Hi, my very good friend thinks she may be masochistic, and I think she is right. She constantly has fantasies of bad situations, (which she enjoys) like having cancer, being a pregnant teenager who's child's father died, and many other fantasies she hasn't told me about. She loves extreme uncomfortable temperatures, and any extreme feelings. She says it's because she's never really ever experienced anything very extreme, physically or emotionally. She says she loves really feeling things. She is very freaked out by the idea of her being masochistic, and we need some information. A few of the main things we would like to know are,

-Is masochism a genetic thing, is it in your DNA or anything? Or does it just develop?
-Is masochism a bad thing? I mean, I realize it has bad effects, but I noticed that it isn't really talked about much, contrary to things like, say homosexuality, which is talked about a lot. Is masochism frowned upon?
-Is masochism curable, or is it chronic? Also, what are the cures or treatments for it? (If there are any)
-Is there anything else we should know about in dealing with it, and living with it?
-Is she definitely a masochist, or could it be something else? If so, what else could it be?

Thank you so much for your help, she is really depressed, worried, and freaked out about all this- ever since she realized. I'm worried for her, because I know how hard it is to realize something so shocking about yourself, and to come to terms with it.

S.S.