8 Reasons Why Stress Can Affect Your Sex Life and How to Deal with It

Sex and stress are closely linked to each other. Some people say sex can relieve them of stress while some say sex causes more stress in their lives. Once in your life, you might have been in either of these situations. The truth is, both of these situations can be true depending on your life circumstance. But when you’re too stressed, sex can be another source of stress.

When Sex Results to More Stress

1. Sex can be more stressful when you’re unaware of it

There are days when some people give you a bad day. You go home with that ugly feeling. You do the usual things you always do including having sex with your partner. But something unexpected happens…

2. You can’t achieve an erection

Because you’re still having an inner conflict, your body and mind wouldn’t be in the same flow. Your body is just too honest with what’s going on within you. Instead of being present with your partner in that supposedly ecstatic experience, your mind wanders to what went wrong earlier in the day. Achieving an erection is just too impossible.

3. You’ll soon have performance anxiety

The experience of failing to achieve an erection will soon haunt your mind every time you attempt to have sex with your partner. This can become a problem that can escalate when you don’t know the root cause of your anxiety and when your partner also fails to understand what’s going on.

4. Your relationship and intimacy get affected

Failing to give your partner fulfilling sex may harm your relationship. This can affect your intimacy and soon your relationship.

5. You feel bad about yourself

You’re not your best self when you’re under stress. You might not even be fun to be around with. Making others feel uneasy when you’re at the edge doesn’t make you feel good either. It can even make you feel more badly about yourself. When you’re not feeling good, having sex doesn’t come easy.

6. Your libido decreases

Cortisol is your body’s stress hormones. When under stress, your body produces more of it. Unfortunately, when the level of your cortisol is elevated, the level of your sex hormone is decreased. Lower libido means a lower sex drive. You’ll only get disappointed when you force yourself to perform even when your body isn’t biologically prepared for it.

7. You’ll create friction with your partner

Most often, stress can make a monster out of you. Even when you have no issues with your partner, the fact that you’re stressed and aren’t fun to be around with makes your partner avoid you. This can create a communication gap, which makes sex impossible.

8. You succumb to heavy drinking

When under stress, drinking can be your escape. We’re not talking here about a glass or two of alcohol, but more of it. As we have known, heavy drinking can lead to bad sex. Alcohol dehydrates your body and disrupts your ability to achieve or maintain an erection. This can create more stress and could be a disappointment for your partner and yourself.

The topsy-turvy situations above could turn your life upside down. It’s some kind of a domino effect that just wouldn’t stop unless you do the sanest thing you could. And this begins by dealing with the stress head on. Stress management is a key component to make your sex life healthy and put your life in a state of equilibrium. The following tips could be helpful.

• Recognize your triggers

When you put into light the causes of your stress, you’ll blame yourself less and understand yourself more. You know that you’re not to blame after all, that there’s nothing wrong with you. Finding the route to recovery would then be much easier to do.

• Communicate with your partner

Open up to your partner. Communication is important to make the other person understand what you’re going through. By sharing your fears and problems with your significant other, you’ll face the problem as a team. This can increase your confidence, which is important to the right way out.

• Use techniques to stimulate your mind

Stress starts with your mind. This means you need to rewire your mind and free it from stress itself. Meditation can be a great way to calm your mind and destress yourself. Listen to uplifting music that can pacify your mind and soul. Watching comedy movies can also redirect your focus from the burdens of life to the much lighter side of life and makes you feel better about yourself.

• Sweat it out

Stress can fill your brain with neurotoxins that can impair your mental functioning. Dump these toxins by sweating it out. Do activities that help you energize yourself and increase immunity. Jog, walk, run, swim or bike. Anything that keeps your blood pumping also triggers physiological reactions that boost your libido. High libido means high sex drive.

• Eat libido boosting foods

Each food has a special function for the body. The foods found to enhance your libido are walnuts, avocado, strawberries, raspberries, almond, chocolates, eggs, peaches, and wine. These foods are rich in vitamins and minerals that can improve the quality and quantity of your sperm and enhance proper blood flow.

• Get plenty of sleep

Your body needs enough sleep to heal, revitalize, and recharge itself. Try to have eight hours of sleep. If this seems unachievable, give yourself a power nap in the afternoon to reduce your stress and have better sex at night.

• Give yourself a massage

A massage is another great stress relieving tool. Try to ask your partner to give you one. This not only reduces your stress levels but increases your feelings of intimacy too. Or you and your partner may agree to get a massage together to help both of you relax. Once your nerves are calm, you can have dinner and go home to have great sex.

• Ask for help

If all these things don’t work, a professional may be your last resort. Seeking help should be your main concern before things could go out of control.