The media present women in various lights, as a sexy figure that has it all, in terms of sexual energy and expression, as sensual beings that turn the heads of admirers, left, right and center. But, the side of life that are rarely shown to the viewers, is the reason you are reading this page at this present moment. Many a woman, experience struggles and difficulties that they do not share with everyone, and I am here to help you understand better what sexual dysfunction is all about and how you can navigate the ups and downs and hurdles of not feeling pleasure the same way other women do.
Female Sexual dysfunction is an umbrella term for the various issues that women experience during sex. Challenges with your desires, response to stimulation, your sex drive, orgasm all fall under this wide term. The impact on the sexual lifestyle of women is that it makes it hard for such person to experience satisfaction from sex. As a woman, you might experience this challenges at different points during sex as opposed to other women that you probably meet or share your challenges with. While some women experience sexual dysfunction before sex, some experience it during sex and others experience it after sex.
Females with sexual dysfunction before sex find it hard to get aroused, this means that they have very low libido or sex drive and finds it difficult to be interested in sexual activities. Sexual dysfunction during sex can involve pain during sex, inability to feel sensation from stimulation that would be enticing to several other women, and difficulties in experiencing orgasm regardless of the level of stimulation involved. Women that experience depression and psychological meltdown after sex also might be suffering from sexual dysfunction.
You might be wondering if this is a common occurrence with women, you want to know if you are not alone. Sexual dysfunction affects between 30% and 40% of women, it is quite commoner than you probably thought. A lot of women experience an extremely low sex drive, and this challenge present itself as a woman ages. This can be due to stress or age and could be for a period of time or the rest of the woman’s life.
Causes of Female Sexual Dysfunction
The causes of Female Sexual Dysfunction are split into two, there are physical causes and psychological causes.
Physical causes
- Hormone imbalance: a sudden change in production of hormones can affect the response of a woman to sex and all things related to sex. The imbalance in the hormone levels can cause her to experience vaginal dryness, which makes penetration difficult, thereby making sex to be painful for her. There could also be a case of vaginal atrophy which affects the walls of the vagina, it could cause a shrinking. The hormone imbalance could be as a result of menopause symptoms, which is a point in the life of a woman, when she is going through a lot of changes in her body system. Pregnancy can also be a cause for the hormonal imbalance that can affect response to sex, surgery is another reason a woman might suddenly develop an imbalance in the production of certain hormones, example of such hormones is estrogen, a low level of estrogen can affect the feeling in the genitals.
- Gynecologic conditions:there are some conditions that affect women that can cause sexual dysfunction. Vaginismus, is a condition that affects the muscles of the vagina, causing them to spasm and makes penetration hard. Other health conditions include ovarian cysts, vaginitis, endometriosis and endometriosis. All these conditions have one thing in common, they can make sex unbearable for women that are suffering from them.
- Medications and treatments:the medications used for the treatment of certain illness have side effects that affect sexual performance. Antidepressant medications can affect the sex drive of a woman and will not even allow her to feel the urge to have sex, and when she does, her ability to orgasm will be compromised. Treatments for cancer and chemotherapy can affect the levels of hormones in the body, and the effect of imbalance of hormones is sexual dysfunction.
- Vascular disorders: the vascular system are the blood vessels in the body, a disorder in these blood vessels can prevent blood from flowing to the sex organs as they should. Increased blood flow helps to arouse the vagina, labia and clitoris, an impeded blood flow will prevent the arousal of these parts, thereby affecting sex for women.
- Drug abuse:drug abuse and alcohol addiction can prevent a healthy sexual lifestyle. There are effects on the chemical balance of the body, which in turn, affect the sex drive and response to stimulation.
- Health conditions: health conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and arthritis can prevent a woman from experiencing a healthy sexual lifestyle.
Psychological causes
- Stress: an increased level of cortisol is caused by a heightened level of stress. This can make it hard to focus on having a good sexual experience. This reduces the urge to have sex, and any attempt may be met with disappointment.
- Depression: depression cause a lack of interest in activities that previously, one used to enjoy, a person suffering from depression will experience a lack of interest in sexual activities. The feeling of dejection and low self perception can prevent a person from having a fulfilling sexual experience.
- Trauma from past experiences: trauma from the past can affect sexual urge and experience. When a woman has suffered physical or sexual abuse in the past, this can prevent her from enjoying sex later in life, if the trauma is not dealt with professionally.
- Conflicts in relationship: issues in relationship can accept the way a woman feels in sex with her partner, this might be due to disagreement between partners or stale feelings. The state of a relationship can affect the sex.
How is Female sexual dysfunction diagnosed?
Women can be diagnosed of sexual dysfunction in various ways, which include:
- Self diagnosis: a woman can notice these patterns of behavior in her sex life, and she is able to self diagnose, from there she can proceed to meet a health care provider or a therapist, depending on what she feels is the cause of her body response to sex.
- Diagnosis from a health care provider:a health care provider can make a diagnosis after conducting series of tests on the woman, most likely as a result of her complaints about experiencing difficulty in sexual activities, especially penetration.
- Diagnosis from a therapist:a therapist can also provide diagnosis for sexual dysfunction as a result of trauma or self-conflict and other psychological issues.
These professionals can also make referrals to other needed professionals after they have carried out their own tests and found that the woman needs a different sort of assistance.
How is Female sexual dysfunction treated?
Female sexual dysfunction is treated in different ways, there is no fixed remedy for sexual dysfunction because it can be caused by different factors, and these factors play an important role in knowing the remedy that will be suited to resolving the issue. This means that the cause of the challenges must be known before any treatment plan can be embarked on.
After consultation with the appropriate professionals, the following treatments are among the modern treatment plan that are designed for female sexual dysfunction.
- Medications: there are medications that are approved for the treatment of sexual dysfunction in women. These medications help to improved sexual urge and help to treat the hypoactive Sexual desire.
- Hormone therapy: hormone therapy is also a treatment plan designed to treat sexual dysfunction, as the name implies, it targets the imbalance of hormones in the body and seeks to correct it. The plan may include the administration of medications and hormones that are taken orally or creams that are applied on the skin, some could be taken vaginally as well.
- Counselling sessions: counselling can help with traumatic stress, talking to a professional can help you to lift the barriers that you have placed on sex in your mind, these barriers could be the reason you find it hard to enjoy sex. Sessions with a counselling can help resolve this psychological issues.
- Arousal methods:there are some arousal methods that you and your partner can try out to get you in the mood and get the juice flowing. Adding spice to the bed can be a cure you need, a different approach toward sex, a different foreplay, sex toys, viewing sexually explicit contents before sex, mutual or solo masturbation and many other things could be done to get you both in the optimal mood for sex.
- Pain management:there are ways of minimizing the pain that a woman feels during sex. Changing sex positions to one that best suits her, the use of lubricants, foreplay and relaxation therapy before sex can go a long way into making sex more enjoyable for the woman.
You might wonder if there are causes of sexual dysfunction, then there should be ways to prevent it. You are right, there are ways to prevent sexual dysfunction in women. Although, the fact that sexual dysfunction can be caused by various reasons make it hard to pinpoint a single preventive method, so these suggestions are generic and are simply ways to ensure that a woman has a healthy lifestyle that reduces her chances of experience difficulty in sex.
Ways of preventing sexual dysfunction
- Maintaining a healthy diet is an important part of a person’s life, regardless of their gender. A healthy diet places the body at an advantage over infections and diseases that might occur, both physically and mentally. A healthy diet makes for a healthy mind.
- Avoidance of drugs and excessive intake of alcohol, these things affect the chemical balance of the body and can affect the functioning of a lot of body organs, of which the sex organs are included. Using drugs without prescription can have several side effects on the body. Hence, the reason why this made the list. Alcohol has a dulling effect on the senses of the body, a woman may lose some sensitivity to stimulation as a result of having consumed alcohol prior to sex.
- The body weight can also affect sexual function, it is important to maintain a healthy body weight, this help to prevent metabolic disorders that might affect the functions of the sex organs.
- Constant check up with the health care provider, share any strange occurrence in your body with your health care provider as often as possible, early detection helps to keep away most health issues.
- Always find a way to resolve conflicting issues with your partner, lack of communication with your partner has a way of dulling whatever spark exists between the two of you. Keeping issues that should be resolved in your mind can build up resentment, and it is always difficult to enjoy sex with someone with whom you are not happy. A healthy relationship with your partner is an important ingredient to a successful relationship and an equally satisfying sex life.
Is sexual dysfunction permanent or temporary?
The cause of sexual dysfunction is what will decide if it would be life long or would only be for a phase. Sexual dysfunction due to hormonal imbalance, trauma, drug use could be cured with therapy, but there are some types of sexual dysfunctions that can only be managed. This does not mean that the woman will not be able to enjoy sex for the rest of her life, she only needs to follow some instructions from the health care provider or the counselor, so that the condition does not affect her sexual life in a major way, this means that the condition would be managed so that the effect is significantly reduced.
Conclusion
Female Sexual Dysfunction is a common condition among women these days, and it is important that women take more serious control of their physical and mental health, because this condition could be as a result of past lifestyle. Younger women should be advised to live a healthier lifestyle to shield them from experiencing such difficulty later in life. Female Sexual Dysfunction is not without treatment, the majority of the cases can be managed, and the woman is able to live a healthy sex life.
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