Hedonic adaptation: how do we modulate our search for well-being?

As our quality of life changes, so does our search for well-being.

We live in a world where it is increasingly easy to obtain "pleasure", even if this pleasure is ephemeral and slips through our fingers like sand in the desert. On the other hand, life also puts us in situations that cause us suffering, and sometimes we have no choice but to accept it.

Hedonic adaptation is a concept that encompasses these two elements: pleasure and adaptation.. It is a tendency for people to return to a previous state of pleasure, no matter how many obstacles and difficult situations arise.

In this article we will see in detail what this concept consists of and reflect on its implications and repercussions in the human being.

What is hedonic adaptation?

What is hedonic adaptation? Hedonic adaptation is defined as the ability of people to adapt to the different situations we experience throughout our lives, whether they are good or bad. To illustrate this, let's take an example: we want a motorcycle, and we want the best one on the market. We buy it.

We feel great satisfaction and pleasure (hedonism) in doing so, especially during the first few days.. But little by little, and as the weeks go by, we get used to the bike, to the situation (which is no longer new), and to the initial sensation. What has happened? We have adapted to it; a hedonic adaptation to the situation has occurred.

In other words, hedonic adaptation is the tendency of people to return to a relatively stable level of pleasure and happiness, despite the events and situations, both positive and negative, that we experience in our lives.

Hedonism

Before delving into the curious world of hedonic adaptation, let's talk about the basis on which it is founded: hedonism.

What is hedonism? It is a philosophical doctrine, which is based on the idea that the objective in the life of a person is the search for pleasure and the avoidance of pleasure. the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of suffering.. Hedonism emerged in Greece, and its main promoter was the philosopher Epicurus. For this reason, hedonism is also called "Epicureanism".

Epicurus, specifically, argued that the search for pleasure should be done through the pursuit of wisdom; thus, we see how the term has changed slightly, since today we consider hedonistic a constant pleasure-seeking behavior through the senses, that is, through food, sex, drink ... in short, through "material" things (materialism).

Hedonic adaptation in negative situations

As we saw in the introduction, hedonic adaptation occurs in both positive and negative situations. occurs in both positive and negative situations.

Thus, the nature of human beings allows them to adapt to situations that provide them with well-being as well as to those that cause them suffering (logically, this may vary from one person to another, but in general hedonic adaptation consists in this).

Let us take another example to illustrate hedonic adaptation in negative life situations. If, God forbid, a person suffers a traffic accident and loses an arm, his initial reaction is likely to be one of suffering and despair.

However, as time goes by, he is likely to adapt to this situation, it is likely that he will adapt to this new situation that he has had to live in (hedonic adaptation), and may even find pleasure again in other ways, in other things, etc. There are even people who overcome such traumatic situations and come out of them stronger: this phenomenon (or trait) is known as resilience.

Mind and brain

The human brain is configured to adapt to the environment and to the very different situations in which a person may be involved. In other words, the brain is programmed for us to survive the environment..

Many times, it is the mind itself that plays a trick on us, making us believe that we will not be able to face or overcome a certain situation, when the reality is not that.

The key is in the mind, which has a lot of power; in fact, the mind is a kind of muscle, the mind is a kind of Muscle that we can train and learn to dominate, so that it will not be the one to be the one to face or overcome the situation.In fact, the mind is a kind of muscle that we can train and learn to master, so that it does not dominate us through negative and catastrophic thoughts.

What does happiness depend on?

Talking about hedonic adaptation, which we all experience at some point in our lives, leads us to ask ourselves the following question: what does our happiness depend on? In each person this question will have a different answer, since each person relies on a series of things to "achieve" happiness.

However, we can say that, as a general rule, happiness depends on health, happiness depends on health, because if we lack health, it is of little use if we have many possessions, or many social relationships...Although these elements will help to improve our wellbeing, the truth is that enjoying health is a better way to live, because we can truly enjoy life.

This does not mean that people who are unhealthy cannot enjoy life; they will simply have to face their situation and acquire a series of coping strategies that will allow them to face difficulties while still seeking happiness or well-being, largely through hedonic adaptation.

On the other hand, it is important to bear in mind, that happiness does not depend so much on the things that happen to us in life, but rather on how we react to them, on how we take them, and on how we take them.how we take them and how we deal with them. Therein lies the key to personal well-being; that is, within us, and not outside.

The concept of happiness

In psychology, the concept of happiness takes on many meanings, and in fact it is not exactly the same to speak of well-being, as it is to speak of happiness, pleasure, enjoyment... As a result, we can ask ourselves the following: What is happiness? Is it something that can be "achieved"?

Opinions vary widely on these issues, although it is true that for many, happiness is not so much something that is "achieved", but something that is enjoyed at specific moments in life. If, however, we are talking about a more generalized state of pleasure or joy, it might be better to use the term "well-being", it might be better to use the term "well-being" or "quality of life"..

In search of pleasure

Humans, like many animals, seek pleasure in their lives, many even constantly. This is a natural human mechanism, and hedonism is based on it. Who likes to suffer? We could say, without the risk of being wrong, that practically no one (unless it is someone with a fetishistic or sadomasochistic disorder, for example).

On the other hand, joy, pleasure, satisfaction, enjoyment? all this we like, and that's why we crave it and seek it out.. If we move away from it, what happens? That this process of hedonic adaptation, which in a way is a survival mechanism, is reactivated.

Thus, our body, our mind and our brain, act in unison to bring us back to that original relatively pleasant state, or at least, of emotional tranquility..

That is why, even if traumatic situations or events happen to us (or simply negative day-to-day events), we generally survive them, overcome them and manage to reorganize our life and our emotions. That is what hedonic adaptation is all about.