Self-harm, Masochism and Body Piercing
Tattoos, body piercings and self-harm - is there a link?
http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2008/07/tattoos-body-piercings-and-self-harm-is.html
Getting piercings and tattoos in the almost clinical setting of a reputable tattoo or piercing parlor dispels questions of "unhealthy" pain-seeking because it is so professional. The more private acts of engaging in purposeful physical pain are where the line between healthy and unhealthy become blurry.
It appears to me that one person's "unhealthy" can be another person's completely "healthy", based on the subject's history as well as the viewer's.
I freely admit that I have a history of self-harm for emotional relief, and that this was an unhealthy way of coping. But does that mean that if I were to engage in any kind of behavior that resulted in physical pain, I must be doing such in order to achieve an emotional release as before? I think not.
(I, also, would like to point out that I am not a masochist. I get no sexual pleasure or gratification for physical pain--in fact, because of my self-harm history. The blending of intense physical pain and sexual activity would cause antithetical emotions to blend in me and create havoc. )
Yes, physical pain produces endorphins, thus a slight high. Which is the reason the people who self-injure as well as masochists do it--a good feeling results. One seeks to feel better because he or she is already in emotional pain; the other seeks to enhance physical enjoyment during an already enjoyable act. (I am just stating the biochemical reasoning here, not judging).
If I had no history of unhealthy coping, would my interest in piercings and tattoos even be questioned? At what point does being with friends and doing body modification become unhealthy? Is someone like me with the history I have ever able to in a healthy way engage in private body modification? Or does the history (which, in psychological terms, means the behavior is no longer there, but the mentality still is) mean that I should simply only go to a professional establishment for body modifications, thereby reducing the possibility of it being or triggering a coping mechanism?
http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com/2008/07/tattoos-body-piercings-and-self-harm-is.html
Getting piercings and tattoos in the almost clinical setting of a reputable tattoo or piercing parlor dispels questions of "unhealthy" pain-seeking because it is so professional. The more private acts of engaging in purposeful physical pain are where the line between healthy and unhealthy become blurry.
It appears to me that one person's "unhealthy" can be another person's completely "healthy", based on the subject's history as well as the viewer's.
I freely admit that I have a history of self-harm for emotional relief, and that this was an unhealthy way of coping. But does that mean that if I were to engage in any kind of behavior that resulted in physical pain, I must be doing such in order to achieve an emotional release as before? I think not.
(I, also, would like to point out that I am not a masochist. I get no sexual pleasure or gratification for physical pain--in fact, because of my self-harm history. The blending of intense physical pain and sexual activity would cause antithetical emotions to blend in me and create havoc. )
Yes, physical pain produces endorphins, thus a slight high. Which is the reason the people who self-injure as well as masochists do it--a good feeling results. One seeks to feel better because he or she is already in emotional pain; the other seeks to enhance physical enjoyment during an already enjoyable act. (I am just stating the biochemical reasoning here, not judging).
If I had no history of unhealthy coping, would my interest in piercings and tattoos even be questioned? At what point does being with friends and doing body modification become unhealthy? Is someone like me with the history I have ever able to in a healthy way engage in private body modification? Or does the history (which, in psychological terms, means the behavior is no longer there, but the mentality still is) mean that I should simply only go to a professional establishment for body modifications, thereby reducing the possibility of it being or triggering a coping mechanism?