Seems to me that people can get "addicted" to anything in at least a psychological sense. Physcial addiction doesn't typically happen except for chemical ingestions.

The only way I could see it being a problem is if "addiction" to BDSM or anything else for that matter leads to signficiant personal distress and/or conflicts with financial/work/interpersonal/etc duties. Or leads one to take unreasonable risks. The definition of "reasonable risks," beyond which someone is taking it too far for health and safety, will of course vary from person to person.

From what I have read about neurochemistry and brain structure I believe it is possible to become physically addicted to the rush of chemicals that are experienced by a bottom engaged in pain play. True, your body is producing the chemicals which is likely a much more healthy alternative than anything you would ingest, it's all about what receptor sites you are activating in your brain.

There is a term called neuroplasticity which simply put is that even the adult brain can learn new connections and pathways. Someone who is blinded later in life and learns braille for example actually grows new nerve connections in the parts of the brain that control the fingers they "read" with.

If you read some of the journal articles about endorphins and pain in sites that specialize in talking about people with chronic pain you will discover lots of interesting material. There isn't just one endorphin, but many that are similar chemically that affect the brain in slightly different ways. Nicotine releases one particular combinations in the brain, cocaine something similar but slightly different, heroin also causes the release of certain chemicals in the brain. All of them have similar actions on the brain and all of them over time make the receptor sites they impact more tolerant of interaction. Over time you require stronger dosage to get the same impact.

While I am no neurochemist or medical professional for that matter, what I have read about the endorphins released from the bodies response to pain are some of the same ones that your body releases when you smoke, snort cocaine, etc. To be fair, people who exercise habitually and receive a "runners high" are experiencing some of the same thing. How addictive something is to a particular person and how harmful it is really depends on the person and the chemical. Medical grade nicotine for example is rather harmless if you don't have a heart condition, but the tar in cigarettes is terribly hard on the human body. You also don't hear about marathon runners going into therapy for being addicted to exercise but watch what happens to them if you don't let them exercise for a week.

Until we start seeing functional MRI's and blood workups on people in the act of BDSM play we will never really know exactly what is happening or how addictive these activities are or if there are any long term effects.

On a personal note I believe finding myself involved in these types of activities by no accident. Since I was a teenager-preteen I have always been into adventure sports and anything that would cause a large release of endorphins. I still jump out of planes, fly hang gliders, drive too fast, etc. I didn't end up here because I have a closet full of black clothes, go to Burning Man every year or listen to goth-metal music. As a matter of fact I have more suits in my closet than I will ever have "play" clothes.

On a very personal note, what made me dig for all this information was because a very close friend confronted me after I was spending a very large portion of my time in these kinds of activities and she thought I was getting out of control. After stepping back and getting some perspective I dug into this topic as far as my 1 college chemistry class background would allow. I still love to play, and I still engage in adventure sports. What has changed is I developed an appreciation of the power of what we do, and a healthy respect for how it can influence my behavior. I choose to play because it is so enjoyable, and it seems like a much better and ultimately safer activity than buying a motorcycle to race around Skyline.

A great place to start reading:

Owners manual for the brain - Howard
Evolve your brain - Dispenza
Train your mind, Change your brain - Begley

I'm not a doctor, but my understanding is that technically, no. Addition is not possible.

Dependency might be possible, but it would be psychological dependency.

First off GREAT topic! I read all the responses and I have to say that there are some very interesting points made. Very insightful comments. Addiction and it's definition is becoming more skewed. Largely due to drug and alcohol abuse and their treatment. There are now different types of addiction. Mainly a physical type of addiction which may result in death if the dependent substance is suddenly removed and a psychological addiction where removal of a substance may result in depression or other mood swings.

In this question you asked, many people have tied in endorphins to the answer. This may be a source of some people's addiction. But endorphins can be obtained through several means as many people here have already mentioned. The question you asked was specific to BDSM. Even saying that BDSM can be psychologically addicting is a very general answer. Essentially, saying that simply means that the mind desires it and isn't happy without it. So by newer definitions of the word addiction; yes, it can be addicting and a person can become addicted to it. Whether or not a chemical dependency can be developed that may result in death if not satisfied remains to be seen other than through cause and effect. Lack of BDSM leads to depression, depression leads to suicide.

Interestingly enough, the definition given on dictionary.com is:

–noun
the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

State of being enslaved... Looks like it was written with BDSM in mind lol