Why is BDSM aftercare important? What are some of the most effective aftercare methods to try after your hot bondage session? This guide will show you why this post-BDSM activity is absolutely essential for any successful session!
BDSM Is a Consensual Relationship
For starters, anyone who practices BDSM frequently knows that it requires a lot of knowledge and experience. Beginners could overlook many key principles regarding risk and safety. That’s why it’s crucial to learn the most important rules before trying anything. If you disregard the main principles, your partner won’t only end up with a couple of awkward bruises or a sex toy that’s stuck in their bum. They could also suffer some heavy emotional damage. Thus, the only way to keep your experience healthy and safe is to learn and follow the rules accordingly.
Firstly, one of the guiding principles of BDSM is open communication. If you’re considering a BDSM relationship, you’ll have to know that there is a lot more to it than whips and chains. It involves honesty, confidence, physical and mental energy, along with emotional support. However, consent should be at the core of any BDSM activity or relationship. With open communication and mutual consent, both the dominant and the submissive role will feel safe and respected.
In a BDSM relationship, consent is usually obtained through thorough negotiations before the session or with the use of a contract. BDSM can include many fetishes or activities that can be uncomfortable or dangerous, and consent is the only thing that allows you to be aware of the risks. Without it, any type of sex play becomes abusive and even illegal.
Consent doesn’t only involve safe words. It’s all about being aware of your limits and knowing how to let go or take control without actually harming your partner. However, consent is not the only thing that can make your session safe and sane. Aftercare is an essential part of any BDSM activity. It allows for care, affection, and successful communication, and it can improve your experience.
Why Is Aftercare Required?
BDSM involves all sorts of kinky sexual activities that can bring you pain and pleasure. However, as we’ve revealed above, it’s much more intricate than that. Sure, you can dress your partner up in latex and dominate them with intense anal fisting for their pleasure or your own. However, you should never disregard the mental and emotional bond that you will build up during a session. When the session ends, the only way to nurture that bond is to practice aftercare.
Generally, aftercare can allow you to minimize any mental or physical damage. The term refers to any activity or time that you dedicate to your sub after an intense session. Aftercare is also important for the dominant role.
Why It’s Essential
Aftercare allows both sides to focus on their physical and emotional needs after a session. After all, BDSM activities are not part of our everyday lives. For many people, they are a sexual fantasy that comes to a stop when real life takes over. With that in mind, aftercare enables both sides to return to a normal state. Unfortunately, not many beginners are aware of it. It is a necessity for any type of light activity (i.e., mild whipping) as well as the most intense bondage session with vacuum beds, chastity devices, and intense torture.
In any case, aftercare can give you a way to get back to reality. It will reset your mind and body. Plus, it will also enable you to cool down and eliminate any harmful side-effects.
The best example of this is the sub drop. This term refers to a sudden decline of energy and fatigue-like symptoms that can happen right after a session. Subs can experience high endorphin rushes and physical strain during intense BDSM activity. That can sometimes be followed by a submissive drop. It can include feelings of sadness, guilt, or idleness. Even worse, it can be followed by depression, low blood sugar, and dehydration. With proper aftercare practices, you can stay safe from those negative effects. What’s more, dominant partners can also experience it in the form of a dom or top drop.
How Is Aftercare Done?
Mainly, aftercare should be planned and discussed before any activity. It can also be determined in a contractual agreement. Aftercare is just as important as consent, and it’s a pillar of a successful BDSM relationship. Additionally, it’s solely up to you to find the most effective methods that will nurture the needs of both sides. They will depend on the intensity of the scene. Moreover, your partner should agree to invest their time in aftercare activities. If they are unwilling to do this and if they do not wish to pay attention to you, you should reevaluate your relationship.
Aftercare Methods
There are lots of post-sex activities that can allow you to practice effective emotional and physical aftercare. Both partners can use them to reboot their minds and bodies.
In many ways, aftercare is very similar to the emotional support that you could offer to your partner after regular sex. That can involve anything from spending time together to cuddling. It can include kissing, watching a movie, or ordering some food. It could also consist of physical support. In this case, aftercare could involve a massage or a nourishing bath. With more intense activities, you would clean up your equipment or toys during aftercare or even tend to your partner’s wounds.
Additionally, aftercare could include an active conversation. This can provide emotional comfort. It can enable both partners to relax while reflecting on their experience.
For instance, you can talk about the kinks or fetishes that you liked the most during your session. You could remind your partner that your BDSM experience is a completely normal type of sex-play and express how much it meant to you. It’s also crucial to discuss if there were any issues with the dominant/submissive roles. You can assess your actions and determine if they should be intensified or toned down in the future. All of this will clear the air and eliminate any negative emotions.
With all of those types of aftercare, both partners will be able to come back to the real world safely. If the session consists of extremely degrading or abusive activities, you can use aftercare to let your partner know that you don’t really want to harm them in real life.
Final Thoughts
All in all, aftercare will make your partner feel safe. Both sides can use it to build up trust and honesty. In that way, aftercare can also improve your next session and make it much more enjoyable. Now that you’re aware of it, you’ll be able to relax and take part in any type of naughty BDSM play. So let the games begin and good luck!