Suicide and masochism: The evolving relationship between guilt, suffering, self-attack and suicide

Abstract

Masochism is a complex and intriguing phenomenon. Self-attack may serve many purposes. Some patients suffer through harsh self-criticism, bodily harm, or even tormenting thoughts of death, without actually killing themselves. Some of these patients ultimately may go on to die by suicide, but for many, the self-torturing aspect may exist independently in acute or chronic forms. This paper addresses the complex relationship between masochism and suicide as two separate yet interconnected phenomena.

Keywords:

• suicide
• masochism
• self-attack
• suffering
• guilt