misery threshold

is the idea that just as individuals have a threshold for physical pain, so too do they have one for misery.

quoted 'James claims in 'Varieties' that there are two kinds of people, differentiated from where they live in relation to their misery threshold. Each person, he argued, has a threshold for emotional pain akin to a threshold for physical pain. While some people at the slightest physical pain tend to run to the ibuprofen or painkillers, others seem able to tolerate excruciating physical pain. The same holds for misery.'

misery threshold, n.Definitions

misery threshold