Alaïs wrote:
I watched it in its entirety and would still say
Using silent treatment is a form of abuse preferred by narcissists. It puts all the power in the hands of the person withdrawing contact. It renders the recipient entirely powerless, they feel insignificant, unworthy of contact and may, when left alone with their thoughts, engage in deep self loathing.
The ‘Dom’ has no way of checking in on the submissive, because they have withdrawn contact. If there is an emergency the submissive is left without their ‘Dom’s’ support. They can’t reach out to them for help. It’s damaging, and at worst dangerous.
On the whole I felt the video removed the human aspect from a relationship and presented things in a very cold transactional manner. This is why I don’t think it’s wise to ask anyone how to punish a submissive. Submissives are human, they have their own limits, mind fucks, every day pressures on their lives, responsibilities, insecurities and areas for growth.
Get to know Your submissive and engage in some thought. Read about the foundations of a dynamic and the purpose of punishment. When that is truly understood, effective punishments naturally follow.
On the whole, I agree. Learning your submissive, learning WHY they do things, learning their past history, WHY they have the limits, learning how they THINK is the best option. Not all punishments (personally, I prefer the word "consequences"...kids get punished. Adults suffer consequences.) fit for each submissive. A spanking to a masochist is a turn on while a spanking to someone who suffered abuse via spankings is traumatizing.
If I recall, the caveat DID say that it was to be short and NOT an excuse to ghost.
As an example, just 2 days ago, I got into a disagreement with a switch friend of mine. I told him that I was spiriling and that today was not a good day to talk to me. We didn't talk all day (which is unusual since we texts basicly every two hours). The next day however, we started with the small chats and then I suggested that because of our schedules, that tomorrow would be a good day to talk and asked him his thoughts. He agreed.
There's nothing wrong with walking away to cool off BUT, you have to state WHY you are walking away and for how long. Then, you HAVE to come back together and talk about what happened.
But saying something like, "you did wrong so your punishment is I won't talk to you!"...that's NOT ok. Walking away to prevent yourself from saying what you shouldn't, in the heat of anger, is healthy. It preserves the trust and the dynamic.
Just don't forget to come back and talk. If after talking it can't be resolved, THEN walk away with the mutual understanding that it's over.
No one should be left in the dark wondering "WTF just happened?".