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When you're in a therapist's office, your mind and emotions are tortured as you recall painful past experiences. This is applauded but when you add the torture of your physical body into the equation, isn't it interesting how people see a completely different picture?
A lot of people who practice SM do it because they've had some sort of trauma that's blocked up deep emotions of grief, hurt, shame and feeling unloved. The intensity of SM play can allow them to get to these feelings and purge them in a way that no kind of therapy or anything else can. Re-enacting moments of abuse and powerlessness can actually be empowering for the victim because this time around they are the ones in control and can stop the s/m play at any time with a single word.
S/M is a consensual practice--you're not the one being tortured so relax. It's always more difficult to understand something that you can't relate to but why don't you give it a try and keep your viciousness and judgment in check.
