"Every day you wake up, check your phone, and are assaulted by a new horror. Federal agents are disappearing people off the streets, our public health policies are being rapidly dismantled, and there's a general sense that nothing is going to get better anytime soon. So yeah, when the end of the day rolls around, you're lying in bed next to your partner,"
"While some Americans may be feeling this overwhelming sense of danger and uncertainty for the first time, marginalized communities and people of color have lived this way for many, many years. So have most women. For example, if you're a woman in the sandwich generation who is figuring out how to care for her mother while worrying about her child's newly diagnosed learning disability and what to make for dinner again, you were likely overwhelmed and turned off prior to the fall of democracy."
"Dr. Mindy DeSeta, PhD, certified sexologist and sexuality educator at Hily Dating App, has seen more couples in her office in the past two years whose intimate lives have been impacted by politics. Either they're on opposite sides of the aisle and bickering over headlines, or one or both of their sex drives has plummeted. This happens because feeling threatened (even existentially) triggers a fight-or-flight response in our brains."
Daily exposure to political turmoil, public health rollbacks, and constant alarming news elevates existential threat and chronic stress. A heightened central nervous system and persistent fight-or-flight activation reduce libido and sexual desire. Marginalized communities and many women already endure chronic stress, which intensifies sexual difficulties. Caregivers in the sandwich generation face compounded responsibilities that further lower sexual interest. Couples divided by political polarization experience conflict and reduced intimacy, and clinicians are seeing more patients whose sex drives have plummeted. The body prioritizes survival over sex when the environment feels unsafe, making decreased libido a normal stress response.
Read at Scary Mommy
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