The Masochistic [Self-Defeating] Personality

In the previous post, i've shared The Sadistic Personality , now i'll explain about the opposite from The Sadistic Personality called The Masochistic Personality.
Guess that u've already heard about 'masochist'. Not only Sadistic Personality but also Masochistic Personality was dropped in DSM-IV.
Still the same w Sadistic Personality, I kinda like this topic because i can find someone around me which has the characteristics relates this disorder.
Let's see what the article is talking about...

Masochistic Personalities or "self-defeating" is thus fundamentally different from the other personality disorders, who want to succeed, however subjectively success is defined, but find themselves tripped up again and again by their traits.

When they do experience good fortune, they react w confusion or displeasure and secretly frown at the joy that others might feel for 'em.
In a perverse elaboration on Descartes, the masochist’s motto is, “I hurt, therefore I am”.
True to its name, the disorder ran into difficulties almost immediately.
Altho' such persons would seem extremely rare, masochistic traits are as ubiquitous as guilt and, therefore, are easily found on a continuum w normality.
In their normal expression, they can be considered adaptive, idealized, and, perhaps, almost saintly. The self-sacrificing style live to serve and to be helpful to others. When they are allowed to give selflessly of themselves, everything is right with the world.
Psychodynamically, the masochistic seems to run counter to the pleasure principle. Interpersonally, masochists assume that others will try to beat them down, so they come to relationships already beaten down waving a white flag and presenting no challenge.
Cognitively, masochists find themselves caught between hope and fear and tend to completely reinterpret past events.


The masochists seem gratified by misfortune, failure, or humiliation, then driven by a “success neurosis,” they experience favorable outcomes as producing anxiety and guilt, not pleasure and happiness.
They avoid displaying their real talents and abilities and instead place themselves in an inferior light to avoid any hint of competition.

There are variety of the masochistic personality, masochists often exhibit features of other personality disorders, here u are; The Self-Undoing Masochist, The Possessive Masochist, The Oppressed Masochist, The Virtuous Masochist.

The Self-Undoing Masochists search out failure or punishment, subtly reversing their good fortune, chooses to be victimized, ruined, disgraced.
As such, they combine aspects of the masochistic and avoidant personalities.
The Possessive Masochists are unable to let go of their attachments. Through ostentatious sacrifices, possessive masochists intrude into the daily affairs, (children, spouses, friends, peers) meddling in activities, romance, occupation, and anywhere else they can obtain a foothold.
The Oppressed Masochist mope around complaining of their terrible condition but end by saying, "But don't let my suffering make u owrry about meh; do what is best for u." Anyone who comes to their aid eventually feels emotionally drained and guilty, made to feel as if moving on w his or her own life was an abandonment.
Oppressed masochist is a fusion of THE DEPRESSED and masochistic personalities.
The Virtuous Masochist are proudly unselfish and self-sacrificial. Self-denial, asceticism, and stoic tolerance of adversity are seen as noble and righteous, a sign of purity and saintliness, the glorification of misery.
Virtuous masochists is a combination of the histrionic and masochistic personalities, at times they may also exhibit features of the dependent personality.

Masochists share numerous traits w other personality disorders. Both depressives and masochists live under a heavy burden of oppressive guilt, suffering from an overly self-critical conscience.

Moreover, masochism often hides a sadistic purpose that the depressive lacks: The persecutor must be persecuted for being the persecutor. Acting out their conflicts gives masochists a greater sense of energy than is possessed by the lethargic depressive.
Comparisons and contrasts can also be made with the dependent, compulsive, and borderline personalities.
Both the masochist and dependent are submissive, overtly noncompetitive, and bond parasitically to their partner.
Both masochists and compulsives have strong underlying guilt feelings. The masochist, however, elicits punishment, whereas the compulsive greatly fears it.
Finally, both masochists and borderlines sometimes share a tendency toward self-mutilation. Masochists, however, mutilate to undo their own guilt, whereas borderlines mutilate more to confirm their existence and forestall identity diffusion.

Conclusion :

Masochistic Personality has been exist in DSM-III but it wasn't continued in DSM-IV.
Masochistic Personality feels happy by the way their hurts. It's opposite from the Sadistic Personality which likes to force and 'punish' others to feel a satisfaction.
Psychodynamically, the masochistic seems to run counter to the pleasure principle. Interpersonally, masochists assume that others will try to beat them down, so they come to relationships already beaten down waving a white flag and presenting no challenge. Cognitively, masochists find themselves caught between hope and fear and tend to completely reinterpret past events.
There are variety of the masochistic personality, masochists often exhibit features of other personality disorders, here u are; The Self-Undoing Masochist, The Possessive Masochist, The Oppressed Masochist, The Virtuous Masochist.
The self-undoing masochist  combine aspects of the masochistic and avoidant personalities. The oppressed masochist is a fusion of the depressed and masochistic personalities.
Virtuous masochists is a combination of the histrionic and masochistic personalities, at times they may also exhibit features of the dependent personality.

Source : Personality Disorders in Modern Life, second edition by Theodore Millon and Seth Grossman, Carrie Millon, Sarah Meagher, Rowena Ramnath

Sincerely,

sick-psycho