Are BDSM sick people , i mean r they psycho?

Question

Are BDSM sick people , i mean r they psycho?

Answer 1

Nope just into a different type of s*x is all.

  Not my thing  but hey to each their own. As long as it is between consenting adults.

Answer 2

no.  i think everyone has some thing about them that is a bit deviant.  for some its sexual satisfaction.  this question also goes back on what your definition of Psycho means.  Are they "psycho" because they enjoy a different pleasure than the average person?

Answer 3

No

Answer 4

The giving or receiving of pain for sexual gratification is both OK and can be enjoyable.

Not to be confused with suicide bombing type activity :-)

Answer 5

Such ppl are mentally weak for sure. That bdsm thing is a ridiculous weakness. They`re weirdos & a laughing stock in my book.

Answer 6

This is more the area of psychology than it is sociology, but I will certainly answer the question.

Those into bondage and sado-masochism have different desires, shall we say? But even through all that, they maintain no illusions about the state of their sexual escapades.

Being a BDSM enthusiast does not make one "psycho," as you put it, but of course any enthusiast may be mentally unbalanced concurrently and not as a result.

The woman above mentioned the DSM-IV-TR, which is the handbook guide for mental disorders. The thing she doesn't quite understand about diagnosis is that it has to provide clear and clinical distress to be considered a mental disorder. One can't just diagnose someone from a few characteristics: it must be on the verge of destroying someone's life.

Answer 7

Kats answer is disingenuous at the very least.

The American Psychological Association(APA) has been playing about with the diagnostic criteria in DSM for many years. In the previous edition they gave a criteria for paedophilia which actually read that as long as a paedophile didn't fell bad about abusing children then they didn't fit the diagnostic criteria!

This has now been changed in the latest publication, but the APA has made themselves such a laughing stock with DSM that many American Psychologists are trying to set up a new association.

The United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) has its own publication which is recognised by world governments called the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). ICD10, the latest publication lists Sexual Sadism and Sexual Masochism as 'Mental and Behavioural disorders'.

The United Nations categorises BDSM, as most people understand it, as a mental and behavioural disorder. I wouldn't go so far as to describe them as being sick or psycho, it is a recognised illness like Kleptomania or Schizophrenia. They are certainly people who are in need of treatment by trained mental health professionals, and their preferences are certainly something that is not considered healthy by many Psychiatrists or health organisations.

Ultimatly they are people who get turned on by violence, abuse and brutality, and its not unreasonable to hold an opinion that people who enjoy this are suffering from an illness.

Answer 8

No. Remember it takes all kinds.  And don't knock it till you try it.

Answer 9

With the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) in 1994 new criteria of diagnosis were available describing BDSM clearly not as disorders of sexual preferences. They are now not regarded as illnesses in and of themselves. The DSM-IV asserts that "The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors" must "cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning" in order for sexual sadism or masochism to be considered a disorder. The manuals' latest edition (DSM-IV-TR) requires that the activity must be the sole means of sexual gratification for a period of six months, and either cause "clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning" or involve a violation of "Consent" to be diagnosed as a paraphilia. Overlays of sexual preference disorders and the practice of BDSM practices can occur, however.

Psychologists would certainly say yes, but they certainly have an interest in diagnosing people with a mental illness, so take what they say with a grain or two of salt.  I say, if done respectfully and carefully between adults, there is nothing wrong with it.  Certainly, it is no sicker than someone who jumps from a bridge tied to a bungee chord... we all enjoy different types of stimulation.

Answer 10

I found several sites for you to check out

The people are not sick, just people

who might be sociopaths, with no feelings

for fellow man.

Answer 11

They do not follow the norm, to be sure.  But then again, it is not normal to work a 40 hour work week (eight hours a day, 5 days a week), that is something that was imposed on most of us during the industrial revolution.

BDSM may in part be a reaction to that 40 hour week, during which very stringint rules are imposed.  If you are put in a position where you are forced to make decisions, it may increase the desire during your 'down' time to make no decisiosns, to become completely subservient to another person (I have talked with subs about this).

If you accept this idea, then BDSM becomes something of a natural, if limited, outgrowth of the industrial society. A necessary means to exist in today's society.

It should be noted that BDSM is not always about s*x - in many cases yes, sexual gratification can come hand in hand with s*x.  Spankings can get you hot.  In other cases, BDSM can open the door to s*x, give you permission to have s*x,which you might otherwise feel anxious about. (Drinking can be another means to the same end - a release of inhibitions).

BDSM couples are generally very caring for each other.  Perhaps more so than in straight couples, as there is an Absolute giving of trust required in such bondings.  The ability to give yourself at that level, both as dom and sub, necessitates extreme openness.  I think BDSM couples would kick *** on the Newlywed Game.

Oh, there are sickos out there, just as there are in any group, but not, I think, at a higher percentage than other groups. I mean getting someone drunk to have s*x with them is pretty nasty, but that should not reflect on all people who party.

So no, as a group they are not sick, or psycho, or harmful to themselves or others.  They are as trustworthy as boy scouts, and are loving kind and (ususally) gentle people.