It is not going to help the person using the label "transharmed" to tell them that what they want and what they think is wrong.
It is not going to wake them up to "the truth" [your projection of yourself in their shoes] that the harm they are voluntarily seeking out is detrimental to the quality of their life.
Whether you find these people disgusting or misguided, or if you feel pity for them and think it's your position to try to "rescue" them, you are doing more damage than you know.
You are the one stepping over their boundaries. You are [unknowingly] participating in harassment.
To avoid this, you need to have genuine trust and faith in the autonomy of other beings to make their own decisions based on their own personal values and goals, and that it is what is best for them according to what they've assessed for themselves in the moment.
If you'd like to offer help, you can ask how best you can help them, but do not impose unsolicited aid.
It is true that some, even many, people do end up in truly unfortunate circumstances that does ruin their happiness and stops their functioning in its tracks for some time.
Transharm is not about that.
The harm that is sought is experienced as a positive and mutually beneficial exchange between fully informed and consenting participants.
The reason for this negative to positive stimuli association can be for many reasons, the leading contender of which is previous trauma.
It doesn't make much sense to the average person, or even most people, but the psyche is a miraculous beast.
Survivors of trauma often seek out means to reclaim their autonomy and heal the damages done.
There are infinite treatments for trauma, some quite classic and traditional [CBT, DBT], some very unorthodox [ketamine, hypnosis, mushrooms]. . .
It is an uncomfortable truth for many to come to grips with, but there are people who have been so severely harmed and abused during their formative years of life that it does mean they will take much longer to adapt to the hegemonic societal culture that they are an outlier to [because of abuse and corresponding disabilities and/or mental illness].
Trauma does not go away overnight, and forcing traumatized people to act and behave like everyone else 24/7 is a cruel expectation.
Of course, the grand majority of trauma survivors do not wish to recreate their pain verbatim, they want to be free of it.
The key component of it all and where the ability to respect anothers' choice comes in is that everyone has different ways in which they will be freed from their pain.
There is not any universal "get out of being traumatized free" treatment card that will work for everyone.
It appears that in the Transharm community, they experience regaining freedom from their traumatic pain through different forms of favorable* pain.
[*Pain that causes them euphoria due to rewired neural circuits from years of sustained abuse, that helps them to feel brave and congruent to their bodies enough to overcome the past trauma.]
This does authentically alleviate their pain and dysphoria. It does work for them.
It does not and should not work for everyone, though, which is why informed consent is quintessential to achieving a positive outcome.
In the same way one must be read the potential risk factors for an invasive surgery before going under the knife, so too must one know the potential risk factors involved in seeking therapeutic harm.
Otherwise, yes, it can become nonconsensual torture that only exacerbates the persons torment, just as undergoing surgery without proper informed consent could have unforeseen lasting damage.
That being said,
There is often a desire for permanent effects being expressed in these communities, to fulfill a purpose, like a tool.
The goal is to overwrite effects from trauma that the person is consciously aware of impedes their everyday life because of involuntarily resistance to any other form of treatment [including medication and therapy] except present-day opportunities to alter similar circumstances in which they were harmed in the first place.
Everyone unlearns and heals from trauma uniquely, distinctly, and differently. This should be respected as true regardless of your personal feelings of unease and disgust.
No one should be shamed, ridiculed, or told that they are incapable of making their own decisions after having been traumatized.
Be kind, curious, and compassionate.
Or simply if the entire concept is detrimental to your health because of your own need to heal in your own way, keep your distance and focus on your healing journey, please.
There's no need for harrassment in either direction. Everyone is just trying to get by, at the end of the day.
If you can't comprehend it and as a result suspect malicious or nefarious nature because of your own discomforts: block and go about your day. This will only continue to upset you.
If you have real reason to believe that someone is being tormented against their will, the proper protocol is not to try and "snap them out of it."
Read here for more abuse survivor aid tips.
In summary, do not police or white knight the healing processes of those you are not willing to learn and listen to the truths of.
And lastly, if you're unable to distinguish between someone telling you that they are taking full accountability for their decisions, and someone being nonconsensually harmed then perhaps there is more to be learned about consent on your behalf.
Dom that really needs to cum and doesn’t care what you’re doing, they pull you onto their lap and say they’ll be quick while you’re playing a video game and they don’t mind if you keep playing, they just need to use you for a minute
anyone else get sick and fucking tired of making decisions. sometimes i just want to go pliant and pouty and be arranged and petted at. "puppy in a bad mood?" yes actually. "puppy want me to handle it?" yes, actually!
Ownership that is not confined only to sexual scenarios is very hot I think. Someone else making every day decisions for you, wearing a necklace with their name on it, them grabbing you and pulling you against their side when you’re walking together, having a hand on your thigh when you sit together, grabbing your chin and making you look at them while they tell you that you belong to them, just as a gentle reminder. Yes hello that sounds very good to me
Ownership that is not confined only to sexual scenarios is very hot I think. Someone else making every day decisions for you, wearing a necklace with their name on it, them grabbing you and pulling you against their side when you’re walking together, having a hand on your thigh when you sit together, grabbing your chin and making you look at them while they tell you that you belong to them, just as a gentle reminder. Yes hello that sounds very good to me
Ownership that is not confined only to sexual scenarios is very hot I think. Someone else making every day decisions for you, wearing a necklace with their name on it, them grabbing you and pulling you against their side when you’re walking together, having a hand on your thigh when you sit together, grabbing your chin and making you look at them while they tell you that you belong to them, just as a gentle reminder. Yes hello that sounds very good to me
