Abstract
Most people pursue pleasure and seek to avoid pain. Some individuals, however, choose a life characterized by pain and suffering. The author describes the most common varieties of such behavior patterns: asceticism, martyrdom, penance and masochism. Critical psychodynamics are discussed and the author proposes a synthesis of the motivation underlying pain/suffering seeking behavior.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boswell, James, Life of Samuel, Johnson, 1791.
Wolpert, Stanley, Gandhi's passion—the Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Oxford University Press, New York 2001.
King, Martin L., Stride Toward Freedom, the Montgomery Story, Harper, New York, 1958.
Cytrin, Leon, Personal conversation.
Meed, Vladka as quoted in Martin, Gilbert, Holocaust Journey, Traveling in Search of the Past, University Press, 1997 325.
Lifton, Betty Jean, The King of Children—the Life and Death of Janus Korczek, St. Martin's Griffin, New York, 2000.
Souli, Sofia A, Greek Mythology, Michalis Toubis, 1995, Athens, pp. 62-81.
Baudelaire, Charles P., Fleurs Du Mal, a new translation by RichardHoward, Boston, D.R. Godine, 1982.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berger, A.S. Choosing to Suffer: Reflections on an Enigma. Journal of Religion and Health 42, 251–255 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024843702805
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024843702805