Forevertorn made a post about punishing ourselves. This sparked an interesting question in my head. Are masochists essentially just depressed people??
Masochist- a person who is gratified by pain, degradation, etc., that is self-imposed or imposed by others.
14 comments
That doesn’t really make any sense. I’m depressed, certainly not a masochist. Even if you’re right (which I doubt), that just makes masochists the subset of depressed people who enjoy pain (depression being characterized by anhedonia, the inability to enjoy anything). From there it’s semantics.
My question was “are masochists essentially depressed people?” NOT “are depressed people all masochists?” Most people aren’t masochists. Most depressed people aren’t masochists. It’s asking if those who ARE masochists are essentially depressed people.
I think the crucial difference is that masochists experience pleasure from those things, while depressed individuals experience temporary relief from their issues when self-harming. One is a fetish, while the latter is a unhealthy coping mechanism.
Wow, what a great description. Except, I wouldn’t say it’s always unhealthy. Like any other highly physical coping mechanism (extreme sports, boxing, etc.) it can be cathartic if done with a respectful, knowledgeable partner.
Wow, what a great description. Except, I wouldn’t say it’s always unhealthy. Like any other highly physical coping mechanism (extreme sports, boxing, etc.) it can be cathartic if done with a respectful, knowledgeable p@rtner.
Yes, I agree. With a respectful and knowledgeable partner it can be cathartic and safe. However, I think then it’s basically a fetish, and one is then approaching it like S&M.
Mutual cutting?
LOL
i think there is a fine line between pain and suffering, where, masochists usually enjoy pain. real, physical pain. and i say this as a masochist. i don’t enjoy suffering within the soul. sometimes i cut myself to distract the nerves to focus on the injury.
but to answer your question – i don’t think all masochists are depressed. i am. but i don’t think all are.
Well there are very few ALL’s in life. It’s like saying “smoking will cause lung cancer in ALL who smoke.” No, it doesn’t in EVERYONE. But smoking does lead to a very very very good likelihood of getting lung cancer. It’s kind of like that. Most masochists are probably depressed at the core.
let me rephrase that – most, not all. and i’m not sure of that either..
Hello Forevertorn here 🙂 🙂
Btw, this is the first time i have been mentioned. I got quite overexcited. I will post more stuff if my post can help spark thinking. What do you think can 2132 ft be enough for jump?
but if you jump, how can you spark anymore posts? 😛