Fear of Feeling Good

I came to know about this from a site that actually sells treatment for this phobia.It is surprising to find that such a kind of thing exists.Want to know more read on.Fear of feeling good is known as Hedonophobia in medical terms."Hedonophobia" is derived from the Greek "hedone" (pleasure, delight) and "phobos" (fear). Other words derived from "hedone" include "hedonism" (a philosophy that emphasizes pleasure as the main aim of life) and "hedonist" (a pleasure-seeker).

What is it?

An abnormal, excessive, and persistent fear of pleasure. Sufferers with this typically feel guilty about experiencing pleasure even though they usually realize rationally there is nothing at all wrong with taking pleasure. Their guilt usually arises from the fact that they are participating a pleasurable activity while others around them or in the world at large are experiencing nothing but illness, grief, economic hardship and other painful problems. Their guilt may also arise from the belief that life is best lived ascetically (similar to the idea that, for a medicine to do good, it must taste bad).

Where does it come from?

Like all fears and phobias, fear of feeling good is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in your past, there was likely an event linking feeling pleasure and emotional trauma. Whilst the original catalyst may have been a real-life scare of some kind, the condition can also be triggered by myriad, benign events like movies, TV, or perhaps seeing someone else experience trauma.

But so long as the negative association is powerful enough, the unconscious mind thinks: "Ahh, this whole thing is very dangerous. How do I keep myself from getting in this kind of situation again? I know, I'll attach terrible feelings to feeling pleasure, that way I'll steer clear in future and so be safe." Just like that fear of feeling good is born.