Trying to Love

"At heart, sex is an attempt to transcend our aloneness."

"Sex is a devotedly pleasurable experience for attempting to satisfy our core need for connection. But we don't necessarily transcend our aloneness with sex. Indeed, we can feel even more isolated afterwards. We strive to transcend. That's really all we can do. And in this striving, we move forward in our relationships-opening ourselves up to achieving the experience of connection."

"A comprehensive 2021 review of the literature on social connectedness concluded that social relationships not only increase the quality of our lives, they improve our physical health and extend our lifespan. Supportive interactions redu"

"Fulfillment means balancing our core needs for autonomy and for connection. We can love without being in good physical health, but we cannot be in good physical health without love. Loneliness is a risk factor, as salient as smoking or alcoholism."

Affectionate relationships improve quality of life, physical health, and lifespan. Fulfillment comes from balancing autonomy and connection. Love is necessary for good physical health, even though love can exist without good physical health. Loneliness functions as a major risk factor comparable to smoking or alcoholism. Sex is strongly pleasurable and often initiates romantic love, but its core appeal is connectedness rather than physical pleasure alone. Sex can be an attempt to transcend aloneness, and even when it does not fully achieve connection, the striving can open relationships and support progress toward connectedness.

Read at Psychology Today