By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

Orgasm is the involvement of the total body: mind, body, soul, all together. You vibrate, your whole being vibrates, from the toes to the head. You are no longer in control; existence has taken possession of you and you don’t know who you are. It is like a madness…it is like meditation…” – Osho

 

Problems with sex are very common, but, with the exception of male erectile dysfunction, driven by the pharmaceutical industry, it is rarely discussed and there is little research. The Puritanical attitudes toward sex in the U.S., in particular, produce inhibitions toward overt explorations of the issues surrounding sex. But, these problems have a major impact on people’s lives and deserve far more attention. While research suggests that sexual dysfunction is common, it is a topic that many people are hesitant or embarrassed to discuss. Women suffer from sexual dysfunction more than men with 43% of women and 31% of men reporting some degree of difficulty. It is amazing that such an important human behavior is can be problematic for so many people without an outcry for more study and research.

 

Problems with sex with women are labelled Female Sexual Dysfunction. It can involve reduced sex drive, difficulty becoming aroused, vaginal dryness, lack of orgasm and decreased sexual satisfaction. Sexual function in women involves many different systems in the body, including physical, psychological and hormonal factors. So, it is important for physicians to explore women’s sexual issues. But, physicians who deal with women, whether family practitioners or Ob-Gyns, often hesitate to bring up sexual issues with patients. But, talking about sexual matters benefits not only the patient but also the physician. In one study, taking a sexual history yielded information of medical importance in 26% of cases, and affected treatment and follow-up plans in 16%.

 

Although, female sexual dysfunction is often caused by physical/medical problems, it is also frequently due to psychological issues. This implies that it many cases may be treated with activities that are effective in working with psychological problems. Mindfulness trainings have been shown to improve a variety of psychological issues including emotion regulation, stress responses, trauma, fear and worry, anxiety, and depression, and self-esteem. So, perhaps mindfulness training could help resolve psychological issues that might be affecting sexual behavior. Hence, it would make sense to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness training as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-Based Sex Therapy Improves Genital-Subjective Arousal Concordance in Women with Sexual Desire/Arousal Difficulties”

See: https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1204644279559496/?type=3&theater or see below.

Brotto and colleagues assessed the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Sex Therapy (MBST) on physical and psychological sexual arousal in women who were seeking treatment for sexual desire and/or arousal concerns. MBST is a 4-week program involving a combination of psychoeducation, sex therapy, and training in mindfulness-based skills. Arousal was measured while women were watching either a neutral or an erotic film. Physiological arousal was measured with a vaginal photoplethysmograph which continuously measured vaginal pulse amplitude. Psychological arousal was measured at the same time by subjective report.

 

They found that the relationship between subjective sexual arousal and physiological arousal increased after treatment, but the relationship between physiological sexual arousal and subjective arousal did not. These results indicate that the therapy improved the alignment between how they are feeling subjectively with its physical consequences. Since, mindfulness training is known to improve the awareness of both the mind and body in the present moment, it makes sense that a mindfulness based therapy would increase their alignment.

 

Many women with female sexual dysfunction often complain that they feel disconnected sexually. Hence, better aligning psychological and physical responses to sexual stimuli may be very helpful in treating the problem. This suggests that Mindfulness-Based Sex Therapy may be a useful therapeutic tool to help women struggling with their sexuality.

 

So, reduce difficulties with sex with mindfulness.

 

“A key factor in having better sex is actually being there when you’re having it. Being there not just physically — being fully present, in thought, word and deed. . . It isn’t about adding props or toys or costumes — it’s about really showing up and tuning in, to the moment, yourself and your partner.” – Marsha Lucas

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

 

Study Summary

RESEARCH NEWS – Mindfulness-Based Sex Therapy helps align subjective with physical arousal in women with sexual desire and arousal difficulties.

 

Brotto LA, Chivers ML, Millman RD, Albert A. Mindfulness-Based Sex Therapy Improves Genital-Subjective Arousal Concordance in Women with Sexual Desire/Arousal Difficulties. Arch Sex Behav. 2016 Feb 26. [Epub ahead of print]

 

Abstract

There is emerging evidence for the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for improving women’s sexual functioning. To date, this literature has been limited to self-reports of sexual response and distress. Sexual arousal concordance-the degree of agreement between self-reported sexual arousal and psychophysiological sexual response-has been of interest due to the speculation that it may be a key component to healthy sexual functioning in women. We examined the effects of mindfulness-based sex therapy on sexual arousal concordance in a sample of women with sexual desire/arousal difficulties (n = 79, M age 40.8 years) who participated in an in-laboratory assessment of sexual arousal using a vaginal photoplethysmograph before and after four sessions of group mindfulness-based sex therapy. Genital-subjective sexual arousal concordance significantly increased from pre-treatment levels, with changes in subjective sexual arousal predicting contemporaneous genital sexual arousal (but not the reverse). These findings have implications for our understanding of the mechanisms by which mindfulness-based sex therapy improves sexual functioning in women, and suggest that such treatment may lead to an integration of physical and subjective arousal processes. Moreover, our findings suggest that future research might consider the adoption of sexual arousal concordance as a relevant endpoint in treatment outcome research of women with sexual desire/arousal concerns.