with each shock, their reactions started to change.

The terror lessened, and it seemed like they were more annoyed than anything else.

And here's the key part.

When they were released after the session, they'd run around wagging their tails, almost like they were happy.

Really?

So they went from fear to joy?

It seems so, and their physiological responses adapted, too.

Their heart rates didn't spike as much with later shocks, and after the shock, their heart

further than before, indicating a state of deep relaxation.

So their initial pain response diminished,

and their pleasure response intensified.

Exactly.

It suggests that maybe by engaging with pain in a controlled way, we can actually become more resilient, even more joyful.

It's tough to hear about those experiments, but the findings are pretty compelling.

And this whole idea of pain and pleasure is not just a scientific concept, right?

Philosophers have been grappling with this for centuries.

Totally.

Over 2 ,000 years ago, Socrates talked about how pleasure and pain are kind of two sides of the same coin.

He observed that they never exist together, but if you seek one, you're almost guaranteed to get the other.

Like a cosmic balancing act.

Yeah, it's pretty profound when you think about it.

And there are other historical accounts that support this idea, too.

In 1969, Helen Tosig, a cardiologist, wrote about the experiences of lightning strike survivors.

One account was about her neighbor's son, who was struck by lightning.

He was initially paralyzed and in pain, but by the time he got to the hospital, he was euphoric and his pulse was super slow.

It's really similar to what they observed in those dogs after the shocks.

So this intense pain, followed by a euphoric state and a slowed pulse, it seems like a recurring pattern.

Definitely.

It speaks to this idea that our bodies have this amazing ability to find equilibrium even after experiencing trauma.

Okay, so this brings us to hormesis, a term you mentioned earlier.

What exactly does that mean?

Hormesis is all about the beneficial effects that can come from exposing ourselves to small doses of things that are generally considered harmful.

Things like cold, heat, radiation, even exercise or fasting.

The word comes from the Greek word for to set in motion.

It's basically the idea that a little bit of stress can make you stronger, more resilient.

Like a vaccine for your whole system.

Yeah, kind of.

Think of it this way.

A small amount of exercise makes your muscles stronger, right?

Well, hormesis suggests that this applies to other stressors too.

Interesting.

Can you give us some examples?

Sure.

Studies have shown that worms exposed to a moderate increase in temperature lived longer and were more resistant to heat later on.

But too much heat and it had the opposite effect.

Same thing with fruit flies, spun in a centrifuge.

A little spinning made them more agile and they lived longer, but too much was harmful.

So it's all about finding that sweet spot, that Goldilocks zone.

Exactly.

And there's even a theory, though it's controversial,

that low dose radiation exposure might have actually increased lifespan in some Japanese citizens who lived outside the blast zone of the atomic bomb.

Wow.

It's a pretty extreme example.

But it highlights the point that it's the dose that makes the poison, as they say.

For sure.

And we see this with things like intermittent fasting and calorie restriction.

They're basically hormetic stressors too.

Studies on rodents and monkeys have shown that these practices can extend lifespan, reduce the risk of age -related diseases, even lower blood pressure.

And intermittent fasting is becoming pretty popular these days.

Even celebrities are doing it.

Yeah, I've heard about that.

So it's like tricking your body into thinking it's going through a period of scarcity, and it responds by becoming more efficient and resilient.

Exactly.

And what about exercise?

We all know it's good for us, but it's also a stressor, right?

Pushing our muscles to their limits.

Exactly.

In the short term, intense exercise can be toxic to cells.

But in the long run, it's incredibly beneficial.

It releases all sorts of feel -good neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and it promotes the growth of new neurons in the brain.

So exercise is basically like a multi -pronged, hormetic intervention.

It really is.

And studies have shown that exercise can even reduce the likelihood of drug addiction.

Rats that had access to running wheels before being exposed to drugs like cocaine or heroin were less likely to self -administer those drugs later on.

Wow, that's fascinating.

So exercise can actually protect against addiction.

It seems so.

And there's a correlation in humans, too, where higher levels of physical activity in youth are associated with lower rates of drug use.

That makes you think about the role of dopamine in all of this.

It's not just about pleasure, right?

It's also involved in our ability to move.

Dopamine is all about motivation.

The drive to move and to get what we want.

It's a primal instinct wired into our brains.

But the thing is, in our modern world, we have so many ways to get that dopamine hit without actually having to move.

Instant gratification everywhere you look.

Exactly.

And studies show that the average American spends half their waking hours sitting down.

That's a 50 % increase in the last 50 years.

We're just not moving as much as we used to.

So we're getting all this dopamine without having to work for it.

And maybe that's part of why addiction is such a problem these days.

I think you might be onto something there.

Maybe drugs are a way for us to reconnect with our bodies, to feel alive in a way that our sedentary lives don't allow.

I mean, even think about video games and smartphones.

They involve repetitive motions, almost like we're trying to simulate movement.

It's like our bodies are craving that physical exertion.

And if we don't provide it in a healthy way, we might seek it out in unhealthy ways.

Right.

And that's why I think it's so important to incorporate real physical movement into our lives.

Something as simple as a 30 -minute walk every day can make a huge difference in how we feel, both physically and mentally.

It all makes sense, this idea that pushing ourselves a little bit can lead to these great benefits.

But choosing pain over pleasure, that's tough.

It goes against our natural instincts.

It does.

Our brains are wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure, so it takes conscious effort to override that initial aversion to discomfort.

And we live in a world that's all about feeling good all the time, about instant gratification and convenience.

Yeah, it's like we've become allergic to discomfort.

In a way.

And I think that's why it's so important to be intentional about inviting some level of discomfort into our lives, to remember that sometimes the things that make us uncomfortable can also make us stronger, more resilient, even happier.

It's like that old saying, no pain, no gain.

But in this case, it's more like a little pain, a lot of gain.

Exactly.

And this idea of using pain intentionally brings us to another counterintuitive concept, using pain to treat pain.

Sounds like a paradox.

It does, but it's an idea that's been around for a long time.

Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, he observed that of two pains occurring together, the stronger weakens the other.

And throughout history, there have been all sorts of heroic therapies that involved using pain to treat illness.

Like bloodletting and things like that.

Yeah, exactly.

And while those practices have mostly fallen out of favor, there's a renewed interest these days in non -pharmacological pain treatments, as we're realizing that medications aren't always the answer.

So modern science is starting to catch up with ancient wisdom in a way.

It is.

There was a study in 2011 where they use neuroimaging to show that applying a second painful stimulus could actually reduce the perception of the initial pain.

And this pain -reducing effect was blocked when they used naloxone, which blocks opioid receptors.

So it suggests that our body's own pain relief system, the endorphins, are involved in this effect.

Exactly.

And there's a similar idea behind acupuncture.

Liu Shang, a professor of traditional Chinese medicine, he believes that the effectiveness of acupuncture is actually due to the pain caused by the needles.

He says it's like inhibiting great pain with little pain.

So the needles trigger a response that helps to alleviate other, more chronic pain.

Precisely.

And then there's low -dose naltrexone, or LDN, which is being used to treat chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia.

It's an opioid receptor antagonist, so it blocks the effects of opioids, including our own endorphins.

Wait, so it blocks our natural painkillers.

How does that help with pain?

The idea is that by briefly blocking the effects of opioids, it actually stimulates the body to produce more endorphins in the long run.

It's like a rebound effect.

And studies have shown that LDN can significantly reduce pain and improve mood in people with fibromyalgia.

So it's like giving the body a little nudge to kickstart its own pain relief system.

Exactly.

And even something as drastic as electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, can be seen as a form of hormetic shock to the brain.

ECT, the treatment for severe mental illness.

Yeah.

It involves applying electrical currents to the brain, and while modern ECT is much more humane than it used to be, it still delivers a pretty intense stimulus.

And researchers believe that this stimulus triggers a whole cascade of compensatory responses in the brain, leading to changes that can alleviate symptoms of mental illness.

So it's like resetting the brain in a way.

In a sense, yeah.

And it highlights the point that even extreme interventions can be seen through this lens of hormesis, of using stress to trigger positive change.

You also mentioned a patient named David who overcame social anxiety through exposure therapy.

How does his story fit into this?

David's a great example of using anxiety, which is a form of psychological pain, to treat itself.

Exposure therapy is all about gradually exposing people to the things they fear and avoid.

So facing your fears head on.

Exactly.

And the idea is that by doing this in a controlled way, people can learn to tolerate the discomfort and eventually even start to enjoy the things they used to bread.

David had severe social anxiety, and his therapist gave him homework that involved starting conversations with co -workers, using a script and rating his anxiety levels.

So he was intentionally putting himself in uncomfortable situations.

Yeah.

At first, his anxiety was through the roof, but over time it decreased significantly.

He then challenged himself in other social settings, like talking to the barista at Starbucks and even spilling his coffee on purpose to desensitize himself to embarrassment.

Wow, that takes guts.

It does.

But the result was amazing.

He became less guarded, he stopped avoiding social interaction, and he actually started to enjoy meeting new people.

So by facing his fear, he essentially overcame it.

That's the idea.

And it's interesting to compare David's story to that of Alex Honnold, the free climber who climbs without ropes.

Yeah, he seems fearless.

He does, and brain imaging has shown that his amygdala, the part of the brain associated with fear, is less active than in most people.

But Honnold himself attributes his ability to climb these insane cliffs without ropes to his years of training and experience.

He says his comfort zone is quite large.

So he's not fearless, he's just incredibly well -trained.

Exactly.

It's likely that through all that exposure to danger, his brain has adapted, and he's developed a high tolerance for fear, similar to how David developed a tolerance for social anxiety.

Interestingly, even Honnold experienced near panic when he was in an fMRI machine.

So even the most fearless people have their limits.

They do.

But the point is, both Honnold and David, they were essentially climbing different parts of the same fear mountain.

They developed these mental calluses that allowed them to overcome their anxieties.

So it's not about avoiding pain or fear altogether.

It's about learning to manage it, to use it to our advantage.

Exactly.

But this brings up a really important question.

Can we have too much of a good thing?

Can we become addicted to pain itself?

That's a good question.

I mean, if pain can trigger these pleasurable responses, could it become a cycle?

It can.

Remember Michael, the guy who started our conversation with his cold water immersion?

Well, over time, he started pushing himself further and further.

He went from cold showers to longer and colder ice baths.

He even used a meat freezer to get the water down to near freezing.

Wow, that's intense.

It is.

And he even admitted that it started to sound like an addiction.

He was constantly upping the ante, needing more and more cold to get that same effect.

So even something that starts out as a healthy coping mechanism can become problematic if it's taken too far.

Absolutely.

And it makes you wonder if other things that are generally considered healthy, like exercise, could also become addictive.

Yeah, I've heard of exercise addiction.

It's a real thing.

And there's actually some interesting research on running wheels in mice, you know, those wheels you see in cages.

Yeah.

Well, it turns out that those wheels can be pretty addictive for mice.

They'll often run on them to the point of exhaustion, even neglecting other enriching activities in their environment.

Really?

So it's not just about getting exercise, it's about something else.

Exactly.

Professor Alan Rosenwasser, who studies circadian rhythms, he pointed out that running wheels engage the same reward pathways in the brain as drugs like cocaine.

And rodents on wheels often run much farther than they ever would in the wild, sometimes even injuring themselves.

So it's like the wheel itself is reinforcing, almost like a drug.

It seems so.

And there's a theory that the three -dimensional motion of the wheel might be particularly rewarding, kind of like how humans enjoy roller coasters.

And there was even a study where they put running wheels in natural environments.

And they found that wild animals, not just mice, would use them even without any food rewards.

So it's not just a lab phenomenon, it's something that's intrinsically rewarding for these animals.

That's what it seems like.

And this whole idea of getting hooked on intense experiences,

it makes you think about extreme sports too.

Yeah, those sports that involve a lot of risk and adrenaline.

Exactly.

Skydiving, base jumping, all those activities, they deliver a massive dopamine rush.

And just like we can develop a tolerance to drugs, we can develop a tolerance to these intense experiences, needing more and more to get that same feeling.

So it's like chasing that high, that rush, but it keeps getting harder to achieve.

Right.

And there's a phenomenon called overtraining syndrome that can happen in endurance athletes.

They train so much that their reward system gets burned out, and they start feeling bad instead of good.

So even pushing your limits can backfire if you go too far.

It can.

And there are even cases of people who seem to be addicted to pain itself.

There was a runner who kept training despite having stress fractures, and there was a patient who cut herself to feel a rush and calm her mind.

Wow, that's scary.

So it really is a delicate balance, this whole pain pleasure thing.

It is.

It's not about avoiding pain altogether, but it's also not about seeking it out recklessly.

It's about finding that sweet spot, that just right amount of challenge that pushes us to grow and adapt without becoming destructive.

And that brings us back to Michael's story.

He eventually found a way to make his cold water practice more social, more balanced.

He did.

He started hosting these cold water parties with his friends and family where everyone takes turns getting in the cold water and cheering each other on.

It became this fun communal experience, a far cry from the isolation of his addiction.

So he found a way to use this challenging practice to connect with others.

That's really inspiring.

It is, and it highlights the point that even though pain and discomfort are often seen as negative things, they can actually be powerful tools for growth and connection if we approach them with awareness and intention.

So as we wrap up our deep dive, what's the key takeaway for our listeners?

I think the biggest takeaway is that our relationship with pain is much more complex than we often realize.

Pain can be a teacher, a motivator, even a source of pleasure if we allow it to be.

And remember, everyone's experience with pain is different.

It's important to listen to your body, to find what works for you, and to avoid pushing yourself beyond your limits.

Absolutely.

This isn't about advocating for suffering.

It's about exploring the potential benefits of discomfort, of challenging ourselves in ways that can lead to greater resilience, well -being, and even joy.

So think about it.

What small discomfort might you be willing to embrace this week?

Maybe a cold shower, a challenging workout, a difficult conversation.

You never know what surprising benefits you might discover.

So there you have it, our deep dive into the surprising power of pain.

We've covered Michael's journey from addiction to cold water immersion, the science of homeesis, historical and philosophical perspectives on pain and pleasure, even how pain can be used to treat pain.

And we've explored the potential for addiction, not just to substances, but to things like exercise and even work.

It's a complex and fascinating topic, and hopefully this deep dive has given you some new insights into your own relationship with pain and the potential it holds for growth and transformation.

Absolutely.