Are people fiercely devoted to what keeps them miserable?

It was a subordinate clause in an article by Tim Kreider (read the complete article here) that convinced me – I was reading the article while having lunch in an upscale Japanese restaurant – that people are truly devoted to their misery. Of course, they call their misery, the family, work, religion or volunteer work, but it’s exactly what keeps them miserable that they don’t want to miss.
There is security and even some comfort to be found in what keeps us miserable.

The security of miserableness is what makes the world go round.