General Information About Masochism
Disease Details and Frequently Asked Questions
It is the condition of experiencing intense and recurrent sexual pleasure or psychological gratification from physically or psychologically suffering, being humiliated, or being controlled.
Sadism is the condition of deriving pleasure by inflicting pain on or humiliating others. Masochism, on the contrary, is deriving pleasure from experiencing pain and humiliation on oneself.
No. To diagnose a psychiatric disorder (Sexual Masochism Disorder), these fantasies and actions must cause clinically significant distress in the person, impair their social or occupational life, or reach a level that would cause physical harm to the person.
The exact cause is unknown. Childhood traumas, abuse, the incorrect pairing of pain and sexual pleasure in the brain (conditioning), and problems in identity development may play a role.
It is diagnosed through detailed clinical evaluations by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist based on the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and by listening to the patient's sexual impulse history.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which teaches the person how to safely manage these impulses, is applied in treatment. If the actions are at dangerous levels, anti-androgen medications that reduce sexual impulses or SSRI group antidepressants can be used.
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