Recently, I became aware of this fascinating model of safety through Lee Harrington, by Jake Ernst, that very cleanly offers options to right ourselves after experiencing drop. Drop is a phenomenon that can occur to either Tops or bottoms, post play. Drop typically occurs after intense or particularly heavy impact play and can involve a physical depression, involving the withdrawal of the happy hormones that are released during play. It can result in an emotional depression as well, which compounds the physical symptoms.
Now, there is a distinctive lack of research into what happens to the body when it under goes heavier play. I've been apart of one that studied cortisol (stress hormone) levels throughout the play cycle, and that determined that cortisol was released during play, and exhausted after play, there by providing that play reduces stress. However, there are no studies that I know of that study the release of serotonin, dopamine or oxytocin. But I heavily suspect that these chemicals are involved through other sorts of studies. Studies on pain processing, extreme sports and chronic illness suggest that these chemicals are quite present in someone under going pain. So it stands to reason that spankings provide the type of pain that trigger the bodies chemical response.
So, what does all this have to do with the link I'm sharing with you today? I'm suggesting that heavy physical or emotional play causes a version of temporary trauma, a temporary hurt in proportion to how heavy we play. We call that drop, our bodies are going through withdrawal of these chemicals, the high we experienced during play can result in lows afterwards. Trauma to the body and mind need to recover, they need to heal and this model of safety by Jake Ernst provides perfect opportunities to recover from drop/temporary trauma.
By re-establishing our safety, we grant ourselves the space to heal from that temporary trauma we find ourselves in sometimes. I hope this helps to reframe things you can do when in drop to get out of the funk.
Warmly,
Miss Chris
Comments