Pleasure vs. Happiness: The Confusion That’s Stealing Our Well-Being
- carmen fernandez de cordoba
- Jul 25
- 2 min read
“It’s always so delicious!” said a woman who had just undergone bariatric surgery. She asked my sister-in-law how she managed to control her weight. My sister-in-law replied: “Honestly, I only eat when I’m hungry.”
The woman looked at her in surprise and answered: “Eat when you’re hungry? I eat for HAPPINESS!”
That’s when everything made sense.
When Robert Lustig witnessed this conversation, he thought: “We don’t know how to tell the difference between pleasure and happiness.” And understanding that distinction is essential.
According to the author, there are seven key differences between the two:
Pleasure is fleeting; happiness is lasting.
Pleasure is felt in the body; happiness is more spiritual, of the soul.
Pleasure involves receiving or consuming; happiness often comes from giving.
Pleasure can be obtained through substances (food, alcohol, drugs); happiness cannot.
Pleasure is often experienced alone; happiness is shared.
When taken to the extreme, pleasure can become addictive. Happiness does not create addiction. Pleasure is linked to dopamine; happiness to serotonin.
And why does this matter so much?
Because dopamine, while it gives us that momentary “high,” when overstimulated can desensitize the brain. This is called downregulation: you need more and more to feel the same effect, and that cycle—more stimulus, less effect, more need—leads to addiction.
Serotonin, on the other hand, works in the opposite way: it calms, regulates, and generates well-being and connection. It is the chemistry of deep satisfaction, of feeling at peace and in harmony.
But here lies the problem: dopamine inhibits serotonin. In other words, the more you chase pleasure, the less room you leave for happiness.
And this is no coincidence. The entertainment, advertising, tech, and political industries have deliberately blurred the line between the two. They tell us happiness can be bought—that a product, an app, a trip, a “like” will bring fulfillment—but what they sell is pleasure, not happiness. And so, we become addicted to consumption and empty inside.
The most tragic part is that many people don’t realize they’re caught in that cycle. When “I want” turns into “I need,” that’s where addiction begins.
📊 Comparative Table: Pleasure vs. Happiness according to Robert Lustig
About Robert H. Lustig
Robert H. Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist, researcher, and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco. He is known for his critical stance on the food industry and excessive sugar consumption, and for exposing how the current system promotes immediate pleasure instead of lasting well-being.
Some of his most influential books include:
The Hacking of the American Mind
Fat Chance
Metabolical
His TED Talks and interviews are available on YouTube, where he expands on how modern culture has pulled us away from true happiness.
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