By Hans Meijer

The number one question I get asked – certainly by people outside the erotic power exchange world – is, “What is so exciting about pain?” Well, there is nothing “nice” about just pain. But, when applied with care and knowledge, pain can do several different things to your body and mind. It can create a rush, it can be intensely erotic and it can change your mind completely. In fact, impulses like pain, humiliation, stress and fear will trigger an entire chain reaction of hormonal activity for both the dominant and submissive. The articles below will be dealing with just these bio-chemical aspects, we will try and explain the effects on both the body and mind, and teach you some techniques. Always remember the bottom line is; a lot of our physical and mental responses and reactions to erotic power exchange situations have a bio-chemical reason and are not totally psychological (as is and has often been claimed).

“Pain” has different forms and shapes, in fact it’s a blanket term for all sorts of signals to our brains. The main message “pain” sends to the brain is: “Here is a newsflash. Stop the presses, hold all other things, this message has priority.” Latest research by psychologists shows that “pain” is not just a physical reaction but can be a mental one as well. And, physical “pain” impulses can be and are influenced by psychological factors. Stress for example can block the perception of pain, whereas fear or anxiety can increase this perception. Yes, we are talking perception here, because “pain” is not an automated signal, it is a signal that is interpreted by the brain before we feel it. The area in the brain known as the thalamus is where the pain-signal enters the brain: the “pain gate” and this gate interprets incoming signals (more on that below). In fact, by giving micro-electronic impulses to this “pain gate” directly, doctors can stop patients feel pain. Oversimplified: if you pull out the plug, you will not feel pain.

The Rush

I am using “pain” here as an example. You may replace that by all sorts of other impulses: stress, humiliation, fear, anxiety, tickling, unexpected events, you name it. When it comes to erotic power exchange (or bdsm if you like) there is whole chain of bio-chemical effects. One triggers the other and that will eventually lead to a sexual response. To simplify things: suppose you have an electrical circuit with a push button on one end and a light bulb on the other. If you push the button, the light bulb will glow. The brightness and intensity of that glow is determined by the quality of the circuit and the power source. In erotic power exchange terms: the impulse is the button, the sexual response is the light bulb, the quality of the circuit is your genetic information and the power source are the emotions you yourself add to the initial impulse.

Let me first explain what pain does to your body. A pain impulse will, first of all set off your adrenaline production. That is step 1 in the hormonal chain reaction. Adrenaline is a “homemade” (inside your body) drug that will make you more aware of things. Adrenaline is produced when your body or mind feels stress, pain, danger or uncertainty. Managers and athletes are usually real adrenaline junkies and so are many of the people who are into erotic power exchange. Prolonged exposure to pain will set off the production of endorphins. These are opiates produced by your body and used as a natural pain killers. This will create a “rush” and send your mind off on a trip.

There is a lot to be said for adrenaline. Without making things too complicated: what is generally described as “adrenaline” in fact are two hormones – adrenaline (a.k.a. epinephrine) and noradrenaline (a.k.a. norepinephrine). Both are produced in the lower section of the brain, a section called the medulla or adrenal gland. Both are also secreted by nerve-endings and operate as a neurotransmitter (to facilitate quicker transmission of signals from and to the brain). They are complementary, although adrenaline seems to concentrate predominantly on brain and heart activity and speeding up the metabolism, whereas noradrenaline predominantly concentrates on vasoconstrictor action (pumping activity in and by the blood vessels) and as such rises the blood pressure.

The “adrenaline twins” are your bodies’ immediate response kit. Even before the brain has analyzed the signals that indicate a “difference” in what was normal physical activity, adrenaline will start being released. The signals might later be analyzed as either danger, stress, pain or another alarm signal and even before the brain has done its split second analyses, adrenaline will start to prepare the body for physical response. The release will bring your sensory systems (eyes, ears, nerve ends and such) to a higher state of awareness. Your metabolism will start to speedup, with the purpose of quickly filtering out sugars that will serve as immediate energy for the muscles. Your heart rate and vascular activity will increase, in order to allow for faster transportation of that energy to the muscles. If the signals are analyzed by the brain as a false alarm, the production of adrenaline will stop and the body will return to its normal functions.

Both adrenaline (a hormone) and endorphins are addictive, although not to the extent that it becomes dangerous. It is well known that top athletes develop a slight adrenaline and/or endorphins addiction. This also happens to erotic power exchange people. Although this is by no means an explanation of why people are attracted to erotic power exchange, it is a factor that should be kept in mind as “playing a role in the entire process”.

When applying pain impulses, the question is: what is it I want to achieve? If you are looking for a higher level of awareness, you need to stimulate the adrenaline-production. If you are looking for a rush, you need a different technique. Both adrenaline and endorphins are things that erotic power exchange is about and there are different ways to stimulate their production. Using pain-impulses is one of them. But it is not just the pain by itself. With the element of pain there usually is an element of fear as well. Nobody can tell you exactly what causes more effect: the moment of impact, when the whip hits the body, or the split second of fear just before that?

Using pain kicks – and there are hundreds of different ways to that, not just using the whip or clamps – is something that needs a little experience and a certain “touch”. Before getting into that: as explained pain and other things set of your own internal chemical factory. This is one of the main reasons why there is a constant warning not to combine erotic power exchange with the use of other stimuli, drugs and alcohol. This is simply because it all builds up, usually having a counter-productive effect, making you less receptive to other important signals. Also remember it’s not only the sub that experiences these rushes, the dom will also experience huge shots of adrenaline as well.

Adrenaline Stimulating Techniques

Short, unexpected pain impulses will set off adrenaline production. For example: when you use a nipple clamp this will produce the sensation of pain when the clamp is placed on the nipple. This sensation will die down relatively soon and will come back, as the clamp is pulled off, slightly twisted or removed. That is exactly the effect you want to accomplish. Put them on, leave them untouched for a while and then touch them or remove them. By hanging small weights from them, your sub will feel this sensation every time (s)he moves the body and the worst thing you can do is to put them on, take them off again, wait a while and let the pain / pressure build. If you squeeze the nipples gently – immediately after you have taken the clamps off – you will really blow his or her mind. These short, unexpected impulses is exactly what you want. This is why it is important to find the right clamp for the right use. Too strong, and it will almost instantly kill the effect. The same goes for the use of clamps (or cloth pins) on every other part of the body. Apart from the nipples – ears, nose, lips and labia are perfect spots to use clamps.

The use of candle wax will have the same basic effect. When you are planning to use candles: buy cheap, white, sterner candles. They have a low melting point and are safe to use. Stay away from wax-candles and colored ones. The further away you hold your candle, i.e. the longer the little drop of wax has to travel, the “cooler” the wax will be. A combination of candle wax and ice cubes is perfect and will dazzle the mind of your sub completely, especially when (s)he is blindfolded. Other small short pain-impulses can be achieved by the use of a sharp pencil (be careful not to puncture the skin and cause blood poisoning) or a sharpened piece of wood. Tooth picks do a great job.

The use of pain impulses almost always also brings about a slight feeling of humiliation. Having to have this done to you without being able to do something about it, is what triggers this feeling, together with the responses to the impulses. The combination of these short impulses, the fear, the humiliation and the teasing can be highly stimulating to both partners. Having it done to you is just as exciting as doing it and getting the response from it.

Triggering Endorphin Production

To trigger the production of endorphins you need an entirely different technique. It takes a while – usually between fifteen and thirty minutes – for the body to start to produce endorphins. Using “adrenaline techniques” first, will help this is what’s commonly known as the warm up phase. If you want to create a real rush, whipping or flogging, will do the trick, but you will have to built it up carefully. Start with a soft, tender whip and work your way up using different whips to get to the point where you want to be. Do not rush it, but take your time. Once the skin feels warm you can change to a more sturdier type of whip and eventually get to the sharp and stingy ones like riding crops or canes.

Bondage – in an uncomfortable of painful position – is another great way to set-off a rush. Japanese bondage techniques especially are perfect for this type of bondage.

Obvious Traps

There are subs that are into heavy pain kicks. A few of words of warning are applicable here. This may indicate subconscious or hidden things like low self esteem or hidden trauma. It does not have to be like that and people can just like it, but it is always wise to be cautious when you are confronted with this because unexpected things may come out. It is a good idea to talk about this first and to try and find out the motivation behind it.

Another obvious trap – especially for novice subs – is the desire to prove things. You do not have to prove how much you can take. If you do not like or want it, say so. There is nothing wrong with saying no, and there is a risk that you will overdo things in the beginning and thus will never learn to really like it.

Pain Threshold

A subject very frequently discussed is the pain threshold of a submissive. Especially novices will have ideas about training this threshold. Experienced dom’s will usually downgrade rather than upgrade the intensity of pain and will play with the psychological impact. Increasing the threshold in fact holds certain dangers. The most obvious one is that, through training, the only effect you will produce is that you will eventually have to introduce more and more to get the required effects. If pain is your kick, that is not a problem (although it can increase the amount of “work” to be done by the dom dramatically), but if you are into the psychological or erotic effects of erotic power exchange training the pain threshold is usually not a very good idea. Some of it will happen almost automatically. Your sub will get used to pain impulses, especially nipples which have a habit of getting used to pain impulses quite rapidly.

Endorphins, Psychological And Physical Effects

Endorphins may be – at least to a certain extent – one of the things erotic power exchange revolves around. Although it is way too early for any scientific conclusions, it is obvious they play an important role in erotic power exchange scenes. Although endorphins are relatively “new” to the medical world – and even more so to psychologists and psychiatrists – it is quite generally acknowledged they play an important part in both our physical and psychological reactions. That is why we like to go a bit deeper into this phenomena.

Endorphins have always existed in the human body. They are not just one chemical substance, but a group of substances that have the same or interconnecting properties. They were first identified in the mid-1970′s. This group of peptides which are composed of amino acids have offered some explanation of how systems are co-ordinate in the human body. But their greatest significance, until today, may prove to be the linking of the immune and endocrine systems with the mind into one psycho-immuno-endocrine system. Endorphins are a complex set of hormones, released primarily by the pituitary gland (located at the base of the brain).

In 1973, John Hughes tried to identify a “Substance X” at Marishal College in Aberdeen, Scotland which could satisfy the requirements for the body’s own morphine like substance. His mentor in Aberdeen was Hans Kosterlitz. They made progress and called their Substance X encephalon. But there were other researchers. They all were mainly trying to identify an opiate receptor in the human body; effectively a lock into which morphine could fit and activate responses.

It soon became clear that there was a group of chemicals in the brain and body which had properties similar to morphine. At a 1975 meeting at Airlie House In Virginia U.S. a New York receptor researcher coined the name endorphins (the morphine within) for all the brain produced substances with opiate properties. The ‘e’ was dropped later and ENDORPHINS were popularized by the world’s media.

Initially, the endorphins were – and still very much are – looked at and researched from the pain control angle and some papers identified that acupuncture stimulated the production of endorphins. This is what gave acupuncture its first scientific respectability, however only in the area of pain control.

Slowly it became clear that there were profound and diverse roles for the endorphins. The runner’s high was attributed to endorphins and as more and more functions were identified, Candace Pert an endorphin researcher stated: “Endorphins are mood chemicals playing an important role in the human healing process.”

Endorphins do seem to explain a lot of things, including the phenomena of patients and athletes being able to exclude pain sensation by mental power only. It has since become clear that the brain produces different (“cocktails” of) endorphins based on different impulses. These impulses can be external (such as a pain impulse) as well as created by the brain itself. In an erotic power exchange situation it is very likely – although this has yet to be researched properly – that both physical and metal impulses play a role in the production and release of endorphins by the brain.

This theory would at least provide one scientific explanation for the importance of fantasies in erotic power exchange play as well as for the obvious interaction between fantasies and the real live action. Another effect that is yet to be researched is the influence of the adrenaline hormone on the production of endorphins. The current theory is that where adrenaline amongst other effects causes a higher state of awareness, it is quite likely that this higher state of awareness causes an increased production of certain (groups of) endorphins. Thinking along the lines of this theory, that might also explain why orgasms during or as a result of an erotic power exchange scene are at least “different” (usually either more intense or violent or both) from other organs, since the orgasm itself is one of the “events triggering adrenaline production.

Next, since endorphins at least seem to be “mood chemicals” other extra impulses, such as fantasy, symbolism, smell (like the smell of leather which is very significant to many erotic power exchange people), fetishes and direct physical and mental impulses such as pain, humiliation, discomfort, helplessness and others may very well be intertwined with or connected to the effects of the endorphins themselves.

Endorphins have scientifically proven effects on all sorts of physical and mental processes. To name just a few of these (with any possible connection or relation to erotic power exchange): effects on the central nervous system and peripheral analgesia and pain modulation, effects on the neuroendocrine control of reproduction, stress, spontaneous behavior and motivation.

Genetic Influences And Other Hormones

It is slowly becoming apparent that at least part of our sexual preferences are genetically encoded. Proof for this is found in the fact that certain genetic information is encoded in the DNA of homosexual men and is unavailable in heterosexual men. There is some very early research available on this subject, although a lot still has be researched further before any real answers will emerge.

It is obvious however that at least some can be found in genes known as “BRCA1″ and “BRCA2″. Both these DNA strings however, unfortunately (unfortunate from an erotic power exchange point of view that is) are currently best known for the fact that they seem to have an influence on breast cancer. Hence the entire research in this field is focused on this aspect. “BRCA1″ is the string that is found in homosexual men but not in heterosexual men, so obviously at least part of the preferential information is in there. Several other bits and pieces of genetic information, including the development of certain power related elements, can be found in other DNA strings. How all this ties in together however is yet unclear.

GnRH Hormone

Very new information however is the following: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), having a highly conserved structure across mammalian species, plays a pivotal role in the control of the neuroendocrine events and the inherent sexual behaviors essential for reproductive function. Recent advances in molecular genetic technology have contributed greatly to the investigation of several aspects of GnRH physiology, particularly steroid hormone and neurotransmitter regulation of GnRH gene expression. Behavioral studies have focused on the actions of GnRH in steroid-sensitive brain regions to understand better its role in the facilitation of mating behavior.

Here it becomes interesting for several reasons. To say it in simple terms, next to adrenaline and endorphins, there is a third group of hormones that not only has a direct influence on our behavior, but these also seem to “read” and “interpret” generic information.

Just like endorphins GnRH are produced in the brain, this time the center of the human brain. To be exact in the hypothalamus. The next door neighbor of this part of the brain is the thalami’s (the “pain gate” – sounds familiar?) which is controlled by the release of endorphins. Since there seems to be an interaction between these two neighboring parts of the brain, it seems there is a connection here. Thalamus and hypothalamus together form the part of the brain called diencephalons – in simple terms the “switchboard” between the brain and the nervous system. The nervous system is constantly transmitting millions of signals to the brain. The vast majority of these are normal and do not need the attention of the consciousness. The diencephalons (in computer terms call that a co-processor or background processor since it improves the efficiencies of the brain/mainframe) makes these decisions and – as you can see – operates much along the lines of “management by exception”. In other words the brain is not pro-active of re-active in this area and will wait for an acute signal (of danger, pain, stress, humiliation, discomfort, cold, anything) to start operating and responding.

Whenever such a situation occurs, the pituitary gland, in response to the stimulus secretes a hormone called adrenocortocotropin (ACTH). This in turn stimulates the adrenal or medulla gland to secrete norepinephrine (a.k.a. noradrenaline) and epinephrine (a.k.a. adrenaline). That will stimulate the production of endorphins. Endorphins in their turn are both produced by and control the function of the diencephalons, in other words both hypothalamus and thalamus. So since the hypothalamus produces GnRH, here is where the connection is.

Gonadotropin by itself is also a hormone, that is responsible for all sorts of secondary sex characteristics, including the swelling of the penis, hardening of the nipples, but also the difference in pitch between the male and female voice. This hormone also controls the female cycle and two other emotions that tie in directly with EPE-behavior: protectiveness towards the partner and territorial defense.

Last but certainly not least the release of gonadotropin triggers the production of steroid hormones (amongst others the male sex hormone testosterone and the female counterpart estrogen). To keep it plain and simple and very unscientific – there appears to be a direct links between endorphins (a.k.a. “emotion amino acids”) and the production of steroid hormones. Since we know some of the endorphins trigger direct EPE related emotions such as responses to pain, humiliation, uncertainty, love and affection, here seems to be a direct hormonal link between these emotions and sexual arousal. Why this happens with some people and not with others is probably the answer that will eventually be found somewhere in the DNA-encoding.

Final bit of information - steroid hormones again trigger the production of another group of hormones: pheromones. These are released in the form of a gas and you can (and do) smell them. These are well known for the part they play in sexual arousal. Pheromones are only produced by the human male. The human female – as a result of evolution – has lost the ability to produce pheromones. Their function is replaced by …. perfume.