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This era of self-love has brought the idea of taking care of oneself as a priority over other things. However, some may confuse a hedonic lifestyle as a form of self-care.

Hedonism, as a lifestyle, refers to habits that focus on personal enjoyment alone. This means that someone living a hedonic lifestyle will excessively consume any food and drink they want, go shopping and spend time and money on things and activities that will satisfy their personal desires. So what's wrong with that?

Hedonism: two sides of one coin

The negative connotation against having a hedonistic lifestyle is from the portrayal of pop culture that shows hedonists as unhappy and selfishly unconcerned about the well-being of others. Popular belief claims that hedonists are negatively consumptive, and they have very few select friends, yet they never seem to be satisfied.

Interestingly, there are two forms of hedonism - value-based, where a person prioritizes pleasure without necessarily disregarding others, and maladaptive hedonism, where a person excessively pursues pleasure to a potentially harmful extent. In a study, researchers found that negative portrayal, as shown in popular culture, is linked to maladaptive hedonism. Therefore, selfishness could stem from a maladaptive hedonistic lifestyle, but a value-based one does not necessarily neglect the needs of others.

Happiness and pleasure

Maladaptive hedonists seek pleasure without considering the consequences or well-being of others. They tend to be less agreeable and more neurotic. Value-based hedonists, on the other hand, seek pleasure without disregarding others. They tend to have a distinct moral profile compared to maladaptive hedonists.

While a hedonistic lifestyle indirectly aims for happiness, it lets a person prioritize pleasure, which, in turn, makes them happy.