Power and submission: unlocking the Mind's hidden potential - страница 7

Research published in the Journal of Neuroscience (2017) shows that dopamine levels increase by 25-30% during both experiences of power and conscious submission. Both states activate the striatum – the brain’s reward center – reducing anxiety and enhancing a sense of satisfaction.

Oxytocin: The Hormone of Trust and Closeness

If dopamine is responsible for pleasure, oxytocin governs connection and trust. This hormone is often called the "love hormone," but its role is much broader. When you are in a situation of submission, your brain releases oxytocin, helping you feel calm and secure. You allow yourself to let go of control and trust your partner, which reduces the hyperactivity of the amygdala – the brain’s fear center.

Oxytocin also plays an important role in dominance. When you take responsibility for another person, this hormone stimulates empathy, care, and a sense of mutual connection. Thus, power ceases to be an act of suppression and transforms into a way of creating deep social bonds.

A study published in Nature Neuroscience (2018) indicates that oxytocin levels increase by 35-40% when a person is in a trusting relationship. This explains why both power and submission can bring a sense of emotional comfort if they occur in the context of mutual agreement.

How the Brain Works in These States

When you assume the role of power or submission, three key brain areas are activated:

Prefrontal cortex: Responsible for analyzing the situation and making conscious decisions. It helps you determine when to take control and when to let go.

Amygdala: Usually responsible for anxiety, it calms down thanks to oxytocin and dopamine, allowing you to feel safe.

Striatum: The reward center amplifies the feeling of pleasure, strengthening your connection with a partner or situation.

These processes make power and submission not just social roles but states that literally reprogram your brain, helping you feel confident and stable.

These neurochemical mechanisms explain why power and submission evoke such strong emotions. It’s not just a play of roles but a biological need that helps you reduce stress, strengthen connections, and discover new points of mindfulness. Power provides a sense of strength and control; submission brings a sense of trust and safety. Together, they become tools that help you better understand yourself and your interaction with the world.

Dopamine and oxytocin are the keys to understanding why the dynamics of power and submission can be not only enjoyable but also beneficial. They activate reward systems, reduce anxiety, and enhance emotional awareness. These states give you the opportunity to look at yourself from a new perspective, see your boundaries, and find harmony between control and trust. Power and submission are not opposites but two sides of the same process that open the path to inner freedom.

The Effect of Letting Go of Control on Emotional Awareness

When you let go of control, it is not a sign of weakness, as we are often led to believe, but a conscious act capable of transforming your inner world. Relinquishing excessive control over a situation relieves your brain of a massive load, freeing space for a deeper understanding of your emotions and experiences. It is not defeat but the beginning of a new form of freedom.

Think about how often you have been exhausted from trying to keep everything under control. When you are in a state of hyper-management, your brain works to the limit. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for analysis and planning, becomes overloaded, cortisol levels – the stress hormone – rise, and all this robs you of the ability to perceive the present. You don’t notice your feelings, you don’t hear yourself, because all your attention is consumed by external circumstances. But once you release this burden, your brain switches to entirely different tasks. You no longer fight reality – you begin to cooperate with it.