| Abstract: | Masochism is a complex emotion that can be tenacious and ruthless in inflicting psychic pain on selected patients. It is the authors' intent to illuminate the intrapsychic dynamics of two patterns of self-defeating masochism. One is cognitive in nature, in which the patient's masochism is limited to their thoughts, without acting it out behaviorally. When, on the other hand, masochism becomes behavioral as well, the punitive super-ego dictates surrender to self-defeating and self-depriving behaviors. Theoretical discussions and case studies will show how Family, Cultural, and Religion contribute to the patient's mental and behavioral suffering. Various treatment strategies, such as modeling, creating distractions, identifying the sources of the voices of the past by analyzing the roots of masochistic feelings, providing the  corrective emotional experience, are discussed as techniques designed to heal the struggles of the masochistic patient. |
