Monday, August 12, 2013

Sex and My Mental Health

Premise.
Sex and orgasm release “happy” chemicals in your brain, so the more sex you have the happier you are. In my experience this is very true. If I go more that say three days without having sex things can get crazy. I become overly emotional getting super sad or angry at things that wouldn't normally upset me. I am prone to slipping into depression. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder that leans towards depression, so I do my best not to aggravate it when possible. I have found that sex and orgasm work wonders for me. Notice I said “for me”, this is in-no-way a piece telling you to stop taking your meds and just have lots of sex instead.

The Science of Orgasm.
Endorphins are used by the body to relieve pain for the most part but, they play a pretty big role in orgasm. They make you feel a sense euphoria and pleasure. They also have a calming affect that can reduce or even stave off depression. Another chemical that is very present in orgasm is oxytocin. This chemical is in charge of all the nice contractions your muscles do to make you feel good. It also causes you to feel connected to your partner. Procaltin is the chemical that relives the sexual tension after orgasm. It is responsible for that flood of remembered chores you have to do tomorrow after sex.
Dopamine and serotonin play a big part in making us feel better when we are in pain or depressed and are the base chemicals for a lot of antidepressant medication. We can get these naturally by having good sex. I do feel the need to point out that we know that having lots of meaningless sex can cause depression, so don't do that. I would say that sex with someone you feel connected to on a regular basis or a random fling can work wonders for our mental health.

My experience.
Personally, I know if I don't have sex at least two to three times a week my emotional health suffers. Even if I masturbate there is no substitute for the physical contact of sex. Masturbation is good for you in many ways. Studies have shown that people who masturbate more have better heart health and live longer lives that is nothing to sneeze at. However the chemical reaction produced during sex for me is much stronger than when I masturbate. So, if you are in a situation where you can have regular sex when someone you like do it.

Most of the time when I feel my partner and I are fighting more often, or I feel myself sinking into some form of depression, if I think back I will find that it's been a while since the last time we had sex. If I suck up my pride or hurt feelings and we have sex I am better able to communicate to him the real problem if there is one. I like to think of myself as a pretty logical person and I am able to think through my problems, real or emotionally aggravated ones, and find solutions. Most of the time, sex isn't the answer to my problem but it does calm me to the point where I am able to look for the answers I need. Any time we are able to tie up loose ends we feel better, and this is precisely what sex helps me do. Aside from the purely chemical/physical reactions of our bodies during and after sex, that are amazing in their own right, a clear mind is a marvelous thing to have. I wish you all great sex and even better mental health.

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