So, I got a new tattoo last night (not my submissive tattoo - Sir has yet to decide on a design - but a tattoo I've been wanting that Sir approved and got me as a late Mother's Day gift), and after I got home I began to think about how BDSM has affected my pain management. Okay, so maybe not the "S" part. Haha, I'm not a Sadist, and getting off on inflicting pain on others isn't exactly going to help someone deal with the pain of a tattoo. At least, I don't see how. But BD-M helps. haha. Bondage - I was sitting straddling a chair for roughly 4.5 hours, with 3 breaks of no more than 10 minutes each. Whenever my thighs started to ache, or my back from leaning forward, or my neck from having it too far forward, I would think about bondage positions I've been in, and how that position wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as others. As for Discipline and Masochism, having those elements in my private life has brought me to a point where I can more easily go into that floaty slave space others talk about. It still takes a while and some pretty intense pain for me to get there - I definitely don't have any sort of control over it yet. But I can get there, and that's enough for me! They've also brought me to a point that I've learned to control my breathing, and to keep from crying out. I've always had a high level of pain tolerance (regarding tattoos at least), but being more active in BD-M as of late has made it even better. Everyone who spent more than 20 or 30 minutes in the shop commented on how still I was. The artist was surprised that we managed to finish the whole thing in one night. About two hours in I hit my floaty space (this was the point where outlines and black shading were done, and we started coloring and colored shading, so my skin already felt raw and sore, and he was going back over some spots). From there, I was fine up until about the last 15 minutes. One of the guys was talking to me, and I found myself feeling like his words were going over my head and I was having to reel them back in and think about them before I could respond. I know my reactions to everything he said were delayed, even if only by a few seconds. But the pain was so much less difficult to handle... I don't know how to explain it. I guess most of you will understand. lol. Anyway, I stayed in my floaty space until about the last fifteen minutes. From there, I couldn't seem to hold onto anymore. I knew we were almost done, and the last two guys that were hanging around were swarming me and talking about how awesome it was and how great my skin takes to color (definitely one of the only great things about being very pale - my ink colors stand out so great that I make even the artists jealous) and they were making me anxious to see it. An end to that position and the pain in my back, and the thought of finally seeing this tattoo finished, was enough bring me out of my space, and I wish it hadn't. Those last fifteen minutes made my jaws ache from having my teeth clenched so tight and turned my knuckles white from holding onto the chair. But man was it ever great to be done with it! And I felt so proud for making it all the way through in one night.
I'm sure you want to see the tat now. ;-) If you're ever going to be in Jacksonville, FL and want to get a great tattoo, email me and I'll tell you how to find my artist. Sadly, he's out in the middle of nowhere, and his place doesn't look that great from the outside. So he doesn't get a lot of business and is struggling to keep the doors open. But it's all great once you get inside, and the guys are really entertaining. lol.
