Overcoming Female Sexual Dysfunction: Body, Mind and Partner
The first step in overcoming sexual dysfunction is to identify, and admit to, the problem. It’s important to talk to your partner about your concerns. The next step, and probably the hardest one for most women, is to seek help from a professional.
Female sexual dysfunction is a complicated issue, and there are often many factors that affect the female libido. Because of the complexity of the female sex drive, it is often necessary to treat female sexual problems in a variety of different ways. The good news is that the vast majority of cases of female sexual dysfunction are treatable. Whether you are unable to reach orgasm, suffer from a low libido, or even experience pain during sex, you can probably find an effective way to treat your problem.
Factors that Affect FSD
The female sex drive is affected not only by hormones, but also by the way a woman thinks and feels about herself, her feelings about sex, how she relates to her partner, and how her partner relates to her. The context of a woman's sexuality is as important to the female sex drive as is the physiological outcome of sex.
Women are vastly different from men in their sexuality, and each woman is different from the next in her sexual needs, desires and feelings. Much of the female sex drive may be based on her sexual relationship with her partner. For most women, sex drive depends on contributions from her body, mind and partner.
Overcoming Relationship Problems
Sex is inevitably a couple's issue. If you have identified problems in your relationship that are affecting your sex life, there are many steps you can take to work with your partner to overcome the issues.
Maintaining open communication with your partner is important, both about sex and your relationship. Work to regain emotional intimacy by spending relaxing time together. In some cases, you may want to consider seeing a sex therapist or going to couple’s counseling to work out any issues you may have concerning a low libido or diminished female sex drive.
Overcoming Psychological Issues
The life of the "modern woman" is filled with professional duties, home chores, childcare, and meeting family needs. It's no wonder that nearly 70 percent of couples have sexual problems at some point in their relationship!
Other than stress and exhaustion, depression and anxiety can also play a role in a diminished libido.
For women, the brain is the most sensitive "sex organ". Relaxation and fantasy often the most effective means of achieving sexual pleasure and female orgasm. A woman cannot relax and "let her mind go" when she is stressed, exhausted or depressed.
If you are severely, chronically depressed or anxious, you may need to seek professional help. The symptoms of depression or anxiety reach far beyond sexual problems, and counseling and medication can both help with depression and anxiety, and may help you eventually regain a healthy sex life.
Building Confidence
Studies have shown that up to 21 percent of women cannot think of even one attractive feature of their body, and are dissatisfied with their bodies overall. Because the female libido is intrinsically linked to a woman’s confidence and comfort with herself, this self-consciousness can create sexual problems. Often, for a woman to become sexually aroused, she must:
- be relatively free of anxiety and stress
- be stimulated physically and/or mentally
- feel self-confident
- have the ability to focus on sexual activity.
If one or more of these factors is consistently absent in a woman’s sex life, sexual dysfunction can become a persistent problem.
Overcoming and Treating Physical and Hormonal Issues
Certain medications and diseases, alcohol and illicit drug use, as well as hormone levels can adversely affect libido. Menopausal and postmenopausal women, as well as women who have had complete hysterectomies, often suffer from FSD due to hormonal imbalances. Painful intercourse due to surgery, abnormalities, pain following childbirth, or infections can understandably inhibit sexual arousal and pleasure.
There are dozens of physical issues that can contribute to sexual problems, from hormone changes to certain diseases. Each of these issues may require a very different kind of treatment, such as:
- drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs
- hormone replacement therapy during menopause
- vaginal lubricants.
Resources
Burnett-Watson, Katherine (2005). Female sexuality: Body image and your sex life. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from the Aphrodite Women’s Health Web Site: http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/female_sexuality_body_image.shtml.
Phillips, Nancy A. (2000) Female Sexual Dysfunction: Evaluation and Treatment.
American Family Physician. Retrieved September 16, 2001 from the American Academy of Family Physicians Web site:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000701/127.html.
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