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Subspace / topspace

Subspace is the trance-like mental state that can accompany BDSM activity for the submissive, and domspace is its counterpart for the dominant[1].

Sources: grade B×1, grade C×8. Last checked 8 October 2026. What the grades mean

During BDSM activities, participants may feel endorphin effects comparable to a "runner's high" and to the afterglow of orgasm[2]. The trance-like mental state that goes with this is called subspace for the submissive and domspace for the dominant[1]. Some people use the term body stress for this physiological sensation[1].

How pleasurable a session is commonly considered to depend strongly on the top's competence and experience and on the bottom's physical and mental state[3]. Trust and sexual arousal help the partners enter a shared mindset[3].

A 2019 paper reviewed the limited empirical research supporting BDSM as a spiritual ritual that enables distinct altered states of consciousness[4]. The paper suggests that BDSM bears in common with spiritual ritual elements of pain or ordeal, spiritual meaning and transformative potential[4].

Participants can lose emotional balance through sensory or emotional overload, which is a fairly commonly discussed issue[5]. After BDSM activities it is considered important for participants to go through aftercare, to process and calm down from the activity[6].

Sources

  1. Source grade CFries, DS (2002). "Opioid Analgesics". In Williams DA, Lemke TL. Foye's Principles of Medicinal Chemistry (5th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-0-683-30737-5 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  2. Source grade CGoldberg, Jeff (1988). Anatomy of a Scientific Discovery . Bantam Books, 1988. ISBN 978-0-553-34631-2 ; ISBN 978-0-553-17616-2 (British edition); ISBN 978-0-553-05261-9 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  3. Source grade CJohn Warren, PhD: The Loving Dominant , Greenery Press (CA), 2nd rev. ed., ISBN 978-1-890159-20-7; Bill Henkin, Sybil Holiday: Consensual Sadomasochism: How to Talk About It and How to Do It Safely , Daedalus Publishing Company 1996, ISBN 978-1-881943-12-9 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  4. Source grade BSam E. Greenberg. Divine kink: A consideration of the evidence for BDSM as spiritual ritual. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. 2019. doi:10.24972/ijts.2019.38.1.220
  5. Source grade CWiseman, Jay (1998). SM 101: A Realistic Introduction . California: Greenery Press. ISBN 978-0-9639763-8-3 .; Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: The New Topping Book , page 111 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  6. Source grade CZane, Zachary (4 October 2019). "What Is Sexual Aftercare, and Why Is It So Important?" . Men's Health . Archived from the original on 20 July 2020 . Retrieved 20 July 2020 . menshealth.com (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  7. Source grade CDossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: The New Topping Book , page 72, Greenery Press (CA) 2002, ISBN 978-1-890159-36-8 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  8. Source grade CWiseman, Jay (1998). SM 101: A Realistic Introduction . California: Greenery Press. ISBN 978-0-9639763-8-3 .; Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: The New Topping Book , page 71, Greenery Press (CA) 2002 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  9. Source grade CDeborah Cameron, Don Kulick: Language and Sexuality , Page 24, Cambridge University Press 2003, ISBN 978-0-521-00969-0 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)

Grades: A systematic review or official classification, B peer-reviewed study, C expert or community organisation, D practice from the community without research. How we grade sources.

Every claim was checked against its source before publication. Last checked 8 October 2026.