Stress and its impact on intimacy

You’re no doubt well aware of the fact that stress isn’t good for you. Unfortunately, stress doesn’t just impact your mindset—it can impact you physically as well. Chronic stress can even increase your cancer risk by weakening your immune system and leaving you prone to a range of diseases.

Similarly, Stress can have a big impact on your sex life, too. It has the potential to impact you physically, emotionally, and relationally.

Stress innately attacks your libido. During times of stress, we need to survive, not procreate thus Stress increases your body’s most important functions for survival, like blood flow and increased heart rate, while diminishing non-essential functions, like the need for sex.

And, unfortunately, stress can attack your sex life on many levels.

Firstly, In a big way via hormones. Chronic stress can cause your body to produce too much of the hormone cortisol, which can lower your libido. That can also disturb the menstrual cycle in females, which likely won’t put you in the mood, either. Stress even makes it harder to orgasm and can prevent a person from climaxing at all.

Secondly, your brain affects your sex life. If you have a ‘busy mind’ and are distracted during sex, it’s going to be harder to focus on your arousal, the pleasurable sensations, or orgasm.

Thirdly, it can also impact your sex life indirectly. The hormones produced when an individual is stressed can impact metabolism, which can, in turn, lead to [weight fluctuations]. When you experience changes in your body or don’t feel good about your body, you might be less likely to want to engage in sexual activity.

When your sexuality is giving you a hard time, you need to address the underlying problem of stress.

Here is what we recommend:

• Talk to your partner about stress
• Decide to handle this as a team
• Accept that your sex drive will fluctuate
• Focus on activating your body to go from stress to relaxation

Find more time to get physically active and exerting some pent-up energy through exercise, centering yourselves through yoga or meditation, or catching a comedy show and laughing to reduce stress. Find whatever that outlet may be to regain your balance and health and strengthen your relationship.