There are all different kinds of pain and each will effect each person differently. Pain in the BDSM world is a tool. That tool is used to put the submissive into a certain specific frame of mind. There is more than ONE frame of mind. First there is pain used to reinforce the authority of the Dominant partner. In order to submit there has to be some form of punishment if you fail in your efforts. A spanking can run from severe to sublime depending on the tolerance of the receiver. It needs to be enough to make the submissive wish in general to avoid it in the future. If it is too little you end up with a sub that Tops from the bottom by being bad to get what they want. Punishment pain needs to be painful enough to at least slow this sort of behavior.
Pain as pleasure is a different thing all together. Properly applied, pain can be used to place a submissive into a sort of trance where pain becomes pleasure and the sub flies in subspace. This is VERY pleasurable and addictive!!! I works like this... We as animals hve all maner of primitive reflexes and physiological responses that were important in our ancestors to keep them alive. Because we are intelligent animals, we can trigger these responses by faking out our primitive instincts.
Mr.Uggg the cave dude is walking down the trail with Mrs Uggg and all the little Uggggs when a lion jumps out and smacks him. In less than a second his system shuts down his pain, boosts his strength and he becomes able to act and react at an increased rate. His fear response is often inhibited and he becomes 7 feet tall and armor plated ready to take on the big cat with a sharp stick. Mean while Mrs Uggg has snatched up the little Ugggs and set new land speed records with a little Uggg under each arm. Adrenaline is but one of the many chemical compounds that are released into their systems and for just a little while they are super human.
Why do people ride roller coasters? Why would you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? You do it for the RUSH. You are tricking your system with fake danger to create a response like Mr. and Mrs. Uggg had. Pain used in BDSM can be like the roller coaster or skydiving. It is offered slowly and with gradual increases in intensity to trick the body into a full blown panic reaction that is a thousand times that of what a roller-coaster might give you. It is a wonderful experience and you share it with your Dom. I have seen a Dom and sub so high that you would thing that they were on drugs...THEY WERE!! the drugs though were MADE inside their bodies in response to this very special power exchange!!
It is this very response that makes the relationship between a Dom and sub so close and important. A sub is almost totally helpless. They don't KNOW how badly they could be hurt. A Dom is your protector...or a monster that may use you up like some kind of vampire. Becareful who you play with!
I personally have... possibly at times stupidly explored my limits. I don't have any. I have been beat bloody, burned, and cut and liked it all. I also am the biggest wimp in the world when my wife starts pinching bumps on me!! It is just a different thing and the mind set is different. My Dom generally protected me. She did beat me bloody but then I was still ready to go on when she called it over. She whipped me a lot less and it hurt me terribly for letting myself be burned at a party. That spanking was done fast and was over before my body could react and dull my senses. IT HURT! LOL and didn't leave much more than a red butt.
Pain is in the mind and each person has different abilities to take it. I will say this. The more often you trigger the endorphin releases, the faster it happens my ability to cope with pain has greatly increased over time. I'm not TOUGH I can just chose to not experience it as you might.
I loved my Mistress and when I accepted her pain it was my gift to her and proof of my love and dedication to her. I hope some of this is understandable. It is a hard thing to describe and explain.