MASOCHISM

Chapter 5

TYPES OF MASOCHIST

Social Masochism – These individuals desire to have pain inflicted upon him or herself as a direct result from the guilt of being rich and powerful in a world surrounded by suffering and poverty. This is where you will find many of the CEO's, Presidents of companies, Ambassadors, Politicians, and Lawyers even Doctors. These individuals are more than willing to pay a to inflict pain on their person in an effort to relieve themselves of the guilt and self-hatred of having so much while others have so little.

Religious Masochism – This group is the most historic in nature, as stated previously the history of religious masochism goes back centuries before Christ. Many individuals within this category believe that pleasure is the pathway to Hell and hence pain and suffering must be the pathway into Heaven. These individuals desire to have pain inflicted upon them in an attempt to achieve a higher more sacred or spiritual connection with the universe. They seek to show devotion to a higher spirit and show that they are not bound to this world of pleasure and debauchery.

Emotional Masochism – These individuals desire to have physical pain inflicted upon themselves in an effort to replace emotional pain with physical pain; drawing to the surface deep subconscious pain or turmoil and allowing it to go from the non physical realm and force it into the physical realm. As they feel the physical pain they allow themselves to release the emotional pain, when they see the physical scar they understand what was once buried deep inside of them is now visible on the surface, as the scar heals the emotional wounds heal, when the scar is gone the emotional pain is released. This is the category in which you would find "cutters", those individuals that habitually harm or cut themselves. Most medical professionals put not only cutters in this category but anorexics, bulimics and addicts as well. Oddly enough one of the most famous individuals in this category was Princess Diana, when she admitted to cutting herself during an interview to BBC in 1995; others would be Johnny Depp and Chistina Ricci.

Sexual Masochism – This type of masochist is the "common" masochist, at least in the eyes of the medical profession. This individual desires to have pain inflicted upon their body as a means of sexual release. They are sexually excited by pain, the more dramatic the pain, the more risk the better. These individuals enjoy extremes, they will do practically anything and love every second of it. Edge play is not only interesting for them it is almost mandatory; the idea of living a lifestyle is not only unpleasant but it would be almost dysfunctional for these individuals.

Physical Masochism – Physical masochists thrive on not the pain itself but the result of the pain. Whenever there is pain involved the body naturally goes through both chemical and hormonal changes. The human body will produce high levels of endorphins, and enkephalins are functional pentapeptides; to be more specific they are what are referred to as polypeptides, they are able to bind up the neuro-receptors in the brain and block the perception of pain. This internal chemical release has an almost sedating effect, which may resemble certain opiates such as heroin or morphine. Therefore when a physical masochist is exposed to pain they will first ride the wave of adrenalin to a heart thundering high, then surrender to the peaceful intoxication of the endorphins, and finally purr with contentment over the latent release of hormones.

When I started this article I began to question myself as to why did one need to understand what masochism is, or is not. I answered myself with one simple thought, if one does not know what drives an individual one cannot learn to take control of an individual. You cannot use the same methods of inflicting pain on a physical masochist as you would with an emotional masochist; not only would your methods be different but the way you treated the individual before and after the experience would also need some consideration.

A emotional masochist may need to be held and gently reassured after a scene, while a social masochist would find the idea of a gentle touch or kind word to be counter productive to the entire experience. A sexual masochist may need sexual gratification after a scene while a spiritual masochist would find even the suggestion to be offensive.

Each person has his or her own place, to appreciate an individual one must understand the individual. Masochism is rich in history and ideals, and to understand masochism one must first understand that it is not a singular faceted stone but a prism of unique and wondrous perspectives.