When you’ve got a really bad itchy rash on your arms or back etc – why does scratching it feel so flipping euphoric despite the fact it is pain and damage?
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Answer: Mother Nature/evolution encourages this activity for your own good.
When scratching yourself, you activate nerves in your skin. When an area is irritated, that feels nearly as good as getting stroked/caressed on intact skin. This send signals to your brain, and releases feel-good chemicals, endorphins, which feel pleasurable in addition to providing relief.
Experts also believe this sends competing signals that cancel out the pain impulses.
As for the evolution part, this incentivizes us to pay attention to what may be a damaged area of our bodies, and to attend to it. Humans that did that were healthier/avoided sickness better than those who didn’t, thus helping survival. Of course, *overdoing it* can have the opposite effect, as you’ve pointed out.
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