What is a person called who looks for misery?

I've known people who seem to feel better being miserable, negative of themselves and feel that deserve to see themselves as beneath others. One such person that I am thinking of (who is middle aged now) was a child victim of abuse. This person in some ways acts as though they think highly of themselves but then in other ways, he acts like he is beneath others and refuses any encouragement unless it's how he wants it. A really contradictory person.