[Written from the perspective of a male human taking the knot anally]
I've heard a lot here about the panic of the act, and I want to address that specifically, see if I can show you guys how to turn that around in your mind some, as well as answering the OP's why we come back to this even if it hurts.
Me, I have a sort of love/hate relationship with the knot. Or perhaps a better way to phrase it, an anticipation/dread of it. I'll look forward to it all day long, but I know to dread it too -- and that anxiety is part of the excitement. Call it a healthy fear. Particularly, its that very same pang of helpless panic in the moments when he starts expanding that gets remembered -- and, eventually, becomes part of the joy. Retrain your mind. With enough repetition, you learn to embrace that fear. You know it'll be over without any real harm, and you know you can take it, so you come around to liking the thrill of it, without overreacting. Hindsight too. There's the memory of it all, compelling you back to him. You feel a certain pride and satisfaction of accomplishment after the act. You're proud of yourself for having adapted your body and given it over to him, pleasured him fully & completely, wanting to go back for more despite the pain. Heck, if you did everything right, you even got yourself off too. You orgasmed
despite the discomfort, and that's a challenge bested, obstacle overcome, feat achieved. Makes for a hell of a win, for both of you. There's a pride in it.
Gay pride? lol
All of these things taken as a whole, become the cornerstones of the 'addiction'. It hurt, yes, but you'll come back for more because you love him
, and the love won out. The pleasure triumphed over the pain. Like the songs say, it hurt so good, so you might as well face it you're addicted to love
?
Some of it can be an adrenaline addiction too I suppose. We already understand that release of all the good chemicals will result in repeat behavior, getcha coming back to that knot again and again. Oxytocin, adrenaline, endorphins, I don't even know what-all, but its a perfect storm. The aforesaid thrill of fear (release of adrenaline rush) peaks in the moments he's expanding and slowing his thrusts, when there's only a second or two of transition -- that's when you know its coming, inexorably. Its that point of no return. The thrusting itself felt fine, pleasurable even (minus the initial probing stabs of an os bone, but these can be mitigated too). But then it happens. Very suddenly and with little or no warning, he slows up, and the dreaded-anticipated expansion begins. Its a pervading feeling of fullness and tugging back there that turns to pain when he reaches full diameter. That's when you start to worry. Pulse goes up, pupils dilate, breath goes shallow, cold sweat beads at the temples, and... a smile in the dark! Like MacBeth, you have done the deed. Now you're screwed, literally.
You're his until this is over. Nothing left to do but ride it out. This is where you learn three critical skills: how to calm down and keep your wits, how to recover your flagged erection back up, and how to edge like a fucking boss!
Some bullet points come to mind:
- Beds with a mound of pillows under you or a narrow, padded weight bench makes a perfect mount. You want your abdomen/torso/chest resting comfortably supported on something so you can let go of all tension. Comfort throughout the rest of your body should not be overlooked. Don't forget you still have joints head to toe. Plenty else can start ringing in pain & strain besides your ass, diminishing the experience. Find a place, position, and arrangement that will maximize your comfort being on all fours for a long time. Your goal should be supporting your weight + his in such a way that allows for going completely slack, inert, at ease. Because being stuck pretzeled in a twister game with your dog and straining to hold the both of you up is a real boner killer.
- Practice makes perfect. Forget about BD or any fixed-size knot toys. They're all form, no function. Nice to look at, useless as a trainer. Shoving in something fixed-size only hurts and dissuades you even you more from trying. You need trainers that mimic actual anatomy/physiology. Elypse is the only toy maker I know of who has an inflatable knot that expands after its inside, like real coitus will. Worth every penny. When you can pump that thing 10-12x and sit with it inside for an hour any day of the week, you're ready. Conventional 'ammo-shell' style anal dilator kits in graduated sizes also helped immensely.
- Multi-orgasms are generally only possible for women; that's not a realistic strategy for men. If you're male, get good at edging and control, because you're going to want to hold that load in, riding the wave of endorphins for the duration of the tie. If you botch this and cum too early, the endorphins leave you. Then the pain takes over soon as you come down off climax and you're stuck riding that pain out til he's done. Instead, your release should only come at the very end of his, when he releases you. Right up to the moment you feel him soften and give a little. That's your cue. When you know the impending decouple is moments away,
that's when you let go and cum hard yourself, just before he softens and pops out. Timing this perfectly is admittedly difficult and doesn't always work. Sometimes, you just can't help it, and you'll cum while he's still knotted. But do undertake the effort to train your edge game. Like anything else worthwhile, it takes effort. I promise, cumming-decoupling-collpasing in a cleanup licking afterglow is the
best way.
TLDR: the anxiety and the thrill, the pleasure and pain, all of these are thrown together to color the experience and make it what it is. And what it is, is good overall, despite the pain. You love him so its something you want to do for him, want to get good at for his sake, and once you do get good, you find yourself reaping the rewards of a new kind of orgasm, too.