News
29 June, 2025
So bad, but good
SHARING discomfort with others — especially when it comes with moments of joy — can strengthen social bonds, according to research led by Dr Laura Ferris from The University of Queensland’s Business School.
Dr Ferris, a social psychologist, explored what people gain from experiencing ‘aversive’ or uncomfortable events together. Her team found that it wasn’t shared pain alone that created connection — but shared pleasure in that pain.
“We often hear about trauma bonding, but our research found that pleasure, not pain, was the strongest predictor of whether people felt socially connected after a shared experience,” she said.
The researchers surveyed participants in Tasmania’s annual Dark Mofo solstice swim, where hundreds run naked into the freezing Derwent River at sunrise.
“Despite the physical discomfort, people who described the swim as pleasurable also reported feeling closer to others around them afterwards,” Dr Ferris said.
The team also studied reactions to 150.Action by Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch — an intense, visceral performance involving the destruction of an animal carcass, spattered blood, and loud dirge music. While deliberately confronting, it was not physically painful.
“Interestingly, although the swimmers likely experienced more physical pain, they were more likely to report pleasure and a stronger sense of social connection than those at the art performance,” Dr Ferris said.
She said these findings reflected a broader phenomenon known as ‘benign masochism’, where people seek out safe forms of discomfort — like eating spicy food, watching horror films, or enduring extreme cold.
“These experiences can trigger the body’s opioid system, leading to lingering feelings of wellbeing and, as our research shows, social closeness,” Dr Ferris said.
The study was a collaboration between researchers from UQ’s School of Psychology, the Australian National University, and the University of Melbourne, adding new understanding to why people deliberately seek out difficult shared experiences.
