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PubMed1991

Some comments on masochism and the delusion of omnipotence from a developmental perspective.

This paper explores the relation of the delusion of omnipotence to masochism and suggests that this fantasy constitutes a major component of the resistance so prominent in work with masochistic patients. The connections among masochism, omnipotence, negative therapeutic reaction, and clinging to pain are discussed. The classical view has been that the failure of infantile omnipotence forces the child to turn to reality. Our experience with masochistic patients suggests that it is the real failure to achieve competent interactions with others that forces the child to turn to omnipotent solutions. The distinction is made between fantasies that enhance the real capacities of the self and those aimed at denying and transforming the pain and inadequacy of the mother-child relationship. The epigenetic transformations of omnipotent fantasies through all levels of development are described. The patient's need to protect the omnipotent fantasy is discussed in relation to resistance at each phase of analysis.

Defense Mechanisms↗
PubMed1995

The myth of masochism.

The personality disorder called "Masochism," which traditionally has been regarded as a preference for and pursuit of suffering is dynamically misconceived. There presently is no fundamental agreement on a diagnostic category for this personality disorder. There are aspects of what is called masochism, such as sexual arousal associated with pain, which have not been considered in this study. I feel that the essential nature of the pain in those designated as masochists is low self-esteem and that it develops in a childhood context of inadequate loving nurturance. I strongly believe that low self-esteem evolves from and is maintained by the competitive social milieu and a resultant personal functioning, which is diffusely competitive. The competitive activity is often associated unawarely with cynicism (Bonime, 1989). The gratification of victory substitutes for the gratifications of intimacy and growth, but is relatively brief, and although it produces some self acceptance, it is never enough to overcome the basic low feeling about oneself. Here was Marjorie, a woman who had miserably low self-esteem as a child, as low as being "just a crack in the door." As an adult, as shown in her dream, she felt like a woman full of shit that comes out involuntarily. She struggled to keep from being exposed as such and ached with humiliation or inwardly--and sometimes openly--raged when some distasteful quality or inadequacy showed or threatened to show. This pained person strove to overcome her sense of inadequacy as a person. She overcame it by succeeding in outdoing others according to her private, competitive standards. Her criteria of value were success in evoking signs of approval and sustaining herself while suffering, while "taking it." Her highest value was being able to take it, to suffer intensely without breaking. She was cynical and never sensed for long that she was genuinely regarded as an acceptable human being. She didn't believe in the existence of any genuine caring. She dreamt of an ecstatic evening dining, dancing, and having wonderful sex with "Bill" who she felt was an exceptional man. Later in the dream, she expected the same ecstasy the following evening with him. However, he said to her they couldn't go on because she was cruel. Almost always the prospect of an enjoyable situation "scared" her because it required her to abandon her protective cynicism, which made her a defeatable, exploitable target for the cynicism and competitiveness of others.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Catching the wrong leopard: courage and masochism in the psychoanalytic situation.

This paper introduces the subject of courage into the psychoanalytic discourse about masochism and also demonstrates that ordinary ethical and axiological concerns can and should be included in our psychoanalytic language and practice. At each stage of a psychoanalysis, it may be helpful to consider whether the patient's experience might be that taking a step deeper into the psychoanalytic relationship is both courageous and masochistic. This consideration can open the door to exploration of conscious beliefs and how they are related to unconscious fantasies and assumptions. Considering the possibility that even a sadomasochistic enactment may simultaneously represent a courageous attempt to rework conflict or trauma can enrich the way analysts listen to both manifest and latent material.

Fantasy↗
PubMed1992

Masochism: implications for psychiatric nursing.

Psychiatric nurses often encounter patients who seem to be victims of negative circumstances and are unable to reverse these situations. This article explores the phenomenon of masochism as an outcome of the fear of separation or abandonment. A unified theory is presented, and a case is used to demonstrate the theory.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Prostitution advertisements suggest association of transvestism and masochism.

Previous research and clinical observation have suggested that the sexual interest of many transvestites include involvement in sadomasochistic sexual acts. Through data gathered via prostitution advertisements in print media, we tested the hypothesis that prostitutes welcoming cross-dressing client would be primarily those describing themselves as dominant. The specialty of the prostitute was recorded by coding the advertisements for the presence or absence of the features of dominance, submissiveness, acceptance of cross-dressing clients, and whether the prostitute was a biological male presenting as a woman or quasi-woman. The findings showed that 20% of prostitutes describing themselves as dominant welcomed cross-dressing clients, whereas none of the other subgroups of prostitutes mentioned cross-dressing clients in their advertisements. These findings reinforce other lines of indirect evidence suggesting that, in heterosexual men, the presence of masochism increases the likelihood of transvestism, and vice versa.

Advertising↗
PubMed1979

Violence against women--the myth of masochism.

Women have been victims of violence throughout history. Freud's theory of masochism stated that women enjoyed suffering, and until very recently the mental health profession went along with this universal human tendency to blame the victim. In this paper a new understanding of the dynamics of abused wives and violence-prone husbands is being presented indicating that the explanation lies in the new field of the study of psychological reactions of victims of violence and catastrophe.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Vulnerability to violence: masochism as process.

The recent growth of violence toward women, including rape, assault, wife-battering, and marital rape, has raised questions of whether any personality trait or psychological difficulty furthers their vulnerability. Freud's concept of feminine masochism is re-examined and translated into a culturally determined process which, if properly understood, could be changed to help women prevent or at least reduce their own victimization.

Female↗
PubMed1984

Psychic trauma and masochism.

Three analyses are presented in which acute trauma (overwhelming internal or external stimulation so great as to preclude the patient's utilizing his usual defenses adequately) in childhood contributed to the development of masochism. The patients later attempted mastery through repetition, reversal, and erotization , and employed regression as a defense against feared oedipal wishes.

Child↗
PubMed1999

Roald Amundsen: a study in rivalry, masochism and paranoia.

The author suggests that Freud was intrigued by those who explored the still unknown regions of the globe; in 1928 he received a letter from a colleague who knew he was interested in the psychology of polar explorers, asking him to comment on some strange visualizations that had haunted Roald Amundsen, the great polar explorer, when during one of his Arctic expeditions he was attacked and nearly mauled to death by a polar bear. Freud emphasised the quality of resignation and surrender inherent in these peculiar imaginings, but he added that a deeper analysis would require Amundsen's associations. On the basis of relevant biographical data the author tries to make a further investigation of his strange visualizations. These are linked to an underlying masochistic phantasy in which conflicts involving rivalry, autonomy and separation-individuation problems are expressed. He attained the South Pole before Scott and his party, who perished. His triumph and survival on the polar ice evoked an unbearable sense of guilt. Being unable to gain insight into his conflicts, he regressed to a paranoid state. The relation between masochism, the desire to beat and be beaten and rivalry is discussed.

Competitive Behavior↗
PubMed1991

Battered women and the myth of masochism.

Domestic violence is a major health issue. Research on this problem is just in its infancy. It remains a problem because there has been widespread acceptance of violence in our culture as a means of solving and dealing with problems. Women have been the targets. Waites admonishes health professionals to stop using the concept of masochism as an explanation for abusive behavior. She asks instead for us to look at female motivation in terms of the actual choices that are available and the realistic consequences of these choices. Perhaps only then will health professionals become able to break the cycle of violence and intervene in a way that stops the woman from becoming another homicide statistic.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1989

Narcissism and masochism. The narcissistic-masochistic character.

Our knowledge of narcissism has advanced hugely during the past two decades. Our interest in masochism as a theoretic and clinical entity has only begun to gather momentum. Developmentally and clinically, narcissistic and masochistic pathology are so intertwined that their theoretic and clinical unraveling requires specific attention to their linkage and the predictable forms of response to interpretation. It is therefore useful to think of the narcissistic-masochistic character as a clinical entity. In this condition, pathologic narcissistic tendencies are unconscious vehicles for attaining masochistic disappointment; and masochistic injuries are an affirmation of distorted narcissistic fantasies. Consistent interpretation of these conflicts and defenses, in the usual setting of benign empathic understanding, is desirable for the treatment of these patients.

Freudian Theory↗
PubMed1986

Notes on masochism: a discussion of the history and development of a psychoanalytic concept.

The concept of masochism is used in both descriptive and explanatory ways to cover a wide variety of clinical phenomena. Although the concept has been thought to refer to a ubiquitous, fundamental, and paradoxical phenomenon, recent discussions reveal growing uncertainty about the clinical value of the term. The origins of the problem are traced here to Freud's early reliance on concepts borrowed from Krafft-Ebing's sexology. Freud later emphasized structural and object-relations issues. This shift of emphasis was associated with the use of child behavior rather than perversion as the prototype of mental function.

Aggression↗
PubMed1980

On masochistic enthralment a contribution to the study of moral masochism.

Freud rested his final understanding of moral masochism (the masochistic character) upon the concept of the death-instinct. Those analysts who have been unable to accept this concept have continued to define and enrich the understanding of the masochistic character. Out of their work has emerged the picture of a character structured in three discernible layers: an upper one of "nobility in adversity": a middle one of hate toward the mother; and the deepest one of primary union with the mother to which a later return is made. An abbreviated account of an analysis is given to exemplify this structure. An understanding of the relation between the deepest layers is essential to a comprehension of the total structure. Out of a primary maternal union accompanied by experiences of omnipotence and grandiosity emerges an ambivalent relationship to the omnipotent mother characterized primarily by hate. The relationship to the mother is one of masochistic enthralment. The lost omnipotence is then recaptured by a union mystica (primary identification) with the hating and hated mother now internalized as an aggressive self-ideal in which phallic characteristics become prominent. The unio mystica may be momentary and orgasmic as in the masochistic perversion or more or less enduring and characterological as in the masochistic character to which it contributes traits of haughtiness and disdain.

Character↗
PubMed1993

Depression and moral masochism.

Depression and moral masochism are inseparable, and originate in a particular climate of lived experience in which one or both parents suffer from a masochistic-depressive disposition. Developmentally, there has been a deficit in the child's experience of shared pleasure, and of being a source of enjoyment to the parent. Instead, the child experiences himself or herself as a source of pain and feels responsible for the parent's dysphoric, anhedonic state. This is not simply a fantasy construction of the child, as parental reproachfulness is characteristically encountered. The child makes reparative efforts, but they generally do not succeed. Central psychological capacities are compromised under these conditions, particularly a sense of personal efficacy and of natural entitlement. The evolution of initiative, autonomy, and individuation are also significantly affected. The aggression, both conscious and unconscious, which is generated by these early conditions creates intrapsychic conflict which further inhibits the development of these essential psychological functions. Some therapeutic recommendations are proposed based on these considerations.

Aggression↗