Dusting this topic off as I've been doing more research and reading on sub drop.

Almost all online blogs and articles on the subject of sub drop refer to the chemical and hormonal changes that take place within our bodies and these changes are widely believed to be what's occurring when sub drop is experienced. That's all well and good and I do believe that may be precisely what's happening when the drop is experienced shortly after an intense scene in the session, but it really doesn't hold up too well when the drop is experienced one or more days after the session has ended. Some articles attempt to explain that these chemical and hormonal changes could extend for a few days, but for me that just never really *felt* right.

For me personally, the worst of it always hits anywhere from 1-4 days after the session and it just never made sense to me that this could still be due to chemical/hormonal fluctuations in my body. A few days after getting back to my everyday work and home life, I feel the loneliness and emptiness starting to creep in and at times it becomes overwhelming. I find it difficult to concentrate and I generally lack interest in the things that typically bring me satisfaction. I've continued to read and research the subject in an effort to gain a better understanding of what's happening and why it hits me so hard in the hopes of maybe coming up with a way to counteract it.

Earlier this week I came across a research paper by Richard A. Sprott, Ph.D. from California State University and Anna Randall, MSW, MPH, DHS from The Alternative Sexual Health Research Alliance. The theory behind this paper was very intriguing to me because it is the first article that I have come across that attempts to give a different explanation to what's happening with the sub drop that occurs days later. Basically, they theorize that the "days later" drop is not a biochemical reaction but is instead a reaction to loss and is a process of grief and bereavement.

I won't go into the details of their theory here ... I've posted the link below if you're interested in reading it. But I do have to admit that I find this theory much more plausible and believable than an extended biochemical reaction.

Black and Blues: Sub Drop, Top Drop, Event Drop and Scene Drop