www.BoundAnna.com

I found this interesting, particularly the fifth post (by anonymous).

https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-sleep-tied-up

I certainly would not want anything as severe as that scenario. By his own admission, it is also dangerous, so I suggest it would be very unwise to go that far on safety grounds as well.

Even so, the idea that a scenario in that style can provide “catharsis” to relieve depression and anxiety does ring true. (I think I would use the word anxiety rather than remorse, although the anxiety might result from something I have done myself). I was given a few swats with the riding crop to shake of a depression just a couple of days ago

It has been said before, on this forum, that some people find bondage relaxing. This goes a little further than that. I don’t think I have seen the idea expressed so clearly before.

I wonder if this rings true with anyone else?

I certainly understand the "catharsis" concept. A severe pain scene with floggers, canes, dressage whip (my favorite ) can get the endorphins going and I then float happily, forgetting anything negative, and am left with a sense of calm.

In the same way, a punishment scene for some wrongdoing has a similar effect, wiping away the guilt with the pain.

As a depressive, yes, a good pain scene can lift the mood, shifting the downward spiral into an upward one.

Perhaps as a masochist, this is the slant that pain=pleasure can bring, when to others it is simply pain ?

I have to admit that any kind of bondage, self-administered or partnered, is a kind of release for me. I can vent all my stress and frustrations, taking out my negative thoughts on the ropes, and then lose myself in the make-believe world of the damsel in distress.

After the session is done, I feel quite refreshed, recentered, relaxed. And sometimes, horny as h-e-double-hockey-sticks...

I suppose some people do a workout for the same purpose. Except for the horny part.

Jenny.

Well,
as an ultra-marathoner I can tell You there is no better recover than sex, when wife is in mood*...

Yes, there is catharsis in the hormone bath - be it from a play, a self, or a race!
Also, I found there is a withdrawal: if I don't run for a month, I'm no more than a junkie searching for the next shot!
(also if I don't play with my wife... when I'm in the dog-house...)

Curiously, I found some of those feelings/emotions in the mornings after 24 hours shifts, or a night spent with hookers
(Don't jump to conclusions: just talking... I had a rough time a few years ago... They saved my marriage! - among other changes)

==============
* British scientists discovered that marathons lower the testosterone level!Please don't spread the above info, it's better for the world's wives to know their running husbands don't think about sex or women's asses while running...

only once have i been asleep in self bondage and woke up thinking i was not bound. i had a dream that i was in bondage, but that i got the padlocks undone and that i was free. the first couple moments i was awake, i tried to move and this was the though process, "ok, time to get up. um, why cant i move? oh NO, i thought i was free!? (testing the restraints) i thought i already removed these...... DANG it, i want out!" i tried to move and found i was still inescapably chained till morning light so i could see the combo locks. there is not much else like that particular feeling!

Thanks for these great replies. I am pleased to hear that I am not alone in finding bondage and discipline helpful for depression and anxiety. It seems to me that it is not really that unusual. In times past people would subject themselves to a range of methods for “mortification of the flesh”.

In present times, I note that there is increasing interest in “meditative bondage”. In the hope of making it respectable I suppose.

As another example, some years ago, I built myself a small swimming pool. For some reason I knew I had to do it – and use it. I always wished I could find a way to force myself to use it. It was years later that I discovered that swimming in cold water is a recognized treatment for depression. Some people go cold water swimming in a group, which, I imagine, is a sort of bondage as it makes it more difficult to chicken out. In the absence of a group I once used to use this instead:

http://forum.boundanna.net/board/viewto ... ing#p64607

It worked really well.

I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really kinky at all.

Keyless wrote:I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really kinky at all.

Kink is not so much what you do but what you get out of what you do.

Plus side benefits, as this thread explores.

Jenny.

The idea of meditative bondage is very interesting, though I havent really achieved it myself.

I do recall a session with my ex, where she hogtied me with metal shackles and attached a metal collar with a chain to my feet and hands. The collar was very tight (it was ordered for her), but it felt great. Then her mother called. I told her to take it, and it turned into a 1-2 hour phonecall. She went to the other room, and I was left helpless. She checked on me after a while, but I didnt want out. Well, every fiber of my body wanted to, but I felt like a genuine prisoner for the first time. I was sore all over when she let me out.

I've never been able to replicate that experience with selfbondage, since I always have an escape mechanism. I can get myself into some fantastically restrictive ties with all the metal gear I have, but I do tend to get bored and start trying to get out rather than cathartic.

I'm not sure if this is catharsis or some sort of zen yoga bondage, but it might worth checking out if one is in the neighborhood :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b4R9cv35WyY

Natale wrote:I'm not sure if this is catharsis or some sort of zen yoga bondage, but it might worth checking out if one is in the neighborhood :
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b4R9cv35WyY

The woman who runs that is a friend of mine and my wife and I have been to her rope classes in Brooklyn. (She also used to sell rope.) Unfortunately, she is having some health issues and isn't doing any classes at the moment and she has taken a break from the scene.

I hope she gets well so she can continue those classes. It is an intriguing idea and must be a fascinating business!