Stress can be an ugly five letter word and everyone has it. Stress is not always a bad thing but it is a rarity that it is good. Stress is a part of life. It comes to us in a variety of forms but is most often recognized when it begins to affect a person’s life negatively. This is even truer when it begins to affect a person’s sexual health.

There are so many things in our lives that cause stress. Lack of money, increase in bills, and traffic are all causes of bad stress. Holidays and birthdays cause good and bad stress. Most people love a good holiday gathering but hate having to plan and get ready for it. Birthdays are a lot of fun when you are young but as you get older you begin to stress over the fact that you are indeed getting older. Stress is everywhere and despite your best efforts you will not and cannot escape it. Your only choice is to deal with it before it deals with you.

Effects of Stress on the Body

The effects of stress can be disheartening. Our bodies are made to handle a lot of trials throughout our time on Earth. However, like any other machine, stress can make parts wear out. Our hearts, lungs, and other vital organs all feel the damage caused by extreme amounts of stress. Ulcers of the stomach and heart attacks are just a few of the severe, life-threatening affects of stress that people risk suffering from. Less life-threatening, but just as depressing, is the affect stress can have on a person’s sexual health.

When a person is in good sexual health they are able to enjoy themselves thoroughly while participating in sexual activities. They have no trouble with reaching climax or becoming aroused. For men, impotence is only a word and not an experience. For women, the desire to have sexual intercourse is strong and healthy.

As a person becomes overwhelmed with stress their ability to lead a happy and healthy sexual life diminishes. The thought of even having sex is repugnant. They are either too tired or too sick from the affects of stress on their bodies to even imagine having the strength to embrace another person intimately. This is the first red flag that stress has taken over a person’s sexual health.

Some people may find the drive to have sex but not be able to come to a finish worthy of applause. They discover that coming to an orgasm is too hard and frustrating. This is usually because the person is so preoccupied subconsciously with all of his or her problems that are causing them stress that they are unable to fully give themselves over to the building climax. Not only is this frustrating for the person experiencing the problem, it is embarrassing.

The Symptoms

There are various symptoms experienced by women and men whose sexual health is being affected negatively by sex.

Symptoms often experienced by men are:

• Lack of or decrease in desire to have sexual intercourse
• Inability to achieve or maintain an erection
• Premature ejaculation
• Lack of ejaculation
• Decreased amount of ejaculatory fluids, also known as a dry orgasm
• Inability to orgasm

Symptoms often experienced by women are:

• Loss of or decrease in desire to have sexual intercourse
• Vaginal dryness despite arousal
• Inability to orgasm
• Loss of or decrease in sensitivity to clitoris and vaginal area

As embarrassing as the symptoms are, they should not be overlooked or tossed aside to be dealt with later. In fact, the more a person ignores their sexual health the harder it will be to correct the problems and improve their sexual health later. Too often people suffer in silence afraid to ask for help from their physician. In reality they should be running to the doctor for help.

When stress affects a person’s sexual health it is almost always after it has begun to affect another part of a person’s body. This is why seeing your doctor when you notice symptoms of a weakened sexual appetite that last longer than a week is so important. The affects of stress on a person’s circulatory system can play a huge role in the ability to maintain or even achieve an erection. A hormonal imbalance caused by stress can mean the difference between being interested in sex and never wanting it again. Sounds scary, but its true!

How Counseling Helps

There are treatments for stress that can help a person become sexually healthy again. Counseling is a treatment that many doctors will suggest and it never hurts. Exercise is another treatment. You may be saying “wait, I’m too tired and stressed to exercise.” This is when you have to get tough on yourself and make yourself exercise. Exercising releases endorphins which are “feel good” chemicals that are produced in our brains. The more “feel good” chemicals released in your brain, the better you will begin to feel. Many people have even found the urge to have sex after working out is increased.

You don’t have to let stress chase away sex from your life. You can take control of your stress and show it who is boss. Start looking for ways to manage your stressors and even try to eliminate those stressors which are unnecessary. Plan a romantic evening and tell yourself that you won’t allow stress to play a part in it. Take back control of your sexual health.