Sexual function & our body
How can our physical body impact libido and sexual function?
This weeks focus is all about “sexual function.” This can encompass sexual motivation, desire/libido, arousal and excitement, orgasm, and pleasure.
All of these aspects of sexual function can have multiple reasons why they are impacted. This post will focus on the physical contributors that can impact our motivation, desire, arousal, and excitement.
From a physical perspective, there are a number of factors that can impact both desire and functioning. One of the most common issues we see impacting libido is stress and energy.
If you are under slept, undernourished, running on fumes and worried about your job, it makes a lot of sense that desire wouldn’t be tip top. Low energy, whether from stress, lack of good quality sleep or other causes should be investigated.
Mental health concerns can impact our physical bodies, and sexual dysfunction. This is especially true in women, where anxiety and depression are the major causes of sexual dysfunction.
Depression is actually the cause of low desire in up to a quarter of cases. That’s huge - especially since SSRI’s, a primary medication for depression, cause some amount of sexual dysfunction in up to half of folks who use it (either decreasing desire further, reducing function, or impacting ability to orgasm).
Skin conditions (like eczema), gastrointestinal conditions - especially IBS - and urinary tract infections are among other conditions associated with sexual dysfunction. Conditions related to pelvic pain are also, unsurprisingly, related to function and desire.
For us as practitioners, it’s important to ask you about pain and try to understand the root cause of this. Chronic pelvic pain can be related to pelvic floor dysfunction, endometriosis, nervous system factors and gut conditions - among others!
Often we can get into a cycle of pain, leading to protective “hypertonicity” - inappropriate contraction/tightness of the pelvic floor. This guarding and hypertonicity can make the pain worse and can also impact arousal and orgasm. Tight muscles of the pelvic floor can inhibit blood flow and make arousal much more challenging.
At the end of the day, how much this impacts you and your well being is a really important consideration when we think about how we will support you.
Some folks may have no interest in sex but it doesn’t bother them, whereas others are deeply impacted by decrease in function or desire. You and your goals are always at the centre of any treatment plan and sexual function is no different!
From our perspective as practitioners, understanding your goals and history, and sometimes running laboratory work, can give us a deeper understanding of how to improve how you feel.
We always want approach your care through a holistic lens and address the psychological, relational and physical factors that can impact how we feel and function. None of these factors act in isolation.
Often, working on overall health - especially stress management, improving sleep quality, eating nourishing meals - alongside resolving your other concerns such as supporting your mental health, improving IBS symptoms, reducing UTI recurrence etc. can improve sexual function and desire!
We have a whole team at Crafted Balance that can support you from all angles - mentally, emotionally, physically. Psychotherapy, Naturopathy and pelvic floor therapy can be especially helpful. Curious about how our practitioners could be a support? Book a free meet and greet with one of us!