People tend to keep their tension to themselves, let’s face it. And the truth is, even if you do find the strength to talk to someone about what you’re going through, you can find that their response merely makes you feel more anxious about your troublesome sex life. This is usually true since the partner only asks to take boner pills instead of dealing with the root problem. We’ve encountered a lot of misconceptions concerning stress and sex. For instance, you might as well file for divorce if stress interferes with your romantic feelings for your spouse. This is why it’s crucial to get the right advice and understand how stress impacts your sex drive. The quality of the relationship degrades if partners cannot handle stress together. These three effects of stress on sex drive are listed below. Let’s get learning.
The Imbalance of Human Two Nervous Systems
There are two nerve systems in humans. The parasympathetic nerve system acts as the brake, while the sympathetic one acts as the accelerator. When faced with challenges and hardships in life, we employ the accelerator. Our bodies release the accelerator from our stress reaction whenever this occurs. The brake will take over for the accelerator as soon as the problem has been solved and the threat has subsided. Ah, another problem is now resolved.
But, it may genuinely feel as though our accelerator has been stuck when we suffer stress over an extended length of time. Even though our bodies are constantly working overtime, we never actually let our brakes engage. Our brakes and sexuality go hand in hand. Naturally, and anatomically speaking, if our stress pedal is hitting the metal, it does not make sense for us to appreciate an amorous touch or to lie around kissing our lover. Sex drive and stress don’t mix. You just cannot enjoy amazing sex and have a head full of 120 problems.
Hormones Fluctuation
Your body will really start to create more cortisol, sometimes known as “the stress hormone,” after the accelerator has been in overdrive for an extended amount of time. The identical building blocks used in this process are also used to create the male sex hormone testosterone. As a result, the majority of persons who have chronic stress symptoms have lower testosterone levels. Haakon Aars, a clinical sexologist, psychiatrist, and doctor from Norway, claims that testosterone is the sex hormone that has the largest impact on sex drive in both men and women. This suggests that the logical physiological causes for your decreased sex drive.
Absence Replacing Proximity
Hormones have a role in your sexuality, but so do social, romantic, and psychological influences. When stress hormones start to work, absence takes the place of closeness. Being present, listening, and showing interest in others around you are all but impossible while you’re under stress. Dealing with anyone but yourself is difficult. Your body is telling you to either fight or flee as a result of the stress hormones flowing through it. You might even become hostile to your partner as a result of this. You could begin to yell or snap at them. People you generally enjoy being with can suddenly come off as a bother because they want to spend time with you.
All of this leaves little room for intimacy with your partner, and over time, the intimacy begins to wane. Weeks slip into days, and you start to deposit less and less money into your emotional bank account, as Dr. John Gottman puts it. It makes sense that fears would rise as your presence and intimacy decreased and your anger and irritability increased. This typically results in a significantly reduced desire for intimacy and sexual activity.