What causes someone to be a glutton for punishment?

I think they are very needy and lonely and bad attention is better than no attention

lol, i think it’s more than a phrase than an accurate description of a person in general. But I guess people do things that are unpleasant because they get something out of it in the end, or they want to please others. Some people enjoy the challenge of difficult tasks.

There also seems to be some misunderstanding of what the phrase means…

To be a glutton for punishment is an idiom that means to willfully take on difficult or disagreeable tasks that may be very uncomfortable. The word glutton tends to mean overeating, and originates in Latin with the related words gluttus which means greedy, and gluttires which is translated as to swallow. The word gula may be similarly related and translates as throat. In most cases, being a glutton for punishment is different than being gluttonous. Gluttony in general is one of the deadly sins, since people who eat overmuch, greedily and often are most interested in themselves (according to those who track sins in this manner). But being a glutton for punishment usually means that you welcome difficulties and may be accepting requests or tolerating difficult circumstances to please others rather than yourself. It is more other-motivated than self-motivated.

http://funadvice.com/r/beia90rm3hi