Talking about Vaginismus can be daunting, and can feel “extremely awkward.” Take a pause and decide when you feel the time is right.
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Have You Seen Sex Education on Netflix? Sex in The Media Series
As I’ve written about before, sex in the media isn’t always the most accurate depiction of what sex and sexuality look like in real life. This frustrates me, because for a lot of people, fictional depictions of sex (which are usually not very realistic) are often the only ways people are learning about sex and …
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DOES IT HAVE TO BE ALL OR NOTHING ?
The human brain is inclined toward all or nothing thinking. It’s easier to have every decision be binary: True or False, A or B, Yes or No, Do or Don’t. Can there be anything in between? We are not robots, even though having to grapple with complex decisions makes life infinitely more challenging and confusing. …
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Vibrators and Vaginismus
Besides starting with a V, most people would probably say that vibrators and vaginismus really have nothing to do with each other. But I’m here to tell you otherwise. Usually when we think of vibrators, we think of the models that go inside a vagina and, as a result, we don’t usually think of them …
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Dilation Station
Vaginismus is defined as the involuntary spasm or contraction of the muscles that surround the vagina. For women with this chronic condition, any kind of vaginal penetration can be painful – especially intercourse. The key to treatment of vaginismus is what is known as “dilation.” This refers to the introduction of a series of graduated …
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Vaginismus and the Single Girl
Vaginismus is a condition where the pelvic floor muscles surrounding the vagina involuntarily spasm. This makes penetration of any kind painful, difficult or seemingly impossible. There tends to be a fear component as well. Searching for the reason you have vaginismus is usually pointless. What’s not pointless is getting treatment because it’s very treatable. It …
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To Sleep With a Dilator Inserted, or Not?
At Maze, we generally recommend dilating for 10 minutes per day. We find that 10 minutes is a good amount of time, because it is long enough for the muscles to begin to lengthen and stretch around the dilator but is short enough to be physically tolerable. Usually even the busiest of us can carve …
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Why does tensing my body during sex cause pain?
When many people think of sex and intercourse, the assumption is that it should be easy. For some women (especially those with vaginismus), nothing could be further from the truth. Anatomy matters. To briefly review, the pelvic floor in a woman is made up of a web of connective tissue and muscles. These provide support …
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Sex in the Media: Vaginismus Focus: “Unorthodox” (Netflix)
Welcome to “Sex in the Media: Explore or Ignore,” our new column in which we investigate steamy snippets from tv, film, literature, podcasts, and even social media. Every other week, we’ll check out a new adventure and tell you whether to buy in or forget you ever heard about it! We have finally reached an …
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Painful Sex? It might be Vaginismus
A few months ago, I spent a considerable amount of time this past holiday season with my family. After a couple of glasses of wine, several of my aunts (who are all in their mid 60’s) began asking me questions about painful sex. One of my aunts relayed her recent experience to me, of being …
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