Doświadczenia hedoniczne
Hedonic Experiences

Summary/Abstract: Pleasure is central to a normal, healthy life. The more thoroughly we learn about the mechanisms of pleasure, the better we can understand anhedonia and the options for treating it. Hedonia is associated (wrongly) with hedonism and consumerism. The pursuit of pleasure is treated as in opposition of to the pursuit of values, and the maximisation of pleasurable experiences to the pursuit of goals that give meaning to life. From the point of view of neuroscience, this juxtaposition is unjustified. All pleasures, from the simplest, sensory (such as taste), and those deriving from social relationships, to pleasures of an abstract, intellectual or aesthetic nature, activate the same brain reward system. Pursuing values can be pleasurable in itself, while finding meaning is pleasure at its highest. Pleasure is important for individual development and for simple survival. Renouncing pleasure is a maladaptive strategy. Mindfulness and the ability to focus on pleasurable (small and seemingly insignificant) aspects of reality are invaluable in a crisis situation and in a state of prolonged stress. Good emotions and hedonic experiences - sensual, intellectual, and social - allow us to remain human in the most difficult of circumstances

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