Algolagnia

Algolagnia is an older technical term for the enjoyment of pain stimuli. It may refer both to pleasure in inflicting pain and to pleasure in receiving pain. The word comes from Greek and was mainly used in medical and psychological writing in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, it has largely been replaced by sadism and masochism, or by the broader term sadomasochism.

It is important to note that in modern specialist language, not every interest in pain in a sexual context is considered a disorder. In BDSM, pain can be used deliberately, consensually and pleasurably without being a problem in itself. A need for treatment is usually discussed only when the person suffers from it, cannot control the behaviour, or feels unable to have a satisfying sex life without such practices. Terms such as algophilia or “pleasure pain” are now rare and mostly outdated. Algomania is a historical, more pathologising term for a morbid desire for pain.