Monitoring that alerts Dominants when a partner may be experiencing sub-drop or dom-drop
"Drop" is the experience of an emotional or physical low that can occur after an intense scene. Sub-drop affects submissives; dom-drop affects Dominants. Both are well-documented responses rooted in the neurochemical comedown after heightened intensity.
Drop can arrive hours or days after a scene ends. It often goes unrecognized precisely because it arrives when the event itself feels over. Helm's drop detection system monitors for behavioral signals that may indicate a partner is in drop, and surfaces alerts so the Dominant can check in proactively.
The system analyzes behavioral signals within your relationship hierarchy and computes a risk level when patterns suggest one of your partners may be in drop. The specific signals are surfaced in the detail view of each alert; each alert lists the signals that contributed to that event.
Signals are relationship-specific. Common signal categories include changes in task completion patterns, safeword usage, and aftercare feeling responses (such as a partner reporting "rough" or "low" at the close of an aftercare session).
Each drop risk event carries one of four risk levels:
| Level | Meaning | Badge color |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Mild signals, worth monitoring | Green |
| Moderate | Several signals present, a check-in is advisable | Yellow |
| High | Strong signals, prompt check-in recommended | Yellow (orange tint on card border) |
| Critical | Multiple strong signals; immediate attention warranted | Red with pulsing indicator |
Drop risk events appear as cards in the Dominant's Helm activity feed. Each feed card shows:
Critical events display a pulsing dot on the card to draw immediate attention.
If the drop detection widget is enabled on your Helm dashboard, it surfaces unresolved
events directly on the dashboard without needing to scroll the feed. The
dropDetection feature flag controls widget availability; contact your
platform administrator if you do not see it.
Tapping "View Details" on a feed card or widget opens the full event detail as a bottom sheet on mobile or a modal on desktop. The detail view shows:
Each event moves through three statuses. The Dominant controls progression:
| Status | Meaning | Available actions |
|---|---|---|
| Unresolved | Alert is new and has not been acted on | Acknowledge — Resolve |
| Acknowledged | The Dominant has seen the alert and is aware | Resolve |
| Resolved | The Dominant has addressed the situation | Read-only; resolution notes visible if added |
Acknowledge records that you have seen the alert. Use it when you are aware of the situation but are not yet in a position to fully resolve it. The event stays visible in the feed until it is resolved.
The history view shows both resolved and unresolved events, paginated and filterable. You can access history from the feed or the drop detection widget. History supports two filter dimensions:
Tapping any row in the history list opens that event's detail view. Resolved events in history show their resolution notes inline.
Drop detection and aftercare sessions are part of the same safety layer (Spec 154). A partner reporting a low or rough feeling at the close of an aftercare session may contribute to the signals the drop detection system evaluates. Running thorough aftercare — working through the checklist and recording honest feeling responses — helps the system build a more accurate picture of partner wellbeing over time.
See Aftercare Sessions for how to start and complete a post-scene check-in.