The Pain That Became A Pleasure

This week we read the article about pains and pleasures. From that I understood how both signals pains and pleasures are felt and processed in similar areas of the brain. The Striatum releases dopamine when the brain is stimulated to this pleasure, so the want of the same pleasure gets bigger, the reward system of your brain. That’s why teens “reward system” tends to be bigger, they feel more excitement than adults. And why is that? Because teens usually see the “fun” of something or the pro’s of an activity or action to be overpowering to the con’s. They are aware of the risks but there is more emphasis to the positive aspects because of the reward drive that is actively releasing dopamine to thrilling experiences and sensations.
Something that has been a pain is my gym. We do really hard workouts that challenge us to push ourselves the most we can, mental and physical. It’s like a crossfit class for youth athletes, it’s usually a 2 hour class. When I began going to this specific gym about 2 years ago it was a real struggle. I would start panting with the warm up. The trainers were alright around that time, but they weren’t close to us or at least willing to. So going there wasn’t a LOVE, I felt like it was just something I needed to do to improve in my strength for sports. I would leave right after my class was done, just get it over with.
Now, about a year ago they brought in a bunch of new trainers. They were different then the people who worked there 2 years ago. They have a huge heart for the kids and athletes, for their improvement and making their lives better. Making a change in them. Although, it got a lot harder, it was 10 times better. I started to see how they wanted to know about me, to do anything to help me improve as an athlete and a person. I connected this to the pains and pleasures because, just being around the people make me want to go and stay for 2 extra hours, they make me want to get better and do more. It hurts but, the pros of being able to see my family everyday is way more overpowering. I wonder if the pain became into a pleasure to my brain.