The Hidden Science Behind Pleasure: Why Too Much Enjoyment Leads to Anxiety and Depression

Every time we eat, work, exercise, or engage in similar activities, our brain releases chemicals like dopamine, which generate feelings of satisfaction and pleasure. This natural mechanism encourages us to keep doing things that are beneficial for our survival. Everything was designed by the Creator with profound wisdom. Pleasure is not the main purpose of life, but is a tool that helps us fulfill other, more essential goals.

Neuroscience has uncovered that pleasure is intended to be limited by nature. When a person lives a modest life and experiences pleasures in a moderate and restrained way, their brain continues to release pleasure-inducing chemicals steadily throughout the day. This enables them to enjoy many daily activities such as eating, walking, talking to friends, listening to music, working, and so on. This is the natural state of a healthy human being.

What happens to someone who goes to extremes in seeking pleasure? When a person consumes addictive substances or frequently watches loud, overly stimulating content, the brain responds by releasing a large amount of pleasure-inducing chemicals all at once. This leads to a short-term euphoric high, but afterward, the brain is left depleted, resulting in a significant drop in enjoyment and energy, often accompanied by feelings of sadness and depression.

Repeated overexposure to such overstimulation teaches the brain not to produce pleasure-inducing chemicals on its own, leading to atrophy of the brain’s reward center. Once this damage is done, the addicted person can no longer enjoy simple pleasures like eating, music, or conversations. They become dependent on larger and more frequent doses of the addictive substance just to feel even a slight sense of pleasure. This explains why an addict may degrade themselves or even risk their life in pursuit of what has become their only source of enjoyment.

This is the scientific explanation behind addiction: too much pleasure leads to suffering, anxiety, and depression, all caused by the deterioration of the brain’s reward system. Only after a sustained period of detox and abstinence can the brain begin to recover and return to its normal function, thereby allowing the person to once again enjoy the simple experiences of life.

Understanding the true nature of pleasure as created by G-d, teaches us a foundational life lesson. Thousands of years ago, King Solomon already described the same principle using a metaphor: “If you find honey, eat only what you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16). The sages encapsulated this concept of desire by saying, “If you satisfy it—it hungers, and if you starve it—it is satisfied” (Sanhedrin 107a).

Modern science has now reached this same conclusion that to truly enjoy life, we must restrain our desires, limit our indulgences, and consume pleasures with moderation and humility. Pleasure is like fuel for a car—it helps you reach your destination, but it is not the destination itself.

Those who live according to the Creator’s “manufacturer instructions,” as provided in the holy Torah, will not only enjoy life to its fullest in this world, but will also fulfill the deep and noble mission of their soul.