One of the toughest parts of talking to people about sex is how often shame comes up. Shame is such a complicated thing because it is a part of all of us and yet as humans we inherently don’t want to go near it. As a therapist, this is a big challenge because I might …
Continue ReadingIs too much Serotonin a mood killer?
In Daniel Bergner’s latest book, What Do Women Want, I learned something new about what might be going on when women try to be sexual but find themselves distracted by thinking about other things. We often hear from them that while they were in the midst of trying to be sexual, they couldn’t turn down the voice in their …
Continue ReadingThe dark side of Oxytocin.
Oxytocin has typically been considered the love hormone. Historically, It has been thought to promote connection and social bonding. However in a new study done at Northwestern University, a new side of Oxytocin was discovered. “Oxytocin appears to be the reason social situations, perhaps being bullied at school or tormented by a boss, reverberate long …
Continue ReadingHow many women use vibrators?
“More than half of 2,056 women, aged 18 to 60, used a vibrator either during masturbation or intercourse, says Debby Herbenick, PhD, MPH, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University, Bloomington, who led the survey.” If more than half of all women use vibrators, why is there still such a …
Continue ReadingThe Grant Study: Happiness is love.
The Grant study is one of the longest running longitudinal studies of human development — an astonishing 75 years! In an effort to determine which factors contribute most strongly to human flourishing this study measures an astonishing range of psychological, anthropological and physical traits. Some of these traits range from personality type to IQ, drinking habits, family …
Continue ReadingHave the sex life you desire.
Daniel Bergner, is a contributor for the New York Times Magazine and author of several books including, The Other Side of Desire, which I loved. He just wrote a new book which was released last week, What do Women Want? Adventures in the Science of Female Desire. An excerpt from the book just appeared in …
Continue ReadingCondom contest — $100,000 to the winner!
The Bill and Linda Gates Foundation is offering a $100,000 prize to anyone that can come up with a condom that will not diminish pleasure. The catalyst for this contest was the Foundation’s struggle to stop the spread of AIDS in Africa. The Gates Foundation research shows that, Africans, like most Americans, don’t wear condoms …
Continue ReadingSex education.
After reading an article about how sex education is taught in this country, I started to think about what I would teach if I were given the opportunity. There are so many conflicting ideas about what should and should not be taught to teens. Some people feel that if you expose teens to more information …
Continue ReadingEmotional affairs.
I recently had a friend ask me if I thought an emotional affair was dangerous. She asked me this question because she has been having some difficulty in her marriage and she found herself being drawn to a close family friend. They had a lot of shared history and she felt comfortable talking to him. …
Continue ReadingDopamine and sexual functioning.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which is a chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerve cells. “Dopamine plays a major role in the brain system that is responsible for reward-driven learning. Every type of reward that has been studied increases the level of dopamine transmission in the brain, and a variety of …
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