Ohhhhh i hear ya goddess! I think at some point we've all been there lol. For me, the most successful course of action was to do a bit of a spaceship fixit. You know when they're out in space and something needs fixing but they can't get the parts out coz rockets don't have roadside assistance or something and they put all the things they can work with on the table and figure out a solution from that. Like that i got a similar sense of pleasure from serving my family, my little brother who lives with me in particular. I draw satisfaction from doing similar sorts of things that i would do for my Master for them. It's not the same obviously, but sometimes acknowledging to yourself that it can still be a form of service is enough to take the edge off the craving.

 

I think too that when you are talking about the guiding hand you're not giving yourself enough credit. I think it's normal and sensible for a submissive to gravitate towards Dominant people. With or without D/s a good friend is someone that enhances you, that makes you happy and gives something to your life in exchange for you giving something to theirs. It is no different with making friends with someone able to share their Dominance with you.

 

It's also no different when it comes to being smart about who you make friends with. We all learn that the hard way at some point in our life.

 

Truthfully, i dont think substitution is every going to be exactly as it could be if we were in the ideal situation to get all of the things we need. It can be enough though. Afterall, if those NASA smarties can repair a rocket with a plastic cup, some foil and a straw... surely we're MacGuiver enough to make ourselves happy.