When there’s pain with sex, anything that whispers sex can make us women cringe. It can negatively impact our openness to being touched, inhibit our desire and arousal, and erode our ability to experience sexual pleasure.
Some conditions leading to painful sex include: vaginismus, vulvodynia, infection, stiff joints, scar tissue from a procedure after giving birth, dryness, and use of oral birth control.
Pain has a double effect on our sexual experience. First, it’s distracting because our focus moves from experiencing pleasure to dealing with pain. Second, it brings about fear of pain. We become nervous and tense thinking about whether sex is going to hurt again. Then the fear of pain becomes the issue as it makes it impossible to relax and a vicious cycle ensues.
At Maze we believe that treating sexual pain is paramount. Here are some books which address painful sex:
The Vagina Bible by Jen Gunter, MD
Healing Pelvic Pain by Amy Stein
Sex Without Pain by Heather Jeffcoat
Ask Me About My Uterus by Abby Norman
If you’re experiencing painful sex and would like to better understand treatment options, contact us for a free phone consultation.
