People, it turns out, are just as likely to want to avoid a bed that a murderer slept in as they are to steer clear of vomit. They are as reluctant to try on a sweater that once belonged to Hitler as they are to eat chocolate molded to look like dog poop.
We reject the belief that being healthy is marked by a life with as little pain as possible. In fact, it's only when we are unwilling to take on the inevitable pain in life--whether it's the death of a parent, a divorce, or not getting that big promotion at work--that pain turns into something we experience as suffering.