Self-denial (related but different from self-abnegation or self-sacrifice) is an act of letting go of the self as with altruistic abstinence – the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of the increased good of another. Various religions and cultures take differing views of self-denial, some considering it a positive trait and others considering it a negative one. According to some Protestants, self-denial is considered a superhuman virtue only obtainable through Jesus. Some critics of self-denial suggest that self-denial can lead to self-hatred.
Self-denial (related but different from self-abnegation or self-sacrifice) is an act of letting go of the self as with altruistic abstinence – the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of the increased good of another. Various religions and cultures take differing views of self-denial, some considering it a positive trait and others considering it a negative one. According to some Protestants, self-denial is considered a superhuman virtue only obtainable through Jesus. Some critics of self-denial suggest that self-denial can lead to self-hatred.
==Positive effects== There is evidence that short-term fasting (denying oneself food temporarily) can have positive effects on health. More broadly, self-denial has also been linked to inhibitory control and emotional self-regulation, which research suggests can be of benefit. Similarly, just as scarcity can lead people to focus on enjoying an experience more deeply, self-denial can enhance appreciation. This is particularly relevant because people tend to grow accustomed to material goods through hedonic adaptation, making them less likely to savor everyday pleasures.
Discovered by embedding cosine similarity (sentence-transformers MiniLM, 384-dim).