self harm

[ticklebug101]

Hey guys,
I was thinking (yeah, I do that a lot,)
can self harm be used as a form of masochism?
Or, is it more looked upon as a frustration out let?
Or something else all together?
I dunno, opinions please?

 

[TKLVR181]

well I know that one reason people do it when they're depressed is because they want to physically feel something, or they want to get their mind off their emotional pain--my little sister used to be a cutter, and we talked about it.

~K

 

[hungman1]

If a person is turned on by self harm then i guess it's masochism.. if not it can happen due to psychological reasons (like eating your nails), if it's a serious self harm maybe it can be considered a suicide attempt, i don't know... you mean self harm like making wounds to your body or don't care to pay attention to yourself (for example not eating properly, not doing gymnastics, be all the time alone without doing anything), if it's the second case then it may be depression.

Wikipedia has an article about self-injury

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_harm

 

[Violetta]

To be truthful, when I don't have any other outlet, I'll hurt myself to indulge my masochistic needs. I've even got a little burn healing up nicely from messing around last week. No depression involved in it, quite the opposite. I enjoy myself some pain.

 

[Nekagiggles]

There is the possibility of masochism involved, but usually it's a way to cope. I'm a recovering self-injurer.

Self-injury is a very complicated thing. I have a friend who did it to numb her emotional pain. There was another who did it to feel physical pain to the same extent as her emotional pain. On one of the boards I'm a part of there was one person who stopped hurting himself, but instead he started hurting his girlfriend (as a sado-masochistic consentual type thing) which brought up much controversy.

 

[PurpleStyle]

On a purely scientific note; pain, along with sex, exercise and excitement, are the primary ways the body gets a nice endorphin boost. Perhaps this is where the psychological need comes into play.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

I think the reason behind the two gives the main difference