13.12: What are some health benefits of sexual activity?
What are some health benefits of sexual activity?
- Increased happiness and sense of well-being
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Raises self-esteem
- Builds trust and bonding, stronger more intimate relationships
- Enhances heart health, lower risk heart attack and stroke
- Improves immunity
- May reduce the risk of certain cancers
- More energy and better sleep
- Burns calories
- Lowers risk of cognitive impairment including dementia
- Improved bladder control
- Longer life
- Increased libido
So ask yourself, can you think of any other health benefits to sexual activity? Do you think the benefits may be different for masturbation and partner sex? Why or why not?
As a sex therapist, how are you able to help people navigate challenges with their sexuality? What are some common issues people come to you with?
The first thing I want to do is rule out any medical conditions. Following that, a big part is normalizing the challenges people come in with related to their sexual struggles. We are in 2022, and yet there remains so much stigma surrounding sexuality/sexual health. A lot of people do not reach out due to shame, guilt, embarrassment or simply not realizing how common sexual health issues are. While some issues may take much longer to work on, many issues related to sexual health can be successfully treated in a short time. Oftentimes, normalizing and providing an open non-judgmental and curious forum for the people I see in my practice to work in is one of the first steps I take. The biggest step prior to that is actually reaching out for help, which I encourage all people to do, even if you may think a potential or possible issue is minor or embarrassing. I’ve noted once people start to have that sense of normalcy and safety, the walls start to come down, which allows us to explore the roots of their struggles. Next, we then focus on possible interventions, skills, or strategies. Sometimes, normalizing/general education may be the only thing necessary (for example: your penis is actually within the normal size range; most sex is not what you see in porn, etc.).
Some common issues people come in with include desire disorders (lack of sexual desire or interest in sex), arousal disorders (difficulty becoming physically aroused or excited), orgasm and pain disorders. Ultimately, mental health such as anxiety, depression or relationship/life stress may be contributing factors as well. Finally, it is always important to assess or take note of any possible sexual trauma one comes in with as well. I cannot stress how important that may be to one’s overall sexual health or things that may be impacting it.
What do you think it means to be sexually healthy?
Sexual health is engaging in sexual activity you choose, that brings pleasure while free of exploitation, coercion, violence, or discrimination. Taking care of ourselves physically and mentally are significant.
Regarding physical health, I always want to rule out medical conditions first, such as conditions like diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure, which are known to impact proper blood flow, thus contributing to or directly causing some sexual dysfunction(s). Injuries related to the back, hip, spine and neurological or gynecological conditions, etc. can be significant, among other physical injuries. Managing medical conditions that improve blood flow can help address ED (erectile dysfunction) and PE (premature ejaculation), for example. Importantly, strengthening the pelvic floor can help several sexual dysfunctions as well. Overall health is a big part of our sexual health.
Taking care of our mental health also helps prevent sexual dysfunctions like erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation and pain disorders. We also know symptoms of anxiety, depression and trauma can include those related to sexual functioning. For example, managing depression helps improve our mood and overall functioning, while also decreasing social isolation (i.e., our social well-being).
I believe if your sexual life/activities are pleasurable choices you made/feel fine with, are overall physically and mentally healthy and living a life with good connections, then you probably have good sexual health. If you struggle in areas related to sexual health, seek help. Start by checking in with your doctor to rule out medical conditions. In working with a sex therapist, one may discover certain diagnoses or conditions that are contributing, possibly causing sexual challenges and can then address them. Keeping up a generally active and social lifestyle, combined with being physically/mentally healthy are what I would consider being sexually healthy.
Do you see identities such as race, class, gender and sexual orientation affect people’s sexuality and if so, how?
No doubt! A lot of our sexuality is learned throughout our lifetime and certainly in our earlier years. What were the messages we received about sexuality? Thinking culturally for example, as a Latino male, the traditional message with regards to men is having to be “manly, macho” while females are to be “submissive, servants to the man.” What if that Latino male identifies as being gay? Where does that play in the traditional culture? It often does not. That can then lead to shame and guilt, depression, or anxiety, which can impact one’s sexuality. It may not be the person has a “problem,” rather the cultural messages received instilled this “problem.” What if they are then shunned by the family? What is the message? “This is wrong, I am wrong, I shouldn’t be this way, there’s something wrong with me.” So now, we have an individual who may be struggling with orientation/identity issues and conflicts with what their sexuality entails.
Learning who they are and developing new scripts is one strategy that can assist in living their lives rather than the lives they were taught as “right.” In that case gender, race/culture and orientation are present. In considering class, there continues to be a big gap in many areas, including education, resources, and upbringing. A lower socio-economic class pregnant teen is likely to have limited resources. This lack of resources/education not only may affect that teen’s future, but also those of the generation(s) that follows. It’s a continuing cycle based on a lack of resources. Someone from a higher socioeconomic class is likely to have more options, support and the financial backing to continue to be set up for success.
The messages we receive, our experiences related to sexuality, and the education and resources we are afforded can play a significant role in how our sexuality is defined and in the way we live our sexual lives.
Jose E Trejo, LCSW
Strange Bedfellows: The Afro Diaspora and Sexuality & Sexual Expression
As a sex therapist who specializes in promoting healthy sexuality in the Afro Diaspora, I find there are common themes that seem to permeate all level of socioeconomic status and other intersectionalities regarding Black sexuality. The consistent and resounding theme is the “strange bedfellow” relationship that exists between the Afro Diaspora and sexuality and sexual expression.
To understand this relationship, it is vital to look at the historical context of colonialism and how it reshaped Black sexuality forever. During colonialism and slavery, sexuality was weaponized against Black bodies for capitalistic gain, nonconsensual personal pleasure, at times for sadistic experimentation, as seen in the creation of the field of gynecology, and to assert dominance as in buck breaking- the act of sexually assaulting Black male slaves publicly. Though many will profess that slavery was an event of long ago, I will counter with the fact that my great grandmother, whom I was reared with, was one generation removed from American chattel slavery. The implications of the effects of colonialism have been passed down through adaptive coping mechanisms, which now present as barriers to healthy sexuality/expression, epigenetics (as we know via science, trauma can be passed through our very DNA to our offspring), and through behaviors towards sexual expressions (for example religion and homophobia in the Black community).
As a sex therapist, my passion and purpose are to give name to the dysfunctional relationship between Afro Disapora descended persons and sexuality and sexual expression. I am a firm believer that if you do not name trauma, you can never address it. By naming a trauma and dysfunctional cycles, you imbue a person with the desire to understand the cycle, take back their power, and create a safe environment for them to cultivate and have the ideal sexual health and vision they want and deserve.
Markias D. Littlejohn LCSW, LISW-CP, MFSW
CEO, Kairos Therapeutic Alliance LLC.