Sado Masochism and Sexual Sadism

Masochism Overview, Cause, Symptoms, Treatment, Meidcation

Sexual masochism involves acts in which a person derives sexual excitement from being humiliated, beaten, bound, or otherwise abused.

Masochism is the getting of pleasure, often sexual, from being hurt or humiliated. Sometimes the masochistic acts are limited to verbal humiliation or blindfolding. However, masochistic behavior might include being bound or beaten. Masochism may become even more harmful, however, when a person permits another to use arm or leg restraints accompanied by acts of beating, whipping, or cutting.

In contrast, the disorder of sexual masochism or of sexual sadism takes these acts to an extreme and can result in severe bodily or psychologic harm and even death. For example, masochistic sexual activity may involve asphyxiophilia, whereby the person is partially choked or strangled (either by a partner or by the self-application of a noose around the neck). A temporary decrease in oxygen to the brain at the point of orgasm is sought as an enhancement to sexual release, but the practice may accidentally result in death.

Diagnostic criteria for 302.83 Sexual Masochism

1. Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving the act (real, not simulated) of being humiliated, beaten, bound, or otherwise made to suffer.
2. The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Symptoms of Sexual masochism

Sexually masochistic behaviors are typically evident by early adulthood, and often start with masochistic or sadistic play in childhood. The disorder is characterized by either intense sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors in which the individual is humiliated, beaten, bound, or made to suffer in some way.

The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Differential Diagnosis:

Some disorders have similar or even the same symptoms. The clinician, therefore, in his/her diagnostic attempt has to differentiate against the following disorders which need to be ruled out to establish a precise diagnosis.

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