While the leather clad underworld of the bondage and discipline scene has often been chastised by the psychiatry community as being a violent thunderground for a variety of mental disorders, a new study actually indicates that those people who get their kicks from whips and chains are actually healthier and more mentally sound than their missionary counterparts.

Researchers from the Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands recently discovered that individuals who practice in the sexual taboos of BDSM scored higher on a series of personality and psychological tests than those who do not subscribe to kinky philosophies.

However, in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, BDSM is categorized as an unusual sexual fixation referred to as paraphilia, and is considered potentially hazardous to the mental stability to those who engage in such sexual activity.

Yet, researchers say that in a survey of about 900 people who frequently participated in the ways of BDSM and around 430 individuals who did not, those who have a fetish sex mentality do not seem any unhappier or more disturbed than the population of white bread breeders.

In fact, researchers concluded that the BDSM community appears to be more well-rounded and open to new experiences, as well as less neurotic and sensitive to rejection – all traits lacking in people afraid to screw with the lights on.

Researchers also added, that while the BDSM lifestyle may be a bit strange to some, it simply appears to be a healthier way of life.

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