Sexual intimacy brings immense pleasure to both partners. It’s considered to be a rock-solid pillar of a strong relationship. But some people often feel stuck when engaging in physical intimacy with their partners. Several health concerns can be responsible for this condition. Health concerns like depression, heart disease, and diabetes can make one feel a low sex drive. In such cases, one may not feel aroused or face trouble having an orgasm. Now, you can find the solution once you know the root cause.
Health Conditions Affecting One’s Sex Life
Depression
Sexual health is deeply influenced by mental health. Many conditions, like depression and anxiety (or even just general stress), often leave an individual with little or no libido (sexual desire). It makes it hard to become aroused. Both stress and emotional distress can interrupt the way the brain reacts to sexual stimuli whenever a person is on SSRIs (the most common type of antidepressant).
Mental health issues can negatively affect any of the following aspects of sexual health:
- Loss of interest in sex (decreased libido)
- Inability to reach orgasm
- Performance anxiety
There are several ways to treat sexual health issues due to the impact of mental health (i.e., psychotherapy, lifestyle change, or medication adjustments). In some cases, your doctor may recommend wakefulness-promoting agents to help combat fatigue and improve sexual health.
Heart Disease
Cardiovascular issues lead to blood flow problems that affect one’s ability to become aroused and to perform sexually. Inadequate blood flow results in failure to maintain an erection and a lower level of endurance during sexual activities.
Common Symptoms:
- Inability to maintain an erection;
- Tiredness while engaging in sexual activity;
- Decreased libido; and
Some medications for blood pressure also affect sexual health. If you experience these side effects, your doctor may recommend switching to a different type of medication or providing additional medications that will help you achieve/maintain an erection (e.g., Sildenafil or Tadalafil).
Diabetes
One of the most common health issues that affects your sex life is diabetes. When your blood sugar is high, it can damage your nerves and blood vessels. There is less urge and blood flow to those areas of your body that are used for having sex.
Sex Life Effects:
- Men: Erectile dysfunction
- Women: Less vaginal lubrication and arousal
- Both men and women: Less desire (or libido)
Men with diabetes often have been prescribed medications such as Sildenafil (Viagra) to improve blood flow and give them an erection, and Tadalafil (Cialis), because it works much longer than sildenafil (up to 36 hours).
Both of these (when prescribed) are often used to treat and restore sexual function due to diabetes, in addition to helping with your performance. Both medications can be effective when taken with your doctor’s supervision.
Hormonal Fluctuations
Hormones control sexual desire and performance, and any kind of imbalance will cause a noticeable decrease in libido/activity level.
Common hormonal disorders:
- Men with very low testosterone levels.
- Anyone with thyroid issues.
- Hormonal fluctuations associated with menopause.
Testosterone is most commonly associated with lower sex drive/erection problems, while thyroid issues may also have a significant impact on mood, energy, and sexual desire/performance.
Appropriate diagnosis and appropriate hormone treatments may resolve imbalanced hormone levels to restore sexual well-being.
Chronic pain
Having health conditions (like arthritis, MS, or long-standing pain) can disrupt your sexual experiences. Here are some of the ways that these conditions can affect your sex life:
- You experience pain when you move your body
- You have less flexibility
- You experience fatigue or low energy
Diseases of your nervous system will also disrupt the way that your nerves send signals to your body to create arousal and orgasm.
Other health conditions include:
- Cancer
- Low Testosterone
- Menopause
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
- HIV and AIDS
- Loss of Bladder Control
Conclusion
Sexual health is closely linked with the physical and mental health of an individual. Many different conditions (such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and chronic pain) can affect an individual’s ability to enjoy a full sex life.
Understanding what caused your sexual dysfunction is extremely important for determining the best course of action for treatment. Medipedia’s mission is to provide you with accurate, reliable health information so you can identify potential problems at their onset and seek appropriate treatment. Most sexual dysfunctions are treatable through medical intervention, appropriate lifestyle changes, and ongoing treatment after the initial diagnosis.