That is quite a mouthful, and there are people who absolutely enjoy suffering. If you ask them about it they will swear that suffering is the worst thing that can happen to a person, especially them, and then go on to tell you how much they are suffering and why, and how no one understands, and they cannot do anything about it. If you make a suggestion, about how they can do something about their suffering, they will explain to you why that will not work. In fact nothing works to alleviate their suffering, except maybe more suffering. And why? Suffering for this person has become a way of life, a way of living. Take away the suffering and they feel that they no longer have a reason for being, a reason for getting up in the morning. Suffering has become something they look forward to.

They would never admit it because they can’t admit even to themselves how much they get out of suffering. For a while they get attention from family and friends, at some point though the family and friends no longer have the energy to “play the game”. When they no longer have the support of family and friends they can go to a therapist who will listen to them. Since most therapeutic models are “sickness” based, they therapist is going to find some reason for this person’s suffering.

That is a therapist job, to find a reason for the suffering. It would never occur to most therapist that suffering could become a drug, and in a lot of instances it is. Just like heroin or crack or prozac suffering can become a “drug of choice” for some people. That is why it is so hard to get them to give it up, they reach a point where they feel they need it to survive, and in some cases, they do.