It should be noted, there is no completely safe method of engaging in autoerotic asphyxiation. All of the methods listed above could easily kill the person employing them.
Autoerotic Asphyxiation vs. Erotic Asphyxiation
While the term “autoerotic asphyxiation” is colloquially used to generally refer to the practice of restricting oxygen to the brain during sexual activity in all forms (partnered or solo), technically speaking, the term autoerotic asphyxiation refers to engaging in the practice alone.
The correct term for the partnered practice is erotic asphyxiation.
Why do People Engage in Autoerotic Asphyxiation?
Like any sexual activity, people who engage in autoerotic asphyxiation derive pleasure from it. To understand that, we need to understand what happens in the body during the practice.
“When you reduce the amount of oxygen to the brain, people start to experience dizziness and lightheadedness,” says Brandon Simpson, AMFT, ASAT, an LGBTQ Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at Novus Mindful Life. “Then, releasing applied pressure and allowing oxygen to ‘rush’ back into the brain results in a flood of serotonin and dopamine, your feel-good hormones.”
In a 2021 survey participants reported experiencing, among other things, “pleasurable sensations/euphora” and “a head rush” when engaging in erotic asphyxiation.
Death By Autoerotic Asphyxiation
Accidental deaths that happen when a person dies while using a prop, tool, device, apparatus, or other outside force to enhance sexual pleasure are called autoerotic fatalities. This term is not applied to sexual acts performed with partners, or to suicide. It is exclusively reserved for accidental death that happens as the result of solo sexual activity. Research puts the rate of auto erotic fatalities in Western countries at 0.5 death per million inhabitants each year.