# I cut my finger, and now it's a source of pleasure for me. How and why?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-my-finger-and-now-its-a-source-of-pleasure-for-me-how-and-why/308124
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 13, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-my-finger-and-now-its-a-source-of-pleasure-for-me-how-and-why/308124 "2005-06-13T19:15:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-my-finger-and-now-its-a-source-of-pleasure-for-me-how-and-why/308124/21 "2005-06-15T20:18:24Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> For a period of time during the healing process, we experience a tickling or itching sensation, caused by the growth of new cells. The pleasure you feel might be similar to the pleasure of scratching an itch. This explains why some people feel compelled to pick their scabs.
It definitely was not that feeling. It was much, much better. I know what you’re talking about, but this wasn’t that.
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### Author:  [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2005, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-my-finger-and-now-its-a-source-of-pleasure-for-me-how-and-why/308124/22 "2005-06-16T08:01:07Z")
> [@Little Bird](#):
>
> All I can say is, if I were your wife I would be hiding the knives. 🙂
Why not? She appears to have hidden the scissors, band aids, etc.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-my-finger-and-now-its-a-source-of-pleasure-for-me-how-and-why/308124/23 "2005-06-16T08:47:02Z")
> [@Cisco](#):
>
> Isn’t pain sometimes the result of something that, with less intensity, would be pleasure?
I’m not an expert on this at all, but I think you’re right. As I understand it pain is a sensation of “this is too much sensation” rather than “this feels bad.”
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### Author:  [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cut-my-finger-and-now-its-a-source-of-pleasure-for-me-how-and-why/308124/24 "2005-06-16T12:55:15Z")
Perhaps the pleasure comes from endorphin release? Just wondering. It seems that everyone experiences pain tolerance differently which could explain why some people become somewhat “addicted” to getting tatoos or enjoy little bursts of pain during sex (ie “surface piercing”)
I also get an odd pleasure response from getting cut or pricked by a needle. I DO NOT however do this to myself intentionally although I can’t deny the thought is intriguing for the pleasurable effects. I just don’t relish the idea of harming myself or scaring my skin intentionally.
I wonder if the feeling that **Jackknifed Juggernaut** describes is not unlike my own love for ridiculously spicy foods. When I say spicy I mean taking a swig of habanero sauce straight from the bottle or eating jalepenos by the spoonful. It burns like hell but there’s something close to ecstacy in that. Again, I’m thinking it’s the endorphins.
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