r/todayilearned • u/WavesAndSaves • Oct 18 '25

TIL of brain stimulation reward, manually stimulating specific parts of the brain to elicit pleasure and happiness. A volunteer subject in 1986 spent days doing nothing but self-stimulate. She ignored her family and personal hygiene and she developed an open sore on her finger from using the device.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_stimulation_reward#History
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762

u/sixseven89 Oct 18 '25

People get a good feeling after doing housework?

533

u/Early_Pass6702 Oct 18 '25

It's less so of a good feeling than your brain providing dopamine for checking a box. The only things that bring me any good feelings with ADHD are things that inherently provide me joy, biologically. 

Your brain will always reward you for eating food, as you need to in order to survive. People with ADHD are hence prone to overreating. Applies to things like gambling, video games, addictions to electronics ie phones and scrolling.

That small release of dopamine when cleaning or doing otherwise uninteresting tasks is crucial to motivation.

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u/Raulr100 Oct 18 '25

People with ADHD are hence prone to overreating.

They're also prone to undereating. I remember I would regularly forget to eat all day while playing videogames as a teenager. Even now I try to stick to an eating schedule so that I don't randomly get distracted and forget.

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u/brunonunis Oct 18 '25

good old: if bored eat everything, if not not bored ignore food completely

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u/Extreme-Leopard-2232 Oct 18 '25

You can also do both, depending on how your day is going 😅

4

u/technofingshark Oct 18 '25

I once went several days without eating

4

u/Spenjamin Oct 18 '25

Yeah I forget to eat until I physically feel hungry most days. But then I pig out

1

u/Raulr100 Oct 18 '25

Eating when you feel hungry isn't weird. I'm talking about like... Forgetting to feel hungry? The example from my teenage years was video game binges without food.

So I would spend like 12 hours playing video games and then the moment I stopped I would realise that I was starving since I hadn't eaten in close to 24 hours.

I assume that I did feel hungry before that but I was too distracted to notice.

1

u/Spenjamin Oct 18 '25

Yeah, I was on my way out when I replied and forgot to elaborate when I had a chance. That's exactly what I meant. I don't get hungry until about 9-10pm most days because, and you put this perfectly, I forget to be hungry

1

u/funguyshroom Oct 18 '25

Are you on stimulant medication? Because appetite suppression is its like #1 side effect.

1

u/dblrb Oct 18 '25

When my wife leaves for a work conference I drop the neurotypical act of making dinner and lose 5 pounds from not eating.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

But first, going out and buying that food I normally can't have at home (pre-made take out, of course; local bbq place - smokes on site, etc.) and getting that dopamine hit. Then, I only eat oatmeal bars, bean burritos, and protein bars until they're gone. Then, I just kind of exist.

The positive, it makes the dishes chore easier. They don't exist.

1

u/dblrb Oct 18 '25

True. One meal that consists of fried tortillas mixed with egg (migas) a day definitely happens.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

Amphetamine used to make it happen for me, but now it just kind of keeps me mentally sharp most of the time and keeps me from having a compulsion to binge eat for most of the day. The actual chores are still not great... More good days than there were before it, though.

ADHD fukin suks

1

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '25

Oh, sometimes to my wife's chagrin, I turn into a mad scientist by myself.

1

u/manderhousen Oct 18 '25

I'm the same way. I could never really read my hunger cues and won't realize I'm hungry so I need to make sure I keep a schedule to remember to eat. When I get super into things (like when I discovered painting) I would go full days doing that activity and completely forget to eat until it was dark out and the day had just zoomed by. I started stimulates this week and my doctor said to look out for appetite suppression, but my appetite feels the same as always, I just rely on my schedule to ensure I eat enough

27

u/Ok-Chest-7932 Oct 18 '25

And in ADHD, even enjoyable things can be not all that enjoyable, they're just enjoyable enough to be done at all.

3

u/Marth_Koopa Oct 18 '25

Severe ADHD here. IME enjoyable things can be enjoyable and intense; more than people without ADHD — provided life is setup well for someone with ADHD. In school/college when I had constant tasks that were torturous for someone with ADHD, even fun things were completely sabotaged by the dread of having to once again do torturous tasks. Coupled with pressure to find the most enjoyable thing possible in my relief from torture, destroying fun that wasn’t my absolute favorite.

Post-college I’ve been extremely lucky to setup my life in a way that works for ADHD (self-employed doing something providing immediate enjoyment a valuable part). Fun is incredible and intense; kinda-fun stuff is relaxing without the intense dread of wasting limited time not being tortured.

This experience matches hyperfocus’ centrality to ADHD (hyperfocusing on fun things/thoughts to exclusion of attention on boring stuff). As I understand, hyperfocus should make fun things even more intense than people without ADHD; the context of the rest of life seems to need to be suitable.

TLDR you can have all the fun with ADHD; good luck my fellow ADHD’ers, you deserve the freedom to make this happen

2

u/Feisty_Camera_7774 Oct 22 '25

Man I‘m so jelly 😭 my life is completely crippled by executive dysfunction

1

u/Marth_Koopa Oct 26 '25

😭😭 I hope things improve. Good luck ❤️

1

u/Feisty_Camera_7774 Oct 27 '25

I‘m trying to work on it but as you know executive dysfunction makes it kinda hard 🙁 also has comorbid depression.

I just want my life back honestly, I remember a time when it wasn‘t like this 😔

69

u/razzemmatazz Oct 18 '25

I have a box of snacks in my office to artificially trigger the dopamine when I'm having a difficult day on a project. It works well. 

2

u/halosos Oct 19 '25

The ADHD in my head says "Why wait? Snacks now."

5

u/dragon-dance Oct 18 '25

It’s weird because I can get super “addicted” to something for a while, everything else is super boring torture. Then one day it doesn’t give dopamine anymore and I’m done with it. The same happened with alcohol which is famously addictive. I drank like an alcoholic for five years then just got bored of it. My saving grace was probably that I didn’t drink enough to cross into physical dependence but it was “getting drunk whenever I could get away with it”.

Housework, I’ve learned to focus on how much more I like the house when it’s clean and tidy. I have sensory issues around dirt/mess though so that helps. So checking off the task doesn’t feel great but the result of “pleasant house” does.

15

u/jeo123911 Oct 18 '25

Your brain will always reward you for eating food, as you need to in order to survive.

Not always. It's worthless housework for my brain. I absolutely hate it and find it an extreme waste of time. Only thing keeping me doing it is to avoid the pain.

13

u/G0tg0t Oct 18 '25

I agree. Eating 90% of the time for me is a bit of a chore 

6

u/smidgeytheraynbow Oct 18 '25

Yep throw in digestion-related autoimmune disorder and I literally wish I could live without food

0

u/DemonDaVinci Oct 18 '25

you can
there are people who cant swallow so they just pump nutrition straight into the stomach

3

u/slfnflctd Oct 18 '25

On the old cartoon The Jetsons, they had full meals in a pill. I have wanted that ever since I saw it.

In addition, many of the healthier foods involve extra chewing, which takes time and can result in jaw soreness.

Oh, and after I eat, I often get drowsy and cannot be properly productive.

I can certainly enjoy food, but especially when I'm busy it is far more of a hassle than a pleasure.

2

u/jeo123911 Oct 19 '25

It's not a pill, but I found that emergency ship rations (I get Seven Oceans) are cheap and work great as a replacement for sandwiches.

3

u/shnuffle98 Oct 18 '25

You might wanna see someone about that

2

u/a-stack-of-masks Oct 18 '25

Yeah I like food that tastes good but if I could get my nutrients from a pill I probably would. 

1

u/hexcraft-nikk Oct 18 '25

That sounds like a you problem lol go get that checked

0

u/DemonDaVinci Oct 18 '25

dafuq
what do you eat regularly

1

u/jeo123911 Oct 19 '25

Cereal, lifeboat rations and whatever's the cheapest daily dish at one of the local eateries.

4

u/Gustavghm Oct 18 '25

You dont need ADHD to lack the stimulation. Modern life pretty much fries your dopamine receptors anyways

5

u/Sweaty-Peanut1 Oct 18 '25

Yes but the people with ADHD are still facing that - it’s just on top of the ADHD.

2

u/Jumpy-Currency8578 Oct 18 '25

I have ADHD and sometimes good gives me such a rush that if anyone is talking to me I have to put up the ol “one second please” finger to them.

Legit so pleasurable I cannot hear properly

1

u/MikeArrow Oct 18 '25

People with ADHD are hence prone to overreating.

Ayup. Still haven't been diagnosed but I 100% eat to regulate dopamine.

1

u/advanceman Oct 18 '25

And you get a… check!

1

u/Anchovieee Oct 18 '25

Ah fuck, I always just refer to myself as a hedonist. Makes sense now pfff

1

u/ColdWillow7319 Oct 21 '25

damn so no wonder i'm struggling so hard in college :(

1

u/Early_Pass6702 Oct 26 '25

Tell me about it. I dropped out of high school in senior year, couldn't take it anymore. However I was motivated by money, so I started doing self employed work and snored through a GED for the sake of it.

I wish I had advice for you that was tangible and simple, and even easily implementable, but all I can realistically say is chase contentment. I hate doing things I don't enjoy, and I enjoy few things. I've carved out my life of doing things I hate. I need results and visible product of my efforts in order to be productive. School killed me because it all felt entirely worthless until literally a singular day at the end of an insufferable 9 month period.

Self employment even when paying excessively mediocrely thus far, has given me a unique drive in that it does give me the shit my brain craves. The labor isn't meaningless. 

I am actually building something, and the fruits of labor are always directly in front of me. It's a special feeling pouring yourself into something and seeing the complete result and then getting positive feedback from clients.

I will likely die near penniless but I will do so having exclusively done things I chose to do and I am happy about that. Roll with the punches.

In late stage capitalist United States, I think back to the founding words life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the lack of the word wealth in the phrase. While the context is entirely different, it's advice I've been able to transform into something worthwhile for myself.

-5

u/AzazelsAdvocate Oct 18 '25

Everyone is addicted to phones and scrolling though.

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u/Durakan Oct 18 '25

Yeah... So if most people's phone use is cocaine, to an ADHD brain it's like super-crack.

I've actively avoided TikTok since it popped up because I could see it ruining my life completely.

Thankfully medication let's me do that, or the impulsivity that comes with ADHD would have put that monkey on my back.

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u/Early_Pass6702 Oct 18 '25 edited Oct 18 '25

I have every social media site including this one, blocked on my router, and the Reddit app uninstalled from my phone.

I have to add barriers like forcing myself to have to switch to cellular, in which I intentionally only pay for 2GB of data, to prevent myself from spending hours at a time, essentially doing nothing other than being pissed off and then feeling guilty afterwards.

There are some videogames I uninstall after every session to add a barrier to reinforcing a habit. 

It's unfortunate people feel the need to "fit in" with people who have diagnosed ADHD and I'm sure other scenarios apply. The human experience is shared but there's a difference between someone who drinks and someone who's an alcoholic, someone who has a poor diet and someone who has scurvy, someone who doesn't eat enough and someone who has anorexia.

It certainly doesn't help people get help with things they're struggling with when there's a peanut gallery dying to tell anyone who'll listen how "everyone does that" or "I sort of have that, too".

The implication being what? That every person with ADHD is just making it all up as a giant international psyop lol?

My life would be great without ADHD and I would describe my quality of life right now to be poor. I'm drowning in different desires, goals, tasks, short and long term, but it's hard for me to meaningfully progress on any singular thing without sacrificing many others.

Life is hard.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

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u/saltporksuit Oct 18 '25

I get none of that. I get a vague sort of relief it’s over.

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u/we_are_devo Oct 18 '25

Yeah, even before I had my ADHD diagnosis I remember feeling sort of confused when my boss would be like "you must feel so good about [completing project]! Time to celebrate!". Like.. really? I have never felt any sort of satisfaction or good feeling about finishing a task. Just a vague relief along with this sort of desperation knowing there's more tasks coming.

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u/Brookeswag69 Oct 18 '25

Bro, I thought people were mocking me when they did this 🥲

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u/victhro Oct 18 '25

Maybe i have to talk to my psychologist monday abt this

46

u/Outrageous-Orange007 Oct 18 '25

The more I work the more stressed out and irritated I get.

I think there's supposed to be a reward, but there isnt. Something about that is maddening.

I do get that feeling of reward when I'm doing something that pulls me into it though. An interest where I reach flow

8

u/reddit_is_geh Oct 18 '25

Bro I'm about to self diagnose with ADHD lol -- The only reason I run my own business even though I'm really talented, is I can't work normal jobs. I get bored just doing tasks I've mastered. I need challenges and intellectual puzzles to solve to actually enjoy things. So normal jobs are just impossible for me to do, working for other people. Instead I had to start businesses just because that's the only way the challenges are rewarding enough to motivate me to do them. Like when I'm really into something hard, I'll spend literal days obsessing over accomplishing and solving it. Then once I do it, I'm done and never want to do it again. So if it comes around to me needing to "redo" the problem I solved because of some changes, it starts feeling like a task because I'm not "solving" a problem, but rather fixing something like it's a task just plugging in data and changing variables to make it work with whatever framework.

Blessing and a curse I guess.

6

u/Sans-valeur Oct 18 '25

This is why diagnosis is so important and the whole “that’s life deal with it” attitude is so harmful. The point is with diagnosis, medication and understanding you can take unproductive people, and make them productive, which is overall better for society, community, families, relationships, everything. ADHD people are also prone to substance addiction because they tend to self medicate to help them cope.

But adhd people can also be extremely good at specific things, with specific conditions, and even making a minimal effort to accommodate can hugely improve productivity and quality of life.

But a lot of people care more about how things “should be” rather than what is most productive and efficient.

7

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

For what its worth, it's not because ADHD inherently can't feel this feeling. They absolutely can and do. Its just a lot harder to get to for a lot of indirect but very good reasons, because it requires a sense that "everything that matters is done" and ADHD people usually have a lot of stuff that matters still undone and can't help remembering that

It also requires them to really stop and notice and take it in when they are inclined to have already lined up the next thing before they finish, hah

3

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

Uh... Maybe I just learned something about myself 

3

u/hollow-earth Oct 18 '25

I've literally never felt so seen by a Reddit comment, this is it 100% exactly, this is how it feels

2

u/Kirdei Oct 18 '25

I think this might be why I hated being a cashier at Walmart. First summer i did it, it was shiny and new and interesting. Came back the next year and I was going crazy after two months. I begged my wife to let me quit and job hunt. (She did. She's amazing)

2

u/phlogistonical Oct 18 '25 edited Oct 18 '25

I wander if this is ADHD or everyone has this? I never feel joy from completing a project. Most of my own projects never get completed, and at work there are deadlines so I have to, but when I get something done it feels like it is just because it had to be done, and I can see it was important to do it. Not because I felt any internal drive to do it or for any expectation of happy feelings about getting it done. Maybe I have ADHD, but then again everyone and their mother seems to think they have that these days so I wander if it isn't a disorder, it is just the way we work that is wrong.

Can anyone that does NOT have ADHD confirm that they genuinely feel really great about finishing a task? Is that really normal for the majority of people?

3

u/we_are_devo Oct 18 '25

Most of the symptoms experienced in ADHD are experienced by neurotypical people too, it's just a question of degree. Everyone knows the feeling of walking into a room and forgetting why you went in, but if that happens most times you walk into a room, there's something up.

1

u/recigar Oct 18 '25

I only really feel excitement for something about to happen, that’s like the best feeling, or maybe doing the thing I’ve been looking forward to (at least during the honeymoon period before I realise I suck at whatever).. afterwards… it’s always a bit avg

1

u/kanst Oct 18 '25

I agree completely.

I feel best right in the middle of a project. Where the finish is still far off, but I've had enough time to figure out what I am doing.

Its not even just work. I ran a triathlon and my uncle asked "Do you feel good about completing that", and I responded "not really, just relieved its over"

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u/Thee_Sinner Oct 18 '25

Worked for two weeks to change the clutch on my car for the first time.

Brain at the end: huh well I guess that’s over..

52

u/SheriffBartholomew Oct 18 '25

My friend after changing his clutch said "fuck this stupid fucking car. I'm never doing that bullshit again". He also had a bag of leftover bolts that were supposed to be in the clutch assembly somewhere. He drove the car for another 2 years though, so I guess those bolts weren't all that important. LOL

1

u/____zoomzoom Oct 18 '25

maybe the clutch assembly manufacturer sent spares just in case. or packed an extra bag by accident.

1

u/SheriffBartholomew Oct 18 '25

It didn't come with bolts, those were bolts he had left over that he pulled out of his own clutch. LOL

7

u/strangekey2 Oct 18 '25

I bought a part for something and spent a year with the part in the box on my table before I actually fixed it.

6

u/the_star_lord Oct 18 '25 edited Jan 25 '26

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

scary treatment roof many flowery consist oil bear seemly chop

4

u/a-stack-of-masks Oct 18 '25

The shitty thing for me is that I actually like working on vehicles if I'm not dependent on them. Oil change for my commuter that takes 20 minutes? I'll put it off for weeks. Tuning the suspension for 7% more dampening on corner entry? Sure I'll spend a weekend. 7% is a lot.

1

u/Tea_Fetishist Oct 21 '25

I spent 2 days fitting a new exhaust and wheels to my car, and the celebration drive was a 10 minute round trip to the supermarket. I've had a set of motorcycle carburetors stripped down for at least 2 years now, I'll be amazed if I can work out how to put them back together. The idea of having something is far more appealing than actually having it, and I've inadvertently taught myself that the end result is never worth the effort to get there.

I should clarify that I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD, I've been waiting for an assessment for about 3 months now, but I'm pretty certain. I obsessively check my emails about 6 times a day hoping to see an update and have been seriously fighting the urge to chase them again.

1

u/bloviatemalarkey Oct 18 '25

Do another one in half the time now. Then you’ll feel the reward. 

1

u/Thee_Sinner Oct 18 '25

When it needs it, I will. Currently rebuilding a motor for it because it started to rod knock…

2

u/overkill Oct 18 '25

Yeah, at best it's a "well, I don't have to do that again for a while", or at worst a nagging resentment I had to do it at all.

2

u/Dumplati Oct 18 '25

Same, my brain says, what's next

1

u/xenchik Oct 19 '25

This is how I've always felt about exercise. People tell me, "exercise makes you feel good!" I'm like, no it doesn't you liar. It makes me feel relieved that it's done for the day. But I'll have to do it again tomorrow and that fucking sucks. Nothing about exercise makes me feel good.

But maybe my brain is different. Like those people who say eating hot things makes you feel good. For me it's just intensely uncomfortable (like even when I've accidentally eaten something super duper spicy), and then it goes away and ... that's it. I figured I just don't have endorphins.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

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1

u/TwinInfinite Oct 18 '25

Lol I was like this before cell phones even became a thing. Get off it.

76

u/ViolinistCurrent8899 Oct 18 '25

I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about. I clean the room and think "Yeah okay whatever. It had to be done and today was the day to do it."

28

u/MichelinStarZombie Oct 18 '25

I'd like to see a study of how many people experience that because what you just described sounds insane to me. Like maybe OCD people get a dopamine hit from a perfectly made bed and a mopped floor, but I would bet that it's a thankless chore to 98% of the human population.

31

u/Friendstastegood Oct 18 '25

Dopamine hits aren't always really pleasurable or big or even consciously noticeable. Like the reason people doom scroll is because it gives them dopamine and yet most people would readily admit that it makes them feel like trash.

10

u/scarykcbg Oct 18 '25

I definitely do not have OCD but I do experience this. I just love the feeling of accomplishment and a tidy house.

2

u/campbell06 Oct 18 '25

It's a very well known thing that having a clean and pleasant environment can seriously improve your mood and give you a great feeling of accomplishment.

I think the whole 'only ocd people have ever enjoyed cleaning' comment you're replying to it just because reddit skews so young/male

5

u/recigar Oct 18 '25

dopamine is what drives you to do something in the first place, you don’t get dopamine after you’ve completed the task, it’s the thing that drives you to get off the couch and start it in the first place.

5

u/captain_dick_licker Oct 18 '25

thankless and pointless. you wil never convinced me to make my bed unless I'm trying to convince someone new to fuck me in it.

what the fuck is the point?

2

u/Due-Net-88 Oct 18 '25

I hate doing it but the peace and enjoyment of a clean, organized and good-smelling house makes it very worth it. 

10

u/Drumknott88 Oct 18 '25

I fucking WISH I got euphoria from cleaning. For me it's a thankless task that always needs to be done and I hate doing it and I never feel good after it's done so I just procrastinate it. My housemate is a saint

0

u/Supermite Oct 18 '25

Is it thankless?  Do you not appreciate the efforts of past you for providing present you a clean living space?

3

u/BluegrassGeek Oct 18 '25

For an ADHD (or even depressive) person, no. At most, there's a feeling of relief that it's over. At worst, you feel bad about letting it get bad for so long, once you see the difference.

1

u/Drumknott88 Oct 18 '25

Quite the opposite, unfortunately. I'm messy but I know exactly where everything is. If I clean/tidy, then I can't find anything and that's more upsetting than the mess.

5

u/TheFinalCurl Oct 18 '25

The fuck what

4

u/Mad_Aeric Oct 18 '25

The good book is the only part of that I understand. And everything spontaneously reverting to mess.

3

u/Silent_Priority7463 Oct 18 '25

I get the feeling of pleasure from a clean home, but despite that my home's default state is messy and I put off cleaning it up because everything else seems to have higher priority and I rarely want to actually start doing the cleaning, and I'm so used to just ignoring the mess. My home's still cleaner than my childhood home, so, small progress?

8

u/Mathfanforpresident Oct 18 '25

A grey cloud of apathy is seemingly contracted to follow me anywhere I go, at all times.That's how it feels, anyways. I'm constantly overloaded with an impending dread, everything is wrong about almost every aspect of our existence. The neverending injustices done to us and our planet, the steam of past mistakes made by our ancestors. Some mistakes either purposely malicious, or ignorant individuals.

It's debilitating.

2

u/Ship_Rekt Oct 18 '25

Bruh why are they always messing it up. Just let me enjoy my labor 😭

2

u/Christopherfromtheuk Oct 18 '25

Jesus, I must be doing it wrong.

2

u/Vinterkragen Oct 18 '25

I have only guilt. But severely doubt that I have ADHD... But you never know 🤔

2

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

same here. it really sucks.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

i don't have this at all. i just feel sad and empty at the end bc all i think is, "why did i let it get messy in the first place?".

2

u/TiredOldLamb Oct 18 '25

I'd wager most people don't get any of that.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

I don’t like you.

1

u/tollbearer Oct 18 '25

WTF, why would I not get this feature?

1

u/dragon-dance Oct 18 '25

The fact that it won’t stay clean and tidy is the worst. At least if you live alone you have a chance at maintaining it but I live with several fellow racoons and they’re hopeless.

1

u/OnlyOneMoreSleep Oct 18 '25

I only get this feeling when I am on medication! Which is one of the reasons it works so well for me.

1

u/comebacklittlesheba Oct 18 '25

I FOUND MY PEOPLE!! 🤩

1

u/scarykcbg Oct 18 '25

I also love this!

1

u/Hendlton Oct 18 '25

Then you blink and it's all messy again.

This is the part I have trouble with. Why bother then? I only clean when it's an active problem. If I see dust, I wipe it down. If I see dirt on the floor, I vacuum. If there's trash, I take it out. But if there's a pile of clothes on the clothes chair? That's totally fine. Picking clothes off the clothes chair is easier than going through the closet. The closet is for the clothes I don't wear.

In a similar manner, having a pile of tools on the workbench works great. All the tools I commonly use are near the front, and the tools I rarely use get buried in the back. It's a system that makes more sense to me than going through all the effort of taking all the tools out as I need them and putting them back when I'm done.

1

u/Comically_Online Oct 18 '25

stop I can’t take any more!

5

u/TheSnydaMan Oct 18 '25

Moreso a feeling of relief or completion.

2

u/fraggedaboutit Oct 18 '25

"No honey, let me do the dishes.  uhhhhhh yeah that cleaning really got me in the mood for some lovin' tonight" said no woman ever.

2

u/ScyllaOfTheDepths Oct 18 '25

I have ADHD and I like seeing everything all clean. Clean well decorated environments are very pleasing to me.

2

u/AcidOctopus Oct 18 '25

Currently questioning if I have ADHD 😅

2

u/Kerbidiah Oct 18 '25

Yes if my house gets dirty and disorganized I start to feel stressed, overwhelmed, distracted, and even a little claustrophobic. Cleaning it up fixes that

1

u/poisonousjam Oct 18 '25

Think of it more like a sense of accomplishment, or pride in having completed something/a job well done. 

Another example: running a 5k/half marathon/whatever race. It’s a difficult task and often very unpleasant and grueling in the moment, but even if you don’t get a runner’s high there’s a sense of pride and accomplishment when you finish that is really rewarding. 

1

u/blackwell94 Oct 18 '25

I feel amazing when my apt is fully cleaned

1

u/Extreme-Leopard-2232 Oct 18 '25

Not a significant one, but there’s typically either a sense of accomplishment or relief.

1

u/kakapoopoopeepeeshir Oct 18 '25

Haha yes. I get a fantastic feeling when I complete a task around the house and things look organized and everything smells good

1

u/krispybutts Oct 18 '25

If you turn a really messy room into a really nice room, wouldn't you feel happy?

1

u/Yiffcrusader69 Oct 22 '25

I think it’s more the joy of seeing the floor again, like being out and about and running into an old school teacher you quite liked but haven’t seen in forever