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The science of BDSM

Nomad Huzdom​(dom male)
2 years ago • Feb 28, 2022

The science of BDSM

Nomad Huzdom​(dom male) • Feb 28, 2022
I was wondering if some of you guys have some scientific research around BDSM, specially psychology but not only. (quotes or links)
as example, i found the psychologist team from scienceofbdsm.com doing some research, that's a quote from there few studies :
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What effect does BDSM have on the people who do it?
..... We found this disconnect between psychological stress and physiological stress to be very interesting, and we wondered whether it might indicate that bottoms have entered an altered state of consciousness.

To test this theory, we ran a study in which we randomly assigned switches to be the top or the bottom in a scene. The results revealed that both bottoms and tops entered altered states of consciousness, but they entered different altered states.

Bottoms entered an altered state called “transient hypofrontality," which is associated with reductions in pain, feelings of floating, feelings of peacefulness, feelings of living in the here and now, and time distortions. Tops, in contrast, entered the altered state known as “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991), which is associated with focused attention, a loss of self-consciousness, and optimal performance of a task.
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another one

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Scientists at the University of Illinois took saliva samples from 58 people before BDSM play, measuring cortisol, a key stress hormone. After a BDSM session, the researchers took new saliva samples, and found decreased cortisol levels, showing that BDSM reduced players’ emotional stress. The researchers concluded that far from being abusive, BDSM made participants feel more comfortable and “increased intimacy.”
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TranquilStorm
2 years ago • Feb 28, 2022
TranquilStorm • Feb 28, 2022
Cool topic! There are a few people i found on researchgate delving right into BDSM related topics. You might wanna start off with a survey paper and go from there, e.g. *The biology of BDSM: a systematic review*. Haven't done a deep dive yet but curious if there are any fun and interesting recommendation.

However, i would be cautious on the scientific value of some of those. A lot depends on the size and selection of the sample group, presentation and omission.

Hmmm the stress level study reminds me of Victorian England *hysteria* (fun movie btw)
CSI
CSI
2 years ago • Feb 28, 2022
CSI • Feb 28, 2022
Nomad Huzdom​(dom male)
2 years ago • Feb 28, 2022
Nomad Huzdom​(dom male) • Feb 28, 2022
True TranquilStorm, i do try to filter things, some are not really a proof yet for me but a starting point to dive as you said, or at least have a view of it.

thank you guys, will check that out.
ItsCircadian​(dom male){Shadowrave}
2 years ago • Mar 4, 2022
Yes!! Someone started a conversation on BDSM and psychology! I was wondering about this area of research a few days ago, but sadly I haven't had the time to dive into the literature yet. I study psychology, primarily behavioral neuroscience, (a closely related field, more so focused on the physical brain but still psychology at its core) so this is super interesting to me. I will poke around at the links and references already mentioned by others on this thread, but I plan on looking into this formally as a fun little side project for myself. If and when I find some good articles, I will most definitely share them here.
ItsCircadian​(dom male){Shadowrave}
2 years ago • Mar 25, 2022
Hi all. As mentioned, I looked at the literature and found this:

https://med-fom-brotto.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2019/05/Physical-Pain-as-Pleasure-A-Theoretical-Perspective.pdf

It’s a paper that developed a theory on how several elements (e.g., psychological, physical, emotional, etc.) combine to turn physical pain into pleasure in BDSM-related contexts. I know this probably isn’t new and/or groundbreaking information for some of us, especially those who do sado/maso play. But what is interesting (to me, at least) is how science allows us to describe and explain them objectively.
I hope someone enjoys the read! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Nomad Huzdom​(dom male)
2 years ago • Mar 25, 2022
Nomad Huzdom​(dom male) • Mar 25, 2022
Hello,

I also wanted to share a paper - in a sensitive subject - called : Curative kink: Survivors of early abuse transform trauma through BDSM
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352440982_Curative_kink_Survivors_of_early_abuse_transform_trauma_through_BDSM

Summary :

Positive aspects of the BDSM community may help some trauma survivors, under conditions identified in this paper, transform traumatic memory. This study challenges the idea that BDSM is retraumatizing...

Study :

Using a sex-positive framework to center strength and wellbeing (D. Williams et al., 2015), the present study sought a pragmatic, critical realist thematic analysis of trauma recovery among kink-identified clients. A cultural context of kink-specific stigma was assumed. To our knowledge, no study has constructed a descriptive model of kink as a method of healing from abusive experiences as a minor, so we present qualitative data to address this gap in the literature, thereby answering a call for the systematic investigation of trauma play (Thomas, 2020). We sought an answer to the research question: how do survivors of early abuse use kink to heal from, cope with, or transform their trauma?
pi in your eye​(other female)
2 years ago • Mar 29, 2022
Extremely Cool Topic: also haven't read the literature so don't know and am not a scientist. For me it is all about one word: Endorphins .. It isn't the same kind of head rush a runner gets, but it is on the spectrum somewhere like that where eventually, it is almost like astral projection and you get to watch from the ceiling.
Miki​(masochist female)
2 years ago • Mar 29, 2022
Miki​(masochist female) • Mar 29, 2022
While an interesting topic on the surface, I'm not all that thrilled that a bunch of learned egg-heads find a group of people and what they do for kicks a topic for study, given that they do so because they believe what BDSM people do behind closed doors is "deviant" in their worldview.

Let the scientists stick with studying bugs, microbes and shit. How I play behind closed doors ought not a topic for some brainiac's "study".

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Just my humble opinion and as always, I'm speaking only for myself. Individual Results May Vary