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i identify as a masochist and as i read this it seemed glaringly apparent the author doesn't understand the physical aspect of experiencing pain and how euphoric that can be.

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Masochist: Doctor, I need help! Is this right?
Doctor: Well, there are two methods of treatment to choose from. You can be cured by seeing me, or you can find a sadist and make it a healthy part of your life.

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ORIGINAL: gypsygrl

Lovely. 

Psychiatry/psychology is a business and there is probably way too small a market for the number of people looking to make an income curing people of what ails them.  I'm a masochist.  I'm a sexual masochist, a psychological/emotional masochist and an intellectual masochist.  I don't really see thats its the sort of problem psychiatry/psychology should be bothered with.  I mean, seriously, if I'm happy and satisfied, I'm happy and satisfied.  If I'm not happy and satisfied, I'm still happy and satisfied.  What use would I have for a psychiatrist?

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ORIGINAL: daddysprop247

i don't become sexually aroused from pain. i'm a total pain wuss to be honest. however i do have a very strong need to suffer, both physically and emotionally (tho emotionally is definitely the more pressing of the two), and when i experience this suffering i do not feel "good", but rather i feel "right", like, this is what is meant to be, this is what i deserve/where i belong.

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Though capable of pleasure and possessed of social skills, the masochist avoids or undermines pleasurable experiences. He does not admit to enjoying himself, seeks suffering, pain, and hurt in relationships and situations, rejects help and resents those who offer it. She actively renders futile attempts to assist or ameliorate or mitigate or solve her problems and predicaments.

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These self-penalizing behaviors are self-purging: they intend to relieve the masochist of overwhelming, pent-up anxiety. The masochist's conduct is equally aimed at avoiding intimacy and its benefits: companionship and support. Masochists tend to choose people and circumstances that inevitably and predictably lead to failure, disillusionment, disappointment, and mistreatment. Conversely, they tend to avoid relationships, interactions, and circumstances that are likely to result in success or gratification. They reject, disdain, or even suspect people who consistently treat them well. Masochists find caring, loving persons sexually unattractive.

Again, dead wrong. At least when it applies to masochists by the bdsm definitions. As you can see, these psychiatrists or whoever, are clearly referring to people are not involved in a consensual relationship but rather surround themselves with people who will be abusive, perhaps subconsiously.

_____________________________

“These S&M people ... they are bossy! There’s also a creepy connection between leather sex, ‘Star Trek’ and the Renaissance Faire.”

- Comedian Margaret Cho

(in reply to daddysprop247)

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ORIGINAL: ownedgirlie

Most destracting to me about the article, however, was the author's inconsistency with him/her - use both or pick one or the other already!

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ORIGINAL: velvetears

i was browsing blogs today and came across one that i believe 2 psychiatrists contribute to. i found this little piece written about masochism and how it should be put back in the DSM as a personality disorder. 

i identify as a masochist and as i read this it seemed glaringly apparent the author doesn't understand the physical aspect of experiencing pain and how euphoric that can be. Perhaps i am misinterpreting him and his focus is mainly on those in society who always seek to replay, as it were, their past experiences from childhood (assuming they had them, but according to the author all masochist do).  Are psychiatrists, therapists, etc so clueless as to the dynamic of enjoying pain??  Anyway i will cut and paste it and also post the link so you can go to the original source yourself - let me know your spin on what you read.

http://mind.in/node/310

Author: Sam Vaknin
The Masochistic personality disorder made its last appearance in the DSM III-TR and was removed from the DSM IV and from its text revision, the DSM IV-TR. Some scholars, notably Theodore Millon, regard its removal as a mistake and lobby for its reinstatement in future editions of the DSM.
The masochist has been taught from an early age to hate herself and consider herself unworthy of love and worthless as a person. Consequently, he or she is prone to self-destructive, punishing, and self-defeating behaviors. Though capable of pleasure and possessed of social skills, the masochist avoids or undermines pleasurable experiences. He does not admit to enjoying himself, seeks suffering, pain, and hurt in relationships and situations, rejects help and resents those who offer it. She actively renders futile attempts to assist or ameliorate or mitigate or solve her problems and predicaments.
These self-penalizing behaviors are self-purging: they intend to relieve the masochist of overwhelming, pent-up anxiety. The masochist's conduct is equally aimed at avoiding intimacy and its benefits: companionship and support.
Masochists tend to choose people and circumstances that inevitably and predictably lead to failure, disillusionment, disappointment, and mistreatment. Conversely, they tend to avoid relationships, interactions, and circumstances that are likely to result in success or gratification. They reject, disdain, or even suspect people who consistently treat them well. Masochists find caring, loving persons sexually unattractive.
The masochist typically adopts unrealistic goals and thus guarantees underachievement. Masochists routinely fail at mundane tasks, even when these are crucial to their own advancement and personal objectives and even when they adequately carry out similar assignments on behalf of others. The DSM gives this example: "helps fellow students write papers, but is unable to write his or her own".
When the masochist fails at these attempts at self-sabotage, he reacts with rage, depression, and guilt. She is likely to "compensate" for her undesired accomplishments and happiness by having an accident or engaging in behaviors that produce abandonment, frustration, hurt, illness, or physical pain. Some masochists make harmful self-sacrifices, uncalled for by the situation and unwanted by the intended beneficiaries or recipients.
The projective identification defense mechanism is frequently at play. The masochist deliberately provokes, solicits, and incites angry, disparaging, and rejecting responses from others in order to feel on "familiar territory": humiliated, defeated, devastated, and hurt.
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About the Author:
Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.