5 Ways Anxiety Affects Your Sex Life
The thing about anxiety is that most of us are not even aware of having it. One may assume that anxiety has to be very evident and amplified but unless it’s a serious anxiety disorder, we don’t even recognise it. I personally don’t realise when I am anxious or stressed. It could be something that you’ve pushed to the back of your mind and you’re hoping it would mean that it won’t affect you. But it does.
In fact, like everything else, anxiety affects your sex life too. And I know that from experience. If I am stressed about something, I realised that it’s difficult for me to focus on sex and my physical sensations. When I am relaxed, I feel much more turned on and orgasm better. Here’s how anxiety affects your sex life.
A decrease in libido
Anxiety comes loaded with several mood deterrents such as worries, overthinking and sadness. This makes it difficult for you to response to sexual stimuli or even as much as focus on sex. And obviously, that doesn’t bode well for sesh in the sack.
Difficulty to orgasm
When you’re having sex, the part of your brain that is responsible for logical reasoning kinda goes to sleep, which is also linked to a decrease in anxiety. However, if you are holding on to thoughts that make you anxious, that part of the brain won’t go in to snooze mode. Even if he is touching perfectly well, if you don’t let go and just be in the moment, it’s difficult to come.
Penetration can be painful
When we are anxious, our muscles tend to tighten up and that’s not good news when you’re having sex. A tight pelvic floor can cause vaginismus where your vaginal muscle will spasm. It almost feels like your vagina is shutting down and rejecting the penetration, which makes it even more painful. Also, anxiety can make it difficult for you to get wet, which in turn also makes the penetration painful.
Casual sex becomes more stressful
People with anxiety find it difficult to move on from their experiences. Long after their casual sex experience, they continue to overthink about it, which is even more stressful. Plus, casual sex anyway is very complicated and comes with a lot of stress factors; people worry about getting attached or whether this is going anywhere at all.
ALSO READ: Are You Able To Orgasm Only Through Masturbation And Not With A Partner? Here’s What To Do!
Preference of masturbation over sex
Because sex with another person come with a lot of performance anxiety, people who are already anxious tend to protect themselves from that experience. Instead they turn to masturbation to give their horniness an outlet. But masturbation should not replace a human connection, even though it seems easier and less complicated.
