On Punishment, Part 2: Solitary Confinement

Hi all,

This time I am going to be addressing my take on, and use of, solitary confinement as a punishment tool.

If you do find yourself reading my blog, please do take the time to fill out a comment below – without your comments I have no idea how many people are reading my entries, or what people think of them.

My Thoughts on Punishment, Part 2: Solitary Confinement

This form of punishment I use a little less frequently, but still relatively often. That's because, in some ways, it's one of my favourites and I will confess to sometimes using it just because I feel like some peace and quiet, in order to get the “Me” time that I sometimes need!

Again, like extended denial, at its base level it is a very simple punishment and also very effective – it also gives the subject lots of time to think about their misdemeanour.

So, firstly I will talk you through the logistics of how I use this punishment, including giving you a few photographs of the “set-up” just so you can get a better idea of how it works here, for me, in practice. I'll then talk about a few embellishments that I change from time to time, just to keep things interesting and to make every punishment experience a bit different.

Ok, so my set-up.

It's an empty cupboard, that's all – just a cupboard lol. It's a good size, can get the subject inside whilst standing upright, and also has ample room for crouching, kneeling or sitting inside, but without there being too much space so a feeling of confinement is still generated.




It also has a clothes rail that is permanently attached to each side (not one of those that can be more easily taken out). This can be incredibly useful for those times that I want to secure the subject inside via his wrists.



Once the subject is prepared appropriately inside, I then close the doors and secure them. For this purpose, I use a simple elastic band wrapped around the two handles a couple of times. This is enough to secure the door closed, making it impossible to open to any extent without breaking the elastic bands. Using elastic bands in this way gives me the security that's needed, but also means that should there be an emergency, the subject can always barge the doors open. Of course, if he does this, it is impossible for him to get back inside and reseal the doors so it will be clearly obvious that he has broken free. I make it clear that a pretty severe punishment will follow should this happen without good reason (i.e. risk of life or limb!) - I really hate to see perfectly good elastic bands wasted ;) Unsurprisingly, this has never happened!

I also sometimes leave a bamboo cane leaning against the door such that I can tell if there has been any significant movement or pressure on the doors from the inside – Just extra peace of mind!



Embellishments
There are a few embellishments that I use to keep this punishment interesting and varied:

a) Securing the subject

If I am going to be around whilst the confinement takes place, then I sometimes choose to secure the subject inside the cupboard. I do this by using cable ties to attach his wrists to the clothes rail. I always use releasable cable ties - it makes the job of taking him out again so much easier and means I don't have to waste cable ties each time.



This makes him stand for the duration of his incarceration and also provides an extra sense of confinement. For safety reasons, I never use the hand restraints if I ever leave the property during the incarceration, just so I know that should the worst happen whilst I am out, the subject is able to evacuate if he needs to.

b) Sensory deprivation

I have tried being inside the cupboard with the doors closed and, it is pretty dark inside; because of the design of the doors, there is no real gap between them when the door is closed and so no real light gets in from the outside. I maximise this effect by also closing the curtains of the room and sometimes putting a back to front balaclava over the subjects head; that way, it is virtually completely dark inside the cupboard. This deprives the subject of light. I also sometimes choose to put a pair of wireless headphones on the subject. This way I can pipe anything I want into his ears whilst he is in there. That could be white noise...the sounds of a storm...an absolutely awful music track on a loop (try this for one of my favourite examples!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0 – any suggestions you have are most welcome by the way!). Other times I prefer him to remain there with total silence all around.



c) Longer periods of confinement

For those times where the subject is confined for longer periods of time, nature inevitably comes to call! With this embellishment, I have no need to be constantly letting the subject out for this purpose – No!, instead I provide a bucket. This way there is no need for the subject to have to leave the comfort of his cupboard!



Given all the above information, you can probably see why this is one of my favourite punishments! There are lots of nuances to play with and I get some peace and quiet thrown into the bargain to watch a programme or film on TV, read a book or catch up with friends. It's also fun sometimes to use it and have him confined whilst I go out and enjoy myself with friends etc! A double punishment that way – not only missing out on socialising fun, but incarcerated with sensory deprivation instead!

It's also fun to keep the subject guessing, so when he goes into the cupboard he often doesn't know how long he is going to be in there for. I think the passing of time is very very hard to judge when the senses are deprived of meaningful information and this is probably one of the harder aspects of the punishment to deal with!

Periods of confinement can be as short as an hour if it's a minor indiscretion or I want to just watch a short programme on TV in peace. The longest period of incarceration to date has been...12 hours (yes, really! 10am-10pm) – that was really fun (for me, that is!) and absolutely deserved (part of the punishment for the example indiscretion I mentioned in Part 1 of my blog).

In summary, this is another simple and effective punishment – and it happens to be one of my favourites – there are lots of nuances that can be changed to keep it interesting and I sometimes like the space, peace and quiet it provides me!

Please post any comments or questions below. I will try to respond to your questions and may even update the blog itself if I think it's something that deserves to be in the main body of the text as well.

The next in the series will be: MToP Part 3: Extra Duties/Loss of Privileges

Until then, take care,

Emily ylimE
x