Sadomasochism as a Psychopathological State.

[JohnSSM]

I think sadomasochism deserves a much deeper look than it has gotten, as one of the very foundations of human psychological operations. As the common definition is known, sadism seems to be "a sexual enjoyment of inflicting or viewing pain or humiliation in others". But a real look at sexually sadistic behavior offers the view that pain and humiliation are only tools of a "power exchange", where sadists seek an increase in power, through role playing and fantasy, and masochists seek a reduction in power, through role playing and fantasy. Sadomasochism being focused on pain and humiliation has been misleading as to what SM actually is. SM focuses on power. More intense pain and control are seen and felt as powerful. With sadists, viewing this type of distress in others in imperative to their own sexual arousal, seemingly because they have become conditioned to believe or feel, the emotional expressions of power with sexual arousal. Many chemicals come into play, and so does the past emotional experiences of the sadist. Our true subjective self seems to exists in our brain's emotional system (formerly known as the lymbic system) and this is where emotional associations take on traits like "Sexual, fearful, funny, or sad". IN short, sadism is learned and believed, by the sadist, in their emotional system through conditioning.

What seems to be overlooked, is social sadomasochism, which is also a perspective of valuing, judging and treating others, based on their apparent social power, not for a sexual pay off, but for a social or ego pay off. This makes racism, genderism and eliteism, all socially sadomasochistic perspectives. OF course, those themes are often used in sadomasochistic sexual fantasies, but they seem to exist as social fantasies as well.

 

What sadism seems to represent is our natural drive to survive. We feel driven to empower ourselves in this world to stay alive. But, sadists believe that lowering the value of others, increases their own. What makes this psychopathic, in my opinion, is that it isnt true, and it is deeply held as the ultimate truth by sadomasochists. It's a deep delusion, to use our natural will to survive to belittle others, which does not actually increase our ability to survive, although it may solve certain problems, without actual empowerment, and only the belief of empowerment.

I think it's obvious to note that because of emotional insecurities, sexual sadists long for expressions of power, to break the block in their insecure intimacy, and become empowered to become sexually aroused.

What isnt obvious to others is why some people are do determined to lie, manipulate, coerce and threaten others, and seem to enjoy it. What they enjoy is what they are getting out of it. Some type of social pay off, usually money or social status or plain old ego boosts. Ans they learn to associate that pay off, with the socially sadistic behaviors. Like greed, cultural relativism, religious fanatacism. There is nothing humans cannot justify if they BELIEVE the pay off is great enough. Are those beliefs considered psychopathic, because they are justified by emotions that allow others to be seen as less, and then treated as less?