Why do we like pain?

First, let us hear Caroline’s story told by Tim. 

Caroline loved to try annal sex with Tim and they decided to use a much bigger dildo on her this time. Tim did preliminary play with his fingers, an ass plug, and his second-biggest dildo. He massaged her, talked dirty to her, slipped lube in her butt, and played with her nipples. But Caroline’s ass would only open so far. They had reached a plateau. 

Finally, Caroline yelled out in frustration, “get my belt!!!” Tim quickly realized that she wants him to hit her with the belt, hard! Tim doubled up the belt and smacked her with it, drawing a broad strip across her smooth ass, increasing the force until she was shuddering and dragging on the bedsheets in her hands. Her body would tense up at each blow and then let out a long scream, having what looked and sounded like an orgasm.  

After that, Tim had no trouble getting the fat 10-inch dildo into her ass. She was relaxed as she could be. And if she did begin to tense up, all Tim had to do was trail the belt down on Caroline’s buttocks and she would sigh and melt into him. 

So, what happened here? Did the pain give Caroline more pleasure and bring her over the edge? 

So what gives? 

When we feel pain, all sorts of feel-good chemicals get pumped into our system as a way to cope. Endorphins, anandamide, and adrenaline are all responsible for that “heat buzz” after a hot wings challenge. The hippocampus orders endorphins to block the transmission of pain signals, and also stimulates the brain’s limbic and prefrontal regions. That’s where our penchant for grand romance and an appreciation of music lives.

Adrenaline raises your heart rate and excitement levels, while anandamide chills you out. Anandamide, aka the “bliss chemical,” is like the endorphins’ cool cousin. It binds to the same receptors in the brain as marijuana and produces the same warm and fuzzy feeling. And it’s not just chemicals that determine how we feel pain.

Our brains are pretty smart. They’re able to determine when a stimulus that’s causing us pain isn’t actually a threat, even when our bodies are screaming that it is. That initial scary moment coupled with the realization that we’d been duped by our senses actually brings us pleasure. The concept is called “benign masochism.” It’s what tells us that it’s fun to eat ghost peppers, to ride roller coasters, and to take a whiff of spoiled milk.

So, if we put ourselves in a situation that is very likely to cause pain, that means any positive experience coming out of that is magnified because it's unexpected and surprising. 

So Pain is Pleasure, and use it wisely!