Question

What is pleasure, and what is happiness?

What do you think is the main difference between the two?

Why is it important to understand the difference between pleasure and happiness?

How are pleasure and happiness related to overall emotional wellness?

Answer 1

Pleasure is a momentary feeling that comes from something external (like eating chocolate, getting a new car or phone etc.), it has more to do with the positive experiences of our senses, and with good things happening. Pleasurable experiences may give us momentary feelings of happiness but it’s not long lasting, easy to attain but difficult to maintain feeling. Pleasure is synonymous to enjoyment, love/intimacy, fun, excitement, euphoria, ecstasy.

Happiness is a state of inner fulfilment (not the gratification of desires external pleasurable things)

Happiness is synonymous to Joy, Satisfaction, fulfilment, gratitude, appreciation. It is derived from internal source, its long lasting, hard to attain, moderately easy to maintain.

Pleasure is externally motivated and varying, while happiness is internally generated and constant.

Happiness is often related to maximisation of pleasure. But such happiness is volatile, may become unpleasant with time. The difference between pleasure act and happiness has to be realised in order to be happy eternally.

There are three main factors that comprise our happiness:

• Set-point: It’s the biological level of happiness, the overall of sense of happiness. Some people are naturally less happy than others, or vice versa. The comprises 50% of over all happiness.
• Circumstances: Our physical circumstances affect our level of happiness to some extent.
• Voluntary Variables: This has to do more with our behaviour and thoughts. This is said to make up 40% of our overall happiness and it actually offsets the set-point and circumstances.

These voluntary variables, when increased, promote happiness. These are behaviours and actions like love, kindness, generosity, gratitude etc. Being in these states give a sense of deep and abiding happiness and joy. The more we act in line with them, the happier we become.

The act of caring, compassion, kindness and gratitude carry spiritual values which are important for well-being and emotional wellness of Individual. They meet one of the factors for being healthy, the spiritual factor.