Stress can affect many things in our lives and sex is at the top of the list. It can affect both men and women negatively but seems to affect women the most.
Why Women?
Men tend to unwind with physical activity. Stress puts them into a fight or flight response and sex is a good way to burn off energy and relax. It doesn’t work that way with women. Stress causes women to have less of a sex drive.
Dr. Rachel Needle, a licensed psychologist and sex therapist at the Center for Marital and Sexal Health of South Florida, said it’s hard for anyone to get into the groove when they are stressed out in the head.
Their minds are just too busy with all the stressful issues that they can’t relax. This tends to affect women more but can affect men too, like if they’ve had a difficult day.
It’s Physical
The other issue is cortisol production. Your body produces too much of it durine stress and an abundance of cortisol lessens the libido. Doctors said it’s anthropological.
Your body says it should survive, not procreate, so the fight or flight kicks in with the cortisol.
Men can also be affected by a lack of desire in a stressful situation because their bodies release less oxytocin, also called the love hormone.
What Do You Do?
Exercise is a good way to alleviate stress and some psychologists say it’s a good idea for couples to exercise together. That can be an outlet to communicate too, which can lead to intimacy.
Talking out the stressful situation may help find a solution. Be supportive if it’s a situation they are facing alone.
The key thing is don’t place sexual demands on a partner who is stressed out. That will only make things worse. Look to build intimacy through touching, talking and doing things together until you are both in the mood.
