quote:

ORIGINAL: UKEvolutionary

wherever I've been, I always like to pop this onto the forums for feedback, information and "constructive criticism" .......... CM being NO different !!

Get a "cuppa" !! It's a long read, but worth it !!!


What is subspace ?
subspace is an altered state of consciousness, one that varies from one individual to another but the awareness of that person is altered dramatically, some submissives become immersed in sensations to the point of becoming unaware of anything else ! Where they are, what the time is and in some cases they lose their own identity! Some can even shut off completely entering a trance like state in which they are no longer conscious of their own actions, experience or surroundings. A dissociated state generally caused by intense stimulation, physical and/or emotional, from a “scene” perhaps, and partly related to biochemical release of endorphins,. When out of subspace, generally the feeling isn’t unpleasant but many are aware that “something” happened, but they aren’t aware of the details of that experience.

What is subdrop ?
Sometimes coming out of subspace can be distressing as the endorphins and other body chemicals stop being produced (Lack of stimulus), it can produce a sudden feeling of depression, clinginess, and dependency, this is usually referred to as “subdrop” and is generally unwelcomed. The effects of subdrop (it's usually referred to as subdrop when these are "bad" effects) are manifestly similar to a kind of depressive state.
After the submissive has rested, and even after sleeping, there can be spontaneous outbursts of emotion: tears, fear, happiness etc. Dominants should see these as a need to be comforted, and looked after, to be held, told how much the submissive is needed, and how important the submissive is. submissives can crave attention, and often the sub psyche feels that they have lost the massive attention which they had before (during the scene) from their Dominant, and this can cause the unease, and charged emotions that may occur in a sub drop situation. Added to this of course, are the hugely elevated amounts of naturally produced hormones (endorphins adrenaline etc) that are still flowing around the sub's body. These may take some time to return to normal levels, varying from hours to sometimes days. The exact psychological impact varies from person to person and the interplay between mechanisms is not well understood. All of the information on this subject is based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MaamJay

KneelforAnne - I feel for you! Getting the down without the up is a bit rough indeed, hope you are feeling better now.

I am, thank you.  *smiles* 
 
It was pretty rough because I didn't expect it, and didn't have any idea what was wrong with me!  LOL  Once I figured it out it all made sense! 

It's really hard to predict when drop will occur,

Yes, it is.  It wasn't as if we did anything really hard... It just hit me the wrong way... no pun inteneded.. LOL 

and while Domly aftercare seems to help, it's not a guaranteed preventative mechanism.

For me, I've noticed (well, twice so that doesn't constitute a real pattern yet) that I don't drop until I'm alone. 
 
It's almost like I focus on things/people that can distract me and I can sort of hold it off until I'm alone.  At that point I just crash, hard.  I wonder if this happens to anyone else?
 
I'm much more of a private person... I think this could have something to do with it.  I have problems showing a lot of emotion (well, the "inconvienient" kind like crying and such...lol) to people... so I tend to wait until I'm alone. 
 
Thinking about it, that may have a lot to do with it. 

Every one is different, and the same person is different at different times! I have noticed that if a sub has other issues in their life even if they are well outside of the bdsm arena, that can make them more prone to drop, and in females, hormonal cycles seem to affect things as well.

That's a very good point!  I'll have to do some introspection and see if there is anything (it's very possible!) that could have caused it... 

I recommend subs that have dropped more than once try to note down everything about the times when they drop so they might be able to pick up their pattern. Things like - other life issues, how much sleep they had before the play, what they ate and drank before, during and after the play, female cycles (for fem subs obviously!), what aftercare occurred, what time period did they have together with their Dominant after the play ended, what sleep (and when, as in, was it an abnormally late night) after the play, when the drop began, what they were able to do and weren't up to doing, other symptoms of drop, what they tried to ameliorate their symptoms, what seemed to work, and how long the drop lasted. A drop diary so to speak!

That is an excellent idea!  I'm on it! 
 
The only thing that seems to work is treating it like the flu... lots of comfy things, Soup, Orange Juice, DVDs in sweatpants and slouchy socks, sleep-sleep-sleep, and talking with kink-friendly friends who can understand what I'm going through. 
 
I have been feeling sick since then...scratchy throat, achy and such. I think I have a summer cold or a sinus infection, so I am going to the doctor to get that taken care of.  That could probably be a large reason for me feeling so low. 
 
I know that I need to make sure that I eat when I drop because I didn't the other day until the late evening and I think that  caused it to be worse.  However, as I said earlier I wasn't seeing the symptoms as drop--just as not feeling well.   

Someday I'll learn to put two and two together to get four.  *smiles*

One fem sub I knew had great success from this in that she was able to work out her patterns and simply avoided spacy-type play in her danger times (particularly linked to her cycle).

I'll take note of that! 

Good luck!
Maam Jay aka violet[A]