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Doctors Prove, BDSM Leads To Better Mental Health

Doctors Prove, BDSM Leads To Better Mental Health

In a recent article posted on Psychology Today’s website, Dr. Michael Aaron reveals how “BDSM behavior can have positive mental health benefits.” In a piece title BDSM as Harm Reduction the good doctor postulates that with psychotherapy moving away from “authoritarian Top-down lens approach to a more humanistic, harm reduction approach” (thankfully!) the ‘kinkier’ aspects of what one might come to do with a partner (or partner) shouldn’t be labeled or blamed so much, or at all. He goes on further to state that too often those engaged in BDSM behavior (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission) are thrust into the category of folks engaging in self-harming behavior, while actually the opposite is true.

Doctor Aaron and his colleagues found quite the positive healthy mental outlook from the men and women they studied who engage in BDSM. As a rule, people enjoying ‘non-vanilla’ sexual encounters feel “excitement and anticipation ahead of time, a sense of excitement and pleasure during the encounter, and a wave of deep connection to their partner afterward, as well as a stronger sense of self-empowerment and authenticity.”

The doctor’s study even found ample evidence that BDSM helps to approach and alleviate trauma participants may have experienced in life, rape being one of them.

As most folks into ‘the lifestyle’ will admit, or even those who may have taken a cursory turn across Fetlife a time or two, BDSM pursuits can engender a sense of community among those who regularly participate at weekend get-a-ways or in online groups, build trust and intimacies between partners they might not usually find, can fulfil sexual fantasy needs with role play and the creation of whole other identities, and can simply get the endorphins flowing in a way that very few other activities can.

Doctor Aaron’s final statement sums up what so many in ‘the scene,’ or just a couple who enjoy a little spanking from time to time know all too well: “Research shows that not only is BDSM not pathological, but it can also be used in a therapeutic sense, both in trauma healing and for some, as a harm reduction approach.”

And one could add, it can also be lots of fun.

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