Pleasure is not indulgence—it’s data from your nervous system. This reframes our entire relationship with feeling good, turning it from a guilty pleasure into a critical feedback mechanism. It’s about listening to what your body is telling you.
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Meaning
Pleasure is not a frivolous distraction; it’s a vital signal from your body, providing crucial information about your needs and well-being.
Explanation
Look, we’ve been taught to treat pleasure like a luxury, something we earn after all the “real” work is done. But that’s a flawed model. What Dr. Shepherd is saying here—and this is a game-changer in practice—is that the feeling of pleasure is a direct, real-time readout from your nervous system. It’s your body’s way of saying, “This is good for us. This supports our health and balance.” It’s data. And when you start treating it that way, you stop fighting your own body and start collaborating with it. You learn to listen to its language.
Quote Summary
Reading Level78
Aesthetic Score86
Origin & Factcheck
This quote comes directly from Dr. Jessica Shepherd’s 2022 book, Love Yourself Well, published in the United States. It’s a core tenet of her holistic approach to women’s health. You won’t find it misattributed to older spiritual texts or other authors; it’s very much a modern, science-backed perspective.
Attribution Summary
Author Bio
Dr Jessica Shepherd is an OB/GYN and women’s health advocate who blends clinical expertise with accessible education. She founded Her Viewpoint to help women navigate topics like periods, fertility, fibroids, sexual health, and menopause. A trusted voice in media and on stage, she translates complex science into practical steps patients can use right away. While building the Dr Jessica Shepherd book list and resources, she continues to champion informed, equitable care that centers each woman’s needs and goals.
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Pleasure is not indulgence—it’s data from your nervous system |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2023; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9780063289408; Last Edition: 1st Edition; Number of Pages: 288. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 6: Listening to the Vagina, Approximate page from 2023 edition |
Context
In her book, she places this idea within the framework of understanding the deep connection between the gut, brain, and vagina. She argues that dismissing pleasure, especially for women, creates a disconnect from our own bodies. This quote is a tool to rebuild that connection, to see seeking what feels good as a form of self-care and intelligent system regulation.
Usage Examples
So how do you actually use this? Let me give you a couple of scenarios.
- For the burned-out professional: That feeling of deep satisfaction after a walk in nature isn’t just “taking a break.” It’s your nervous system reporting back that movement and fresh air are essential inputs for your well-being. The data says: do more of this.
- In making daily choices: Choosing the meal that truly appeals to you over the one you think you “should” eat. The pleasure you get from it is data that you’re satisfying a nutritional or emotional need. It’s about intelligent response, not lack of willpower.
- For anyone in therapy or self-work: Understanding that a hobby or activity that brings you genuine joy isn’t a waste of time. It’s your system’s way of signaling what activities help it regulate and heal. It’s a core part of the maintenance schedule.
To whom it appeals?
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FAQ
Question: Isn’t this just permission to be hedonistic? What about unhealthy pleasures?
Answer: Great question, and it’s the most common one. This isn’t about blind hedonism. It’s about conscious hedonism. You still use your prefrontal cortex. The key is to distinguish between a shallow, fleeting “high” that often leads to a crash (that’s different data) and a deep, resonant pleasure that leaves you feeling nourished and balanced. The latter is the valuable data point.
Question: How is this different from just following your intuition?
Answer: It’s the scientific, physiological explanation for intuition. Intuition is often this vague concept. This quote grounds it in biology. Your nervous system is gathering millions of data points you’re not consciously aware of, and pleasure is one of its clearest output signals. You’re basically decoding your intuition.
Question: Can this apply to things beyond physical pleasure?
Answer: Absolutely. The nervous system doesn’t differentiate in that way. The feeling of accomplishment, the warmth of a good conversation, the peace of quiet solitude—these are all forms of pleasure-data. They are signals telling you what kind of mental, emotional, and social environments are healthy for you.
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