Hello, I am a complete newbie to bdsm. I am wondering why seeing someone deliberately hurt themselves (ie. suspension - where someone hangs their entire body weight from hooks in their skin, or say a documentary in which they are measuring people's pain tolerances) turns me on. Note: this does not include the day-to-day 'ow I cut my finger' type of thing.

Anybody have an explanation for this/experience this?

Also/alternatively, does anyone know the actual physiological/psychological reason WHY people are turned on by a variety of non-sexual things? I know that one can be conditioned to them, but can one be conditioned to something without realising it?

--Pagan.