What NOT to Share on Your Online Profile
February 13, 2010 by lunaKM
Filed under Safety, Video Posts
This video post is about what not to share on your online profile.
We all have one somewhere. FetLife being all the rage right now, but also we have alt.com, collarme.com, bondage.com and others where we place ads and identity profiles up to get people interested. This interest can be friends or relationship related; it doesn’t matter. What does matter is what we broadcast to everyone that happens across our profiles. You need to keep some things secure and really consider what’s necessary to put out into the World Wide Web.
What’s Safe?
Nothing you place online is safe. Anyone can find you and use what you put online to harm you in some way. Take for instance a rather vanilla picture of yourself on an adult site. It could be used against you in your job or other social engagements. Just the knowledge alone that you are present on a site like FetLife or CollarMe could get you fired. Your ex could use it against you to gain custody of your children. Anything is possible.
The idea that because you have to log into the service means that every word you write or photo you share behind that security feature means you are safe. This is far from true. Too many people rely heavily on the false sense of security that a log in screen provides. Think about it this way; how easy was it for you to create a profile? A predator or someone you don’t want to find you will find it a breeze.
Photos
If you share photos of yourself, even if you head and identifying features are cut out; be prepared to find them elsewhere online. So many people online just don’t care if they don’t own the rights to the photo, others like to increase their personal stash of porn, and others still want to earn money on your shared ‘free’ content. It takes all kinds. So, before you share a photo, consider if you want it on the internet. Don’t limit your mental scope to the site you are placing it, but all over the internet.
Personal Information
Other than the basic profile information, I’d keep your life pretty vague if you don’t want to be found by others you may know in another sphere of your life. Leave relationship, family and work details out of profiles. Never share information about your children.
Think about it this way, put on your profile only what you wouldn’t have a problem telling someone face to face that you don’t know. Because you know, that’s just it. Strangers are reading your profile and looking at those pictures before they know you… really know you.
Sure it sounds counter productive for a dating site, but protecting yourself should come first. Besides, emails and site mailing systems are slightly safer for sharing a bit more about yourself. Granted, these too can be abused, so be careful.
Some of you may be saying, “Well sure lunaKM, but I’ve seen your profile here or there and you share a lot about yourself including unaltered photos. Practice what you preach!
Let me tell you; I have no job outside the home, no friends or tech-saavy family that do not know and have nothing to loose if someone sees me or learns about me. I’m a unique case. I’m not saying that some of you aren’t either. I’ve given all of my profiles a look over and am happy with what is shared. That’s all that matters.
How Much Information is Too Much?
I Challenge You
Today I challenge you to go through your profiles and reconsider some of the information you have shared. Rip out what could put you in some form of danger or get you recognized by someone you’d rather stay incognito with. If you aren’t using a profile; delete it completely.
The Safety Disguise of Safewords
I’ve always believed that safewords are only good if you know how to use them. Good ole communication is great for things like numb limbs, an itch you can’t reach or a bathroom break. Submissive Guide is here for novices and it’s always good to teach about safewords and recommend that you have one.
In every beginning BDSM book you will find information on safewords. On this site I have an essay on safewords. What I’ve read recently from Emma is some very obvious news about safewords that most people don’t pick up on their own and never share with others. Well, I’m going to share it with you.
Protect Your Safety
In a play situation you need to establish trust with your play partner. If you choose to play with a relative stranger you are putting yourself in danger of not having your safeword respected. Safewords can not protect you from someone who intends to do you harm. No matter how many times you shout ‘red’ in a dangerous situation a predator will not heed. Just like a stop sign, it only works if drivers obey the law and actually stop. The trust that is needed in a relationship is what makes a safe word really work for you.
Don’t ever expect your safeword to protect you. I’ve read horror stories where a submissive said she thought her safeword was all she needed to stay safe. A lot of the BDSM play we engage in is inherently dangerous and risky (even if you believe in Safe, Sane and Consensual). A verbalized stop word is not going to make you any safer.
It Starts With Trust
You can not have safewords without trust. As you’ve read and hopefully understand now a safeword is a false blanket of security. Building trust with your partner is all about open, honest communication and respect. How do you build trust?
The answer is acceptance.
Once you accept your partner for who they are then your trust will come right along with it. Sure that means you need to accept yourself first and we are always hearing about that, but in this article we are building trust in our partner so that if we choose to use safewords they will work.
Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate
Every relationship starts somewhere, even the quick and casual play partners are relationships. I can’t stress enough that you need to communicate and share your needs and desires in order to get them. Doing this also includes requesting and agreeing on a safeword if works for you. Even if a Dominant doesn’t believe in safewords, a negotiation where a safeword is requested should be honored.
Say ‘No’
In the worst situation imaginable where your safeword is being ignored, begin screaming ‘no’. Unfortunately this won’t necessarily make the person stop but it will give you some legal leverage later. Not all legal authorities understand or respect stop words, our safewords. They will ask if you said ‘no’.
Wrapping It Up
It’s not my intention to scare you or convince you that you shouldn’t have a safeword. I’m hoping that what you’ve learned is that you need to have more than a word to protect you if you plan to play.
Do you have any other advice about safewords that you’d like to pass on?
First Meetings Done Safely
August 8, 2009 by lunaKM
Filed under Safety, Video Posts
This week’s video post is on First Meetings Safety.
When you are ready to meet your dream Dominant for the first time, what goes through your mind? Do you think about safety at all or do the nervousness and excitment overload your common sense?
You may not think that safety is necessary for someone you’ve been talking to for x number of hours, days, months, years but the person you meet could be very different than what is portrayed and you may not be compatible. How do you get out of the meeting safely and how do you protect yourself?
I encourage first meetings for any relationship to grow and develop. It’s similar to a blind date, right? Normally someone else knows you are on that date and where you are going. Then they usually call you shortly after you get home to see how it went. This is commonplace in vanilla dating. Don’t forget that the start of a D/s relationship starts with dating!
Be Prepared
It is the boy scouts moto for a reason; always know what you are getting into and have everything prepared, even if you may never use it or need it. For first dates, make sure you have basic information about the Dominant you are meeting. What color and make their car is, their license plate if they will give it to you (and why wouldn’t they?), their name and phone number, address and other important information you have collected. Leave this information at home in plain sight and with your safe call (more on safe calls below). If something were to happen to you, then the authorities would have somewhere to start.
Of course no one wants something to happen, but it is better to be prepared and never have to use it than to disappear and leave no trace of you behind, right? It’s about common sense and personal safety; pure and simple.
Meet in Public
When you set up a first meeting make sure it’s in a public place. You don’t want someone coming to pick you up or meeting them at their private residence. I know being picked up could be romantic, but save it for future dates, this one is all about getting to know someone better.
Being in public gives you some security and having your own transportation means that if things go south you have a way home and aren’t relying on someone else. Besides, public places generally have better food choices, beverages to enjoy and a conversational atmosphere. That’s what gives first dates a good or bad vibe.
Set Up a Safe Call
A safe call is much like that friend who knows you are out on a blind date. You give them all the information you have collected on the person and then set up a call for a set time. Depending on your comfort level with the Dominant this call could happen during the date or immediately after it is supposed to end. Anyone can be a safe call person as long as they are available to call you or receive calls during the date. Many local munch groups have a safe call network in place.
This call is just a check in call. You can treat it any way you want. Some people have a code that they only answer yes or no questions and that gives the person on the other end a clue as to how things are doing and if you are in any danger. Others have specific phrases they use to clue the caller in to what is going on. You don’t have to be so cryptic if you don’t want to. It’s completely up to you.
A respectful Dominant should allow you to answer your phone during a first meeting. Those that don’t should be warning to you and you should try to find a way out of the date. I know some Dominants that insist you have a safe call in place before meeting them, just to give you some sense of security in a tense situation. Never turn down the request for a safe call.
Do Not Play
Unless you want to develop a reputation for recklessness abandon, then do not play on the first date! Get to know the person better face to face, see if there is chemistry there and then you can schedule play dates. If you feel you are being pressured to play, call your safe call and/or leave. You should not have to get intimate with someone you have only talked to online or by phone.
Listen to Your Gut
Most of the time your gut is right. If you feel things aren’t going well, get out. If you feel uncomfortable or pressured into doing something you don’t want to, then get out. Listen to your inner voice.
Finally, enjoy yourself. All of these things I’ve listed above should be autopilot for awhile. You can still have great first meetings and have these things in place but never really think of them.
Cyber Submission and Exploring D/s Online
May 21, 2009 by Guest Author
Filed under Online Submission
Today’s post comes from Skylerpet, a submissive pet in a D/s relationship with experience in online submission. Thank you Skylerpet!
Online D/s is perhaps one of the most controversial subjects in the Dominance and submission community. The stance i will take on this subject, based on online D/s relationships of my own, is that yes; it can and does work. Is it anything like real time, face-to-face Dominance and submission relationships? No, not at all. That said, it is still very real and intense for those of us in online or Long Distance Relationships (LDR), and often can and will lead to a real-time (RT) relationship.
In my opinion, the most important thing to remember here is safety. There are a few things you can do to keep yourself safer while in an online relationship, or looking for someone to begin a relationship with online:
- First and foremost do not, under any circumstances, give out your home address before you have really gotten to know this person. Wait a few weeks, or even a few months. While in the end you must use your own judgment, if you have any “red flags” about the person you are chatting with do not give out personal information.
- If you and your online partner really want to exchange things via “snail mail” but you still do not want to give out your home address, get a post office box.
- Along the same lines as not giving out your home address, do not give out other important information such as your social social security number, debit/credit card pin numbers and so forth. These things may happen once you are in a stable, secure, full-time real time relationship, but until then keep these things to yourself.
- If the person you are chatting with asks for your home address after a few days and you decline, they should respect that, they should say they respect that, and then they should leave it alone. If they do not, that is a big red flag for you. Reconsider this relationship!
- One other thing you must think hard about is exchanging photos of yourself. This is especially important if the photos are nude, fetish or kinky. Once a photo is on the internet, you no longer have control over who sees it. You must take into consideration what would happen if family, friends and/or co-workers found naked and/or kinky photos of you. And also please keep in mind, while you may simply be emailing the photos, once the recipient has them, s/he may do with them as they please. If you are going to be “free” with your photos, you must be able to accept and cope with other’s seeing them, and the possibility of them being posted online. These also applies to webcam usage. It’s very easy to download a program that can capture what the user is looking at on their computer screen. This can include the webcam video of you doing whatever it is you are doing for your online D/s partner. These can be saved, and then uploaded to many websites.
Alright, safety aside, perhaps the most commonly asked question is “Why online??” “Why LDR??” Well, the answer is different for everybody. I will go over a few of the answers here.
- First many of us enter online and/or ldr’s because we are in a community with a small to no D/s presence. This is the primary reason for me being in an online/ldr right now. The community i live in is quite conservative and the local BDSM community is incredibly small and quite frankly not safe in my opinion. As such, i am choosing to be in a long distance relationship with my Master until i can be closer to Him.
- Secondly, many online D/s’ers do so because they are in other relationships, perhaps even married and use the online D/s relationship to get their Dominance and submission needs fulfilled. And so long as the Dominant or submissive is fully honest with all of their partners, can be quite successful. If this is you, i urge you to be honest with your real time partner. While there often is no sex involved, it is still another relationship and in my opinion, you owe it to your real time partner to be honest about those needs and how you are getting them fulfilled. And you also owe it to your Dom or sub that you have another relationship.
- Another reason is that some use an online D/s relationship to learn more about Dominance and submission. To see if it’s something that they may be interested in for a real time experience. While i do agree that it is nothing like the real time thing, there are many similarities, which i will go into shortly, and can be a good primer to see if something more intense would be a right fit for that individual.
- A fourth reason is that the person simply does not want the real time thing. They want the, for lack of better words, pseudo- or watered-down version of a Dominance and submission relationship that an online relationship can provide. My opinion of this is: whatever makes them happy. If that’s how they get their needs fulfilled, the all the more power to them.
Now that we have the “why’s” aside i am sure you are wondering “HOW??” “How is it done??” Well, there are several ways.
- When it comes to giving tasks, orders and controlling the submissive’s life, orders can be given in many ways. Please remember the safety talk above. Most of these will come after you have established the trust with your partner:
- A favorite of mine is text messages. I love that Master has the ability to text me an order. How does He know i did it though? Well that is…
- Photos. You can take photos of your completed task and picture mail them to your Master. (i must say this is my favorite thing to do for Master…especially when it’s a surprise. This is something you real-timers can do to! Surprise your Master with a photo of you doing something He just loves) You could also take photos with a digital camera and upload them then email them to Him as “proof.”
- Webcam. While you are chatting online you can turn on your webcam and your Master can watch you actually perform the task.
- Simple honesty. There are some things where you will only be able to answer questions about after you have done it. As such, if you are unable to provide an apt description, your partner will know you didn’t do it.
- Online calendars and email reminders. This can be handy if your Dom wants to randomly give you tasks for the week/month. I’m quite fond of Yahoo’s calendar system for this. The tasks can be set into the program and it sends you a reminder email. Another nice thing about it is you can program in your work schedule so your Dom knows when you’re at work and can thus alter the tasks to fit a work environment.
- Daily emails and/or blogs. Master wants me to do daily blogs as a way to “keep up” with how i am doing, etc. This can also be a way for your Dom to know what you do during your day, etc. Another thing this is good for is writing “reports” or “essays” for your Dom that S/He assigns you. I’ve seen both real-time and ldr couples doing this, and i myself quite love it.
- Self bondage and other self-induced bdsm play. For this please keep in mind bdsm safety. But, many things you can do is under-the-clothes bondage, using things such as pleasure (ben-wa) balls, and/or anal beads under your clothes at work and/or simple breast bondage. With this you’re limited to things you can do to yourself, but it’s still fun and it’s getting a little of the “kink” in your life.
Well that’s a pretty basic, partially detailed description of how we do online/ldr D/s relationships. I would like to mention that i’m sure you’ve noticed i used “real time” instead of “real life.” The reason i did this is because for those of us in online/ldr D/s relationships, they are very real to us. They simply are not face to face as live-in relationships are. While i am not living with Master right now and am, in my opinion, way too far away from Him right now, He gives me orders and i follow them as i would if i were living with Him. The orders may be altered a bit, but they are still there. The feelings i have for Him are just as real as if O/our relationship were face to face.
Many times those of us in long distance D/s relationships, we are in them because of circumstances beyond our control. I honestly was not looking when i met Master, but it just sort of took off from there. The emotions, desires and feelings, while different than in real time, are still there and are still incredibly intense. One last word about safety:
- Beware predators. Many people out there use the internet as a tool for their own pleasure, and nothing else. Someone who has contacted you because they truly wish to get to know you better is incredibly unlikely to ‘order’ you to undress on the webcam and perform some bdsm act. This is a huge red flag. As are other ’standard’ bdsm and D/s red flags:
- ‘Ordering’ you to call them Master, Mistress, Sir before the relationship is established and those titles have been “earned.”
- Similarly, calling you “slave” and other submissive pet names before the dynamics have been established.
- Expecting you to immediately act submissive simply on the grounds you are submissive and s/he is Dominant.
- Also, beware those who have other relationships and are not honest about them. If they are unwilling to be honest with their husband/wife/main slave/what-have-you, what are the chances they will be honest with you?
All these safety precautions aside, the internet is a wonderful tool for meeting people. I and many others have met their Masters/slaves on it. If you are safety conscious while being honest and true to yourself, you’d be surprised what can come of it.
Skylerpet is a 24/7 submissive pup in her late 20’s. She has been into pet play since she discovered the D/s lifestyle and can be reached at: requiemskye@yahoo.com for emails and also YIM chat.
Readers’ View on Polyamory
April 9, 2009 by lunaKM
Filed under Relationships, Roundtable Discussions
A couple week’s ago I held a Roundtable discussion on Polyamory. You had a lot to say about it.
I also had a guest post on polyamory, written by May.
Coming up this week is a second guest post about having two Dominats in a poly relationship by Aria. Keep an eye out for that one!
I’d like to share what you said in the comments. Please feel free to continue the conversation. I’d love to hear what else you have to say about Polyamorous relationships.
ellemenopea said:
What does polyamory mean to you?
Having loving relationships with multiple people
How did you decide that polyamory was something you wanted?
I didn’t really, it just sort of happened through a series of events.
How do you deal with jealousy?
Luckily, it’s not a huge issue in our relationships. Mostly, I try to remind myself that I don’t own anyone’s time. I also try to make sure everyone in my life gets some amount of time just for us.
How do you balance the relationship with more than one partner?
Right now it’s not an issue, as everyone in my life has some distance. Scheduling time is the biggest thing.
What is your support system like within the relationship?
I feel comfortable going to different people for different things, but overall, I feel that the people in my life and my partner’s lives are trustworthy and wonderful. It really gives me an extended network of people who care about me and lend a hand when necessary. It also makes me feel part of a family.
If you have more than one Dominant partner, how does the control get passed between the Dominants as it pertains to you?
There is a hierarchy in our relationship, where Sir decided who has how much control, on a case by case basis.
SereneKitten said:
1. What does polyamory mean to you? — Having more than one relationship at a time. These relationships can be very loving and committed, a “friends with benefits” situation, or a mix.
2. How did you decide that polyamory was something you wanted? — I was curious about it and wanted to give it a try. My first casual “threesome” went badly, probably due to poor ground rules. My next encounter was more structured and I set clear limits.
3. How do you deal with jealousy? — Jealousy stems from insecurity from within oneself. You have to realize your own self-worth and strengths before you can recognize that what you bring into the relationship is different from any other partner.
4. How do you balance the relationship with more than one partner? — Even if time cannot be split equally between the partners, one MUST make time for each of the other partners. Time as a group is wonderful, but one-on-one time is priceless.
5. What is your support system like within the relationship? — We are there for each other. One of our rules is that any subject is open to discussion with zero repercussions. Open, honest communication is key. We can’t know about a problem if no one tells us about it!
6. If you have more than one Dominant partner, how does the control get passed between the Dominants as it pertains to you? — Not applicable.
Obi said:
1. What does polyamory mean to you?
Loving more than one partner fairly but not necessarily equally.
2. How did you decide that polyamory was something you wanted?
I kept falling in love with a second person without wanting to give the first one up, or believing that I should have to do so.
3. How do you deal with jealousy?
Through honest and open communication, just like any other “negative” feeling.
4. How do you balance the relationship with more than one partner?
Schedules help, but again keeping everyone in the loop discussion was helps us access where the emotional energies need to be concentrated at any one time.
5. What is your support system like within the relationship?
Fabulous! All of my partners are in love with each other.
6. If you have more than one Dominant partner, how does the control get passed between the Dominants as it pertains to you?
They do not Dominate me together, but will discuss issues with each other when they arise to make sure that their Mastery is on the same page.
RequiemKittyPup said:
1. What does polyamory mean to you? ~~~~ for me, polyamory is when one person is able to have romantic and intimate love with more than one other individual.
2. How did you decide that polyamory was something you wanted?~~~ when i fell in love with 2 different men. i however do not *need* polyamory and while am open to it, i can live without it.
3. How do you deal with jealousy? ~~~open and honest communication. ensuring each person in the relationship has equal time with the other participants. ensuring that all participants are aware of everybody’s needs, wants and limits.
4. How do you balance the relationship with more than one partner? ~~~ again, ensuring that all partners have equal time. and also, ensuring that all partners speak up if something is off balance. Ensuring all know of each other’s needs wants and limits.
5. What is your support system like within the relationship? ~~~~ n/a
6. If you have more than one Dominant partner, how does the control get passed between the Dominants as it pertains to you? ~~~ i’ve never done this, but the way i would go about it would be to have one Dom be primary. Perhaps not dominant to the other dom, but have one dom be primary and if the primary dom is gone or whatever, then the control automatically passes to the other one.
photo by Sabrina Campagna
Do You Need the “Luck o’ the Irish” to Meet that Perfect Dominant?
March 16, 2009 by lunaKM
Filed under Relationships
Looking for your partner is challenging, no doubt about it. You’ve probably done the bar scene, the alternative adult dating sites, and maybe a few of the vanilla ones too. No matter where you look you find men or women that just aren’t your type. I’m here to say that it is possible to find someone that’s right for you. Now you may not need any lucky charms to find that perfect person, but you do need a few things to make sure your search for a Dominant doesn’t go awry.
Finding your One isn’t easy and your longing to finally use your submission with someone that understands and values it can be overpowering. I’ve been so desperate that I overlooked some very important safety aspects of meeting someone new. Hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes I did. This has to do with first dates and first meetings, so if you were looking for some tips on how to find someone, unfortunately that’s the pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow (no that doesn’t mean you will never reach it, just another play on words).
Information
Get some personal information before agreeing to meet them. Get their full name, a phone number, the type of car they drive, whatever they will offer. Write this information down and put it in plain site. This is for personal security if the trust you have established fails and they do you harm.
Safe Call
Safe calls are vital in situations where you are meeting someone that no one you know can vouch for. If this is a blind date, set one up. Let a friend know where you will be and set up times to call in or have them call you to check up and see how things are going. This provides two things; a security blanket if safety is compromised and a way out if you don’t think you two have anything in common.
Other Do’s and Don’ts
- Don’t play on the first date.
- Don’t invite them back to your place or go to theirs, keep it public.
- Don’t allow them to set up rules you have to follow. This isn’t an agreed upon relationship… yet.
- Do keep it casual and enjoy yourself.
- Do find out more about them. It is a date first, D/s potential second.
- Don’t drink. No need to be impaired on a first date.
So rub the Blarney stone, kiss an Irish person on the way otu the door and pluck that 4-leaf clover. You may have found that diamond in the ruff.
Questions on anything covered here? Let me know.
photo credit by cygnus921
A Submissive Approach to Safe, Sane and Consensual
February 2, 2009 by lunaKM
Filed under BDSM Basics
When you first enter the more public BDSM community one of the largest catch phrases you will here is SSC, also known as Safe, Sane and Consensual. It is a security blanket approach to safety when playing and negotiation of play. As a submissive, you have a lot of responsibility to keeping yourself safe and well.
When I first learned about SSC I found that it was very important that I understand what it means to me and my experiences in BDSM. Everywhere I went I found essays that mostly pertained to playing safely, negotiating and choosing the right partners. It didn’t really sit well with me because I was looking for a relationship and not just play. So I defined it for what I was looking for.
Safe
While most essays you read will undoubtedly say that you need to play safely with respects to using barriers, who you play with and within your knowledge level or experience level none of them touch on relationship safety.
Safety as far as relationships go would be protecting what you feel to be valuable. This would be your limits, your needs and wants and any other substantial believe systems you already have in place, such as religion or family ties.
You also want to protect your physical and emotional safety. During negotiations for a relationship, or just getting to know one another, figure out how your partner plans to take care of you and if they will allow you some leeway in how you can care for yourself if needed. Even slaves have responsibility to make sure that their emotional and physical well-being is taken care of.
Sane
For sanity the essays out there stick with knowing fantasy from reality and not acting on fantasy. There is so much more attached to the word sane though. For example, what about expectations of service; keep them realistic. No submissive should be expected to learn 4 pages of rules and protocol in a short period of time or kneel for hours on end without a break. This is what fantasy porn is made of.
Also, listen to your gut about red flags and uneasiness. You generally don’t have invalid feelings when you feel it in your gut. If something feels crazy, then it’s perfectly okay to investigate it. Keep it yourself sane.
Consensual
Of course the two or more parties involved should agree to the play activities, it’s pretty much a given. BDSM isn’t about forcing the unwilling at all. But also, this part of SSC covers illegal activities such as incest, child abuse, animal abuse and other unsavory activities.
When relating it to relationships consensual should be that all relationship items should be agreed upon. There are good dominants and bad dominants. Holding onto your wits and enforcing your rights should keep the bad ones at bay. This means that no rules should be forced upon your that you don’t want to do.
All in all, keep it safe, sane and consensual.
In another essay, I’ll talk about the alternative to SSC called RACK.
Caring for Yourself After a Scene: Self-Aftercare
January 26, 2009 by lunaKM
Filed under Health and Beauty, Playtime
Aftercare is an important part of recovery from play for many people. It is most common to experience a drop in emotions and energy after play from within hours to even days later. All too often it becomes a necessity to take care of yourself after a play session because your top was just visiting or the play party is over. Even after a few days you may need to carry out some aftercare. Knowing what to do can prevent physical and emotional struggles.
Physically it may seem obvious that you have marks; bruising, cuts, sore muscles, etc that need continued first aid. If you haven’t taken first aid training, you should have a basic medical primer at home. I have one that is a Home Medical Care Manual given to my by my father. It’s come in handy for diagnosing general illnesses and in deciding if a visit to the doctor was necessary.
First Aid for Marks
Knowing basic first aid for bruises, cuts and abrasions is important to caring for your skin and muscle tissues after intense play. There are many schools of thought on bruise care but the best I’ve heard about is Arnica cream sold in the pharmacy area. Cool compresses will help cut down swelling. Treat cuts and abrasions with anti-bacterial and bandages. Scar reduction cremes may also be helpful if you are afraid of marks lasting longer than you’d like.
What is Sub Drop?
Sub Drop is when the endorphins you experienced during play suddenly leave your body and it goes into withdrawals. This can be described as similar to drug addiction recovery. Your body goes through a crash period and is personal to each person. From crying and uncontrollable emotional outbursts, to sadness, depression and anxiety. You could also experience moments of guilt or doubt about your play session and what you enjoyed. Drop can come at your within hours or even days later. It is typically more common with submissives in long term or committed relationships than with casual partners.
Guarding Against Sub Drop
Another issue is the emotional and psychological trauma you may have experienced during play. This can catch up with you shortly after play to days later when you least expect it. To guard against it, drink water before, during and after play. Make sure you do not play while hungry or even slightly ill. Listen to your body and if it’s giving you signs to stop, you should. The only limits you should try to break are emotional and non-physical ones. Your body tells you things for a reason; listen! Drink something with simple sugars after play. Orange juice works wonders.
Creating a Drop Kit
A drop kit can be helpful for Dominants and submissives that experience moderate to severe drop after play sessions. Drop can be associated with feelings of loneliness, mental and physical exhaustion, confusion, insecurity, tremors and many other physical symptoms. It is important to take care of yourself during times of drop. This kit will put all the things necessary at your fingertips.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, please feel free to add your own personal selections.
- Warm blanket
- First Aid Kit
- First Aid Manual
- Bath salts
- Bubble bath
- Scented candles
- Incense
- Favorite book
- Prepaid calling card
- Hard candy
- Favorite beverages
- Lotion
- Journal
- Relaxing music
- Letter from your partner
- Stuffed animals
- Coloring books/crayons
- Gift card to favorite restaurant
- Vitamin E
- Favorite movie
Do you have any personal items you’d add to your own Drop Kit?
photo credit Meredith_Farme
Importance of Needs
January 7, 2009 by lunaKM
Filed under Defining Submission, Training Resume
In the previous post about wants and needs you made a list of your wants and a list of your needs so that you had them defined for your training resume. In this essay I will share why needs are so important to your overall health and happiness in a relationship and why settling for less than what you need is detrimental to you and the relationship.
I’m going to use the basic needs of security, comfort and love for this discussion but any needs that you have on your list will apply just as well. Feel free to make this part of your personal analysis. This is for your own development and I hope that it will help you see why needs are so important.
Basic Needs Explained
Security for example is the first need that you should have met in order to live. This can be physical, emotional or financial security. Without the sense of safety and security you can not easily go about your day. Things that can threaten your security are unemployment, abuse and terrorist threats. A breakdown of security can make all other needs unimportant until this one is rebuilt. Just think about if you lost your house to a flood, how would you respond to the threat on your security? Would food or clean clothing be as important or would they take a back seat to re-securing a home?
Comfort is also an important need for people. With comfort you add food, clothing, and other material goods. Generally these would be things to enhance the security of your life. Nourishment of your body, mind and heart comes from providing comfort for yourself. Comfort in a relationship could be trust, honesty, openness and commonality. Without comfort you could experience malnourishment, depression and other physical and emotional stress.
Love is the last need that I’m going to cover here. Love is relative to each person, and is not restricted to intimate spousal love. Friendships and familial love are also important in your life for balance. It’s hard to be happy if you feel unloved. People who feel unloved can experience depression, stress and some have taken their own life. Love is just that important.
As a submissive, you may have additional base needs that a dominant provides. The sense of control from your partner is one that I can think of. In order for you to feel whole in your submission you may need a dominant to exert control over you. This is considered a need; you can’t be submissive without it.
Need Deficits
A lot of what we experience as stress and depression and a sense of lacking is due to our needs not being filled completely. These deficits impact us in different ways, but over the long term the lack of having our needs met can make us ill, very unhappy and frustrated. For example, what happens if your greatest need of affection wasn’t being reached? Would you feel unwanted, alone, frustrated and unhappy? Of course you would!
Not all feelings of sadness, frustration or depression have to do with lack of satisfied needs, but most can be lead back to a basic need or desire being ignored. It is my belief that more divorces happen because someone’s needs aren’t being met than any other reason. Open and honest conversation could have prevented some compatibility issues in many relationships.
As with all D/s relationships, communication is encouraged anyway, so make sure your needs are communicated as well. If they change, let your partner know. The power exchange has to do with needs as well as everything else in the relationship, use it to get what you need.
Settling For Less
So you’ve found out what your needs are, and you are entering a relationship. What if you can’t get all of your needs met in that relationship? Do you settle for less than what you need? How do you cope? Getting only some of your needs met, as I’ve said before, can have bad consequences and could mean the end of the relationship.
When it comes to needs you should never settle for less. There is a reason why you have made a list of needs compared to wants. Needs are just that. You have to have them to be happy. Make sure you share you needs long before your wants hit the table.
The next time you take a look at your needs list, make a note of how important that need is. You can always scale them so that you can make sure your base needs are being met. Never settle for less than what you require. Submissives have needs too, make sure yours get met.
Wants and Needs Series
- Know What You Want, Learn What You Need
- Distinguishing Between Wants and Needs
- The Importance of Needs
- Expressions of Wants and Needs
- What Should You Do When Your Wants or Needs Aren't Met?
To Safeword or Not To Safeword
January 1, 2009 by lunaKM
Filed under BDSM Basics, Playtime
Now that is a question, isn’t it? There is no wrong or right answer but there is a clear and focused way to figure out if you are someone would would desire a safeword or not. They can be an important part of play or something that is never used, but provides the security that some people need. BDSM play can be risky, does bring about the potential for uncomfortable situations, raises physical limitations or triggers mental or emotional walls to come crashing down. In any of these instances it would be very helpful to have a way to alert the dominant. It’s a verbal security blanket.
What is a safeword?
A safeword is a word or signal that ends BDSM play instantly. It can be any word that isn’t a part of common play speech, so selecting ‘Stop,’ is usually discouraged as people tend to use stop playfully and the confusion could cause unneeded halting of a perfectly good scene. The most common safeword is the Stoplight system. ‘Red’ meaning stop, ‘Yellow’ for slow down, or a physical discomfort alarm and ‘Green’ means all is a go. Other safewords I have seen used are the submissive’s full name, random words like, ‘bananas’, dropping keys and a subtle hand system that may not work in low lit situations.
Do you need a safeword?
That all depends. I would recommend that if you have never played with this person before that you have one. Other situations that would warrant guarding a safeword would be new play activities, extremely risky play and anything in a public play space.
There are people who do not use safewords for one reason or another. I’m not here to discredit them or say that having a safeword is the only way to play, but it is a safer way for new experiences. I can assume that later on in my relationship that a safeword would become obsolete as my Master and I are very intuitive of each other and we know the responses for the other during play. He can read me like a book most of the time and feel very safe with him.
Negotiating a scene
When playing with someone you don’t know, or are only casually seeing, it is important to negotiate the scene every single time and make sure that the safeword is known for both parties. This will prevent severe misunderstandings later on. Part of negotiation should always be about safety; from physical limitations, triggers and hard limits. If your play is at a public location, make sure that if there is a space-wide safeword, you know what it is.
When to use the safeword
A safeword is a last resort. It shouldn’t be used lightly in any occasion as the consequences of playing with the safeword could be the ‘Cry Wolf’ syndrome. You call your safeword too many times in jest then you may find yourself without a play partner pretty quickly. No one wants to play with someone that doesn’t take safety and established protocol seriously.
Whether you decide to have a safeword or not is a personal decision. For me it was a no brainer however coming up with the word I wanted wasn’t. I finally settled on the stoplight system and haven’t had to use to use it often. It’s almost a badge of play, to say that your safeword is dusty :P
What is your safeword? Do you have it documented in your training resume yet?
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