Are You An Emotional Masochist?

TW: self-harm

Illustration by me

While we usually assume self-harm is a physical thing, this is not always the case. Self-harm can also be inflicted on an intellectual and emotional level.

This is where somebody deliberately exposes themselves to emotionally distressing experiences. One common way people sometimes do this is by filling their social media feeds with uncomfortable or disturbing content. A striking example of this is called doomscrolling, which is where somebody finds themselves engulfed by a myriad of negative news articles. The nature of most social media algorithms means this is quite easy to happen. So easy, in fact, that many people find themselves surrounded by such content without even trying.

I can attest to this. By no deliberate means of my own, I’ve noticed my TikTok feed devolve into a lot of emotionally uncomfortable and unnerving videos. I’m sure my story is not unique.

I have chosen to try and fix my feed and avoid such media. But if I hadn’t done this, then I would be engaging in emotional self-harm, or emotional masochism. The results are not much different from physical harm. It can be extremely painful and it can leave emotional or psychological scars. Some of which can last for years. Just speak to any child or teenager who uses (or used to use) 4Chan. Although the site is mostly known for…