Drop and Aftercare, A Discussion
A Dominant that I know was telling me she was not feeling very “up” when I was talking to her recently. Now while I know she has a lot going on in her life I also knew she had played several times in one night just a few nights previous. I asked her if Top drop could have been contributing to her low spirits. When she asked what I was talking about it got me thinking about how often I had heard; “What is Top Drop?” or “What is sub drop”. Often when I hear this the speaker has heard of one but not the other. It also got me considering the role of aftercare in combating or minimizing Drop.
I am not qualified to discuss all of the medical reasons for psychological drop, but my understanding is that it is at least partially caused by the evacuation or absence after the fact of chemicals the brain uses to cope with situations of stress. Drop is experienced by athletes and adventurers, as well as many other people after high stress situations. Have you ever gotten very high from an emergency like a car accident, only to find the following days that you have a feeling of being adrift?
While a Top and a bottom in BDSM experience different stress triggers and excitements, both produce body responses that brain must process and recover from. Whether it is a physical scene or a psychological one, the top receives pleasure while exerting emotional and mental control while the bottom produces chemical reactions to protect from the full effects of the treatment they are receiving.
But there are also very psychological components to Drop. Whether they be feelings of abandonment, being off balance, or simply wondering about their worth, a bottom has many emotions to process in the days following a heavy scene. » Read the full post
