Sexual Masochism
involves the act of being humiliated, bound, beaten and otherwise
made to physically suffer for purposes of sexual stimulation.
While the fantasy of such things is not unusual, it is the acting
upon these fantasies that can run the risk of true peril. The
characteristics of Sexual Masochism are as follows:
Repeatedly for at least 6 months, the patient has intense sexual
desires, fantasies or behaviors concerning real acts of being
beaten, bound, humiliated or otherwise made to suffer.
This causes clinically
important distress or impairs work, social or personal functioning.
These patterns
of behavior are not only disruptive to social and occupational
functioning, but they run the risk of threat to physical safety.
Hypoxyphilia for example, involves the cutting off of oxygen
supply for purposes of sexual stimulation. While some may engage
in minor sexual masochism, there are those who increase the
risk to safety over the years, often thereby insuring that the
risk of serious injury occurs.
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.
Although
the actual cause of the paraphilia is unclear it may be caused
by the association of pleasant responses to a particular stimulus
which one would not regard as pleasant. Most paraphilic fantasies
begin in late childhood or adolescence and continue throughout
adult life. Intensity and occurrence of the fantasies are variable,
and they usually decrease as people get older.
The accepted
forms of treatment involve psychological therapy and in some
cases drug therapy.
Counseling
and Psychotherapy [ See
Therapy Section ]:
Cognitive, behavior, and psychoanalytic therapies are used to
treat individuals with paraphilia's.
Hormones are prescribed occasionally for individuals who experience
intrusive sexual thoughts, urges, or abnormally frequent sexual
behaviors. Almost always the treatment must be long-term if it
is to be effective.
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None

Sexual
Masochism
Sadistic
Personality Disorder
Self-Defeating
Personality Disorder
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