ABSO-FREAKIN-LUTELY! Cathartic release is one of the biggest reasons i play. When my life feels like it's coming apart at the seams and i'm plagued with stress, anxiety, anger, guilt, all those negative emotions, or when i'm so sad or angry that i really need to release it all with a good cry but i can't seem to make the tears happen, being beaten until i cry into a blindfold is one of the most sublime feelings in the world. No outburst, no screaming fit, no orgasm, no joyous celebration can bring about quite that level of release. The combination of the surrender, relinquishing control, the pain, the crying, it's magic. Then i need lots of comforting aftercare and, after that, i'm relaxed and happy and ready to take on the world. When i was in my first D/s relationship, i had a period of a couple months where it seemed like everything that could go wrong in my life went wrong, my dog died, my sister moved out of state with two of my best friends. i totalled my car, my grandmother went into the hospital with heart failure, my condo went into foreclosure, all within about 2 months. That took 3 good flogging/paddling/belt ing/caning sessions and LOTS of bruises and welts to get me through, but without my Domme and those sessions, i'm not sure how i would have made it through that patch. It's also, in part, a way for me to let go of guilt. i can tell my D that i am feeling guilty about something and let Her determine an appropriate punishment. Once She has administered it and declared me absolved or forgiven, i have to forgive myself because i have submitted to Her and given her the permission to punish me and she has deemed the punishment sufficient. Then i stop beating myself up over it and feeling miserable and guilty and i move on with my life. Now, i do also enjoy a good beating even without the stress but it's totally different.
