Subjective experience of pain in masochists

[Archie]

Hello everyone,

I have long been wondering what (sexually arousing, not ordinary) pain feels like for a masochist.

1. How do you feel the pain itself? Is it still "painful" (as in, the opposite of pleasant) or does it become pleasurable in itself? Or is it both pleasurable and "painful" at the same time?

1a. If it is pleasurable in itself, what does this pleasure feel like? In what way is it sexual? Are there any other sensations you can liken it to (a warmth, an orgasm-like sensation felt with a body part that's not the genitals, or something like that?)? I suppose the sensation is different for a "sting" type of pain than a "thud", so feel free to answer differently for sting and for thud.

1b. If it is "painful", does it still feel the same or is it changed (for instance, is it considerably less painful, or does it feel more like warmth or something like that instead of pain)?

2. Are there any other sensations/feelings that accompany the pain? (I am talking about strictly masochistic, not submissive, sensations -- so I'm not referring to pleasurable feelings of humiliation or objectification or anything like that) For instance, do you feel a shiver of pleasure all through your body (is that shiver sexual or non-sexual?), or a "runner's high"-like feeling after the pain has subsided (or even before that), or something else? I am assuming that, if the answer to "1. How do you feel the pain itself?" is that it is painful and not pleasurable, then the pleasure stems from the sensations/feelings accompanying the pain.

3. Where does the sexual component factor in? Is it the pain itself that feels sexually arousing or the sensations/feelings (if any) that accompany it? Or both? This question overlaps somewhat with the previous ones.

Bonus question: When you are in subspace, how intense is that experience compared to other intense experiences (not necessarily sexual ones)?

Looking forward to your answers.

[sebastian]

I'm not, strictly speaking, a masochist, but I do love having my nipples played with, and I have a pretty high threshold of pain on them. Having my nipples licked is pleasant, but what really gets me going is having them chewed on. It takes a certain amount of roughness before I start enjoying it, but once I do, the feeling immediately is both pleasurable and sexual.

1) It is painful and pleasurable simultaneously.
1a) It is definitely sexual. I often say that my nips are hardwired to my cock. The moment I reach the minimum level of attention necessary, I begin to feel it in my cock.
1b) The pain is moderated, I suppose, by the pleasure I feel in my cock. Were that not there, I don't think I would enjoy having my nips worked on. Eventually, my threshold is exceeded and the pain begins to be unpleasant, and I have to call a halt. Once that happens, my threshold begins to drop, so that I have to stop things at a lower level from that point on.
2) I love struggling and feeling the tension both in my body and my partner's. That sense of tension is itself pleasurable. It feels very masculine and competitive--I want to outlast my partner (be tougher than he is, I suppose). A while ago I played with a guy who liked nipple play as much as I did. We rolled around on the bed, each of us simultaneously working the other's nipples--the harder he worked mine, the harder I worked his.
3) The pain is itself arousing, although I couldn't exactly say why.

[pepeluism]

1- It is painful. It hurts and it makes you cry and scream
1b- It is less painful when you are in a "session." For example, if I get hit in the balls by someone by accident, it will hurt immensely. During a session, my Mistress will kick my balls over and over and it will hurt too, but I can take it.
2- To me, at least the first 15 minutes or so, the pain is accompanied with a "rush" (adrenaline?). After that it really becomes pure pain.
3- For me, most of the sexual pleasure is "before" and "after" the pain. The excitement of awaiting a punishment makes me extremely hard. After the punishment, the thoughts of my suffering (sometimes the videos too) and seeing the marks on my body also make me super horny.