A Beginner’s Guide to Aftercare

Aftercare is the recovery from a scene or play, where a set of actions help the mind and body relate to the change in physical and emotion energy expended. It is common for feelings of sadness or a sudden emotional response to occur in the hours, and sometimes days following a scene. Coming up with a plan for aftercare is essential to ensuring proper self care in those who practice BDSM.

Before you begin, ensure you communicate your aftercare needs to any play partner by creating an aftercare plan, and have any items you need ready and available in an aftercare kit.

The Emotional Response

Your body reacts to a scene through varying degrees because of chemical responses that occur, endorphins for example are released in response to pain reducing the body’s sensitivity, and adrenaline causes energy levels to spike. Once a scene has ended, those energy levels can dissipate rapidly while the numbness remains, the sudden change is easily misinterpreted as an absence or vacuum of sensations. This is often referred to as sub-drop.

The Physical Response

While your tolerance for pain increases during play, it is common to have visible injuries that occur as part of an impact scene, but also possible to have non-apparent injuries such as bruising or muscle fatigue. It is important to be aware of the type of scene you are experiencing in order to know how what your body will need in the moments, hours and days following play.