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We all get stressed from time to time. It’s a natural reaction to the various events and curveballs that life throws our way.
While high blood pressure and insomnia are some of the more common manifestations of stress, it doesn’t stop there.
Whether you like it or not, stress plays a direct and intimate role in how you perform in the bedroom.
For one, stress can exacerbate your sexual health, from decreased libido to difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection. In some cases, stress can even lead to strains in a relationship when not handled correctly.
With all that said, stress can be managed with the right process. By identifying and fixing the sources, you can improve erectile function and live a happy life with a healthy relationship.
Let’s look at the stress effect on libido and ways you can improve your symptoms.
The Four Types of Stress
Stress is an emotional response to an external or conceived threat. It usually arises when the demands of a situation exceed our ability to manage and overcome it.
There are many types of stress. These include:
- Physical stress: This type of stress is usually the result of an environmental or physical challenge, such as an illness, injury, or a tough workout.
- Emotional stress: This type of stress is usually the result of challenging life events, such as the death of a loved one, a divorce, or moving to a new city.
- Situational Stress: This type of stress is usually the result of a specific and fleeting situation, such as an interview or nerve-wracking encounters.
- Anticipatory stress: This type of stress concerns the uncertainty of future events.
Stress can also be further classified into three categories: acute, episodic, and chronic.
Acute stress is a short-lived emotional response to perceived threats. It often comes with feelings of irritability, anger, and anxiety.
If acute stress happens frequently, it turns into episodic stress. This type of stress recurs frequently in someone’s life like waves.
If stress doesn’t fade in intensity, it then gets classified as chronic stress.
While this type of stress is less intense than acute stress, it has more concerning physical and mental health effects on the body. This is because the stressor is accumulated and felt across the body for prolonged periods.
The Physiology Behind Stress
When we’re stressed, our hypothalamus, a part of our brain, sends messages to our sympathetic nervous system to come alive. This signals the adrenal glands to react by releasing chemical messengers throughout the body. These chemicals include cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenaline.
This stress hormone is designed to help us deal with difficult situations by increasing our heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow so that we’re better equipped to deal with the threat.
However, this can backfire, particularly if the feelings of stress don’t go away. When the body produces too much of these fight-or-flight hormones, this long-term exposure to stress hormones can have negative effects on the body.
The negative effects of stress include the following:
- Depression
- Digestive diseases
- Heart problems
- Memory impairment
- High blood pressure
- Headaches
- Muscle pain and tensions
The negative effects don’t stop there; they may also impact your sex life. As your body undergoes incessant fatigue caused by chronic stress, this can cause a decrease in sexual desire.
By constantly producing cortisol, the body consumes the body’s sex hormone reserves, effectively curbing the desire for sexual activity.
Psychological Effect on Stress and Sex Life
The stress response doesn’t only manifest physiologically; it also has psychological effects on the body.
Stress can keep your mind pre-occupied and too distracted to want to have sex. When your day-to-day demands constantly require you to perform at the best levels, this can lead to burnout and fatigue.
In addition, stress may also lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, and mood changes. Depression, in particular, can cause a chemical imbalance in the brain, which can result in a lower sex drive. Performance anxiety may also be a consequence of stress, causing you and your partner to have a negative sexual experience.
The usage of SSRIs and anti-depression medication have also been found to have adverse side effects on one’s erectile function, particularly causing delayed ejaculation and psychological erectile dysfunction.
The consequence of living a highly stressed lifestyle is undeniable. But with the right effort and proper sexual health guidance from medical professionals, you can learn to cope with your sexual problems and see improvements in your sexual dysfunction.
Ways to Cope with Stress
Minimizing stress should be the goal in everyone’s life. With how profoundly stress affects our physical and mental well-being, finding ways to cope with these stressful moments is crucial.
Here are ways you can cope with everyday stress.
Consider Effective Stress Management Programs
There are many stress management programs available to help you cope with stress. These relaxation techniques can help recalibrate the hormonal disruption caused by stress, allowing you to heal.
Some programs that may be incorporated in stress management programs include:
- Breathing exercises
- Journaling
- Guided meditation
- Aromatherapy
- Reiki
If you’re not sure where to start, consult a doctor or a mental health professional for help.
Mend Relationship Problems
If you have strained relationships with your loved ones, it can add to your stress levels. According to one study, the quality of your relationship plays one of the most significant roles in your levels of stress.
Talk with your partner regarding your stress and work together to find healthy coping mechanisms. Scheduling regular date nights, weekend getaways, or even initiating sexual contact can help alleviate some of the tension and anxiety surrounding romance.
If you find that you can’t mend the relationship on your own, consider seeking out professional help.
Take Care of Your Body
When we look after ourselves, we feel better mentally and physically.
Set aside 15 minutes during the day to prioritize your health and well-being. You’ll be able to reap the benefits of better physical health once you form a habit.
Some things you can do to take care of your body include:
- Eating a balanced diet
- Exercising regularly
- Quitting smoking and other vices
- Spending time with hobbies
- Undergoing weight loss programs
- Spend quality time with friends and family
Contact Orlando’s Top Male Health Clinic to Combat the Impacts of Stress on Libido and Sex Life
Stress can impact your sex life in many ways.
Chronic stress makes you more susceptible to developing high blood pressure and diabetes, which can lead to erectile dysfunction and low libido. Psychological stress can cause depression and performance anxiety, which can also worsen ED.
While the journey to recovery requires effort, it’s not impossible.
By focusing on ED treatment plans and consulting with a sex therapist, you can help reduce stress and achieve a healthy sex life again.
If you’re having sexual health issues, call the team at Premier Men’s Medical Center now to schedule an appointment to have a consultation with their experienced and specially trained medical staff. We are Orlando’s leading men’s clinic providing ED treatments, PE therapy, Acoustic Wave therapy, low testosterone therapy, hormone therapy, and much more.
