The process that turns pain into pleasure
Science has finally come to understand why pain makes us horny, and it’s all in our brains. Let’s take a look at the process that turns pain into pleasure with scientific backing.
‘I enjoy having my bottom flogged hard, it turns me on!’ you have probably heard these words but didn’t understand why that would be.
For most people, this would be a truly strange statement but not uncommon to be heard in a kinky community. So, you ask.
How can some people turn pain into pain you ask?
Science explains that pain and pleasure activate the same brain structures. Pain, like pleasure, activates some of the same chemicals, especially serotonin and adrenaline. In other words, the same chemicals that turn you on when you’re sexually aroused flow into your body when you’re being hurt.
How then do we get pleasure from pain?
So, if the pain is applied gradually and for an extended period, you can get someone high on endorphins. In the BDSM world, this is called “subspace.”
This is how it works, ….
At first, the pain level is low: a nice light spanking on the upper back usually gets you there nicely for starters. It doesn’t hurt a lot, but there is a little sting. It feels a bit like pushing your body through a tough workout.
Then, when the intensity goes up, it can really hurt. It hurts to the point of cringing, even screaming. Somehow, it’s bearable, because you already have a little flow of endorphins going. When you’re tied up and can’t take off (a response you’d engage in had you not been tied up –normal body response), the rush of adrenaline is also quite a rush.
As this pain is dispensed, there’s a point at which you start resisting. This is when the adrenaline has kicked in. You start hissing, wriggling, trying to escape your bonds. The pain rises to a peak, and so does your resistance.
Then, somehow, you give in. Once another burst of endorphins floods your brain, you relax into the pain, and it suddenly turns into pleasure. Your mind has found a new way to cope: by turning pain sensations into pleasure sensations. What seemed like torture to start with is no longer so.
YOU NOTICE THAT YOU ARE HORNY
It’s not quite clear how pain can literally turn into sexual arousal. But that the pain and pleasure centre is so close to the brain, might have our bodies interpret the sudden surge in endorphins as ‘typical sexual arousal’.
What we know is that masochism is no longer considered pathological by the DSM and that masochism that’s expressed in a healthy and sane way doesn’t require intervention.
If exploring kinks and BDSM does give you a kick and pleasure, there’s nothing wrong with you. Your body is reacting to what is happening to you with hormones and chemicals that make you feel good and pleasure.