After doing a lot of thinking and reflections, I have come to realize and understand that of course not everyone uses BDSM the same way and plays differently which is what makes our community so diverse and interesting. However with some people it is more a part time hobby, a thing they do sometimes to release stress and then go back to "the real world", where as to others its a 24/7 thing and going to parties is fun, but it is something they do all the time in daily life as well. There are a variety of reasons for this some of which could be related to trauma and PTSD, as many reasons as there are kinks lol so pick and choose the one that suits whatever style works best for your play type. That being said on a day like today when it could be seriously rough for some due to triggers and emotions, putting on a pup hood and pupping out to escape is the best coping skill to use.
I digress though, what got me thinking about this is that with types of play like pup play (which I am passionate about), is that they are not sexual but more like therapeutic. When severe stress happens and triggers are hit, it can cause a lot of problems for people in which they handle in different ways. I used to use martial arts as a way to channel this and it worked out well, I got to teach kids how to punch, kick, obey commands, behave and follow rules as well as correctly channel their frustration and anger into a healthy way. Once I got out of the military however I didnt have that chance and while yes I had BDSM I also didn't have a good focal point to safely release things like triggers. Once I found pup play though it was like waking up after a very long sleep. It opened my eyes to a whole new world I never knew was out there! I could let go of everything, ignore the "real world" and just fun around on all fours barking, chasing balls, wagging my tail and being petted while told I was a good girl/boy. I was in absolute heaven!
After I came out of pup space the first time and researched more into it. I realized I had been a pup my whole life and didnt know it. I had done all kinds of normal pup stuff even as a child! Slept in dog crates, ate dog treats, chewed on dog toys and rough housed with the dogs, chased squirrels and small rodents, dug holes in the yard and generally caused mayhem and havoc everywhere all the time just as a puppy does. I did more reading deeper into pup play and everything about it and the roles, packs, training, handling anything I could along with the leather community. I hooked up with pup groups and made tons of friends and met my Alpha, beta, gamma, omega and Trainer there.
Pup play is therapy for me, a way to escape in a healthy way. Instead of drugs and alcohol I use pup play to escape, I am not sure if this is a bad thing or not but it works for me. I keep my puppy side mostly hidden, (I cant help random barking at squirrels), even my totally vanilla family has told me they could see the difference in me since I started doing it (they didnt know about the pup play until 8 months ago), but they said I seemed a lot happier and for all intents and purposes healthier.
Therefore I believe that kink is a way to increase your mental health and enrich your life to live to the fullest especially on your roughest days.
--Kit--
