Strawberry Wonder Kiss» dialogue

Sexual Side Effects – Drugs that Effect Your Libido

SWK — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:00:55 +0000

Every day life can have an effect on your libido. Too much stress, too much to do, and not enough time to get everything done can leave you little time for sexual intimacy. What about your medications? Did you know that some medications can actually have a negative effect on your libido? Many people who suffer from a loss of sexual desire have found it’s actually a side effect from their medications.

Medications work in different ways and effect people differently. Some medications cause negative side effects like depression, lethargy, and drowsiness which in turn cause a lowered libido. If you are feeling tired or sleepy, you aren’t going to want to try and have sex; mostly because you might fall asleep. Other drugs may actually affect the chemicals of the brain and directly lower your sex drive. Either way, talk to your doctor about the side effects of certain prescription drugs and possible alternatives.

The biggest libido killers are antidepressants. The link between serotonin and libido seems to be much greater than expected by doctors. Antidepressants limit the amount of serotonin being released into the brain, which affects the desire to have sex. If you need to take antidepressants, talk to your doctor about possible side effects. If you are on antidepressants and have a lowered libido, talk to your doctor and you may be able to find something with less side effects.

Surprisingly, oral contraceptive can cause a lowered libido. Pills that have large amounts of progestin in them cause a hormonal shift in the body, dropping libido levels. This comes mostly from birth control pills. If you find your pills are causing you to lack any sexual desire, talk to your doctor about switching to some other form of contraception like the patch or a shot.

Any medications which are sedatives or tranquilizers like Valium and Xanax will reduce the sex drive. These medications directly affect the central nervous system causing total relaxation of the muscles. The entire body is normally affected by these drugs, including libido.

There are also a number of over-the-counter medications that can cause problems with libido. Cold, cough, and allergy pills often cause drowsiness, which makes sex a thing of the past. These medications can also decrease the production of lubrication, making sex uncomfortable. Often times, people will blame themselves for the lack of lubrication and not the medication. This leads to feeling nervous and self-conscious when things begin to turn toward sex and being self-conscious and nervous leads to a lowered libido.

Other over the counter medications like Tagamet or other acid reducers have been known to cause impotency in men. Some anti-inflammatory drugs may also cause impotency as well as lack of lubrication.

Many people often take more than one medication at a time, which can lead to even more problems with libido. Start developing an open dialogue with your doctor. The more comfortable you are now the easier it will be to talk to him or her when problems with libido and medications arise. If you find problems with your sex drive or your libido being lower, take a look at the medications you are taking; they may be the biggest cause of your issues.

Reach Out and Touch

SWK — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:19:53 +0000

We’ve all heard the saying “silence speaks a thousand words.” This is because communication is 20 percent verbal and 80 percent non-verbal. Non-verbal cues give people an idea of what you really mean or how you really feel. Telling your partner you love them, but with a snarky tone of voice, lets them know you are irritated or angry with them.
As time goes on in relationships, it is easy to get caught up in busy schedules and diaper changes and forget about each other. Adding some spark back into the relationship doesn’t have to cost you anything. By simply adding more touch, you can regain closeness like before. Once you get past that honeymoon stage, the stage where you can’t get enough of each other and the bed practically breaks from overuse, creating daily intimacy turns from sexual to sensual.
Adding more touch to your relationship doesn’t mean you have to hang all over each other all the time. Touch can be a simple brush of the arm or hug in the hallway; it’s a way of letting your partner know you are still attracted them. Touch can make you feel connected when things start to get crazy. Try to add in extra touches a couple times every day to get that feeling of closeness back.
Not all touches have to be sensual, but touch is one of the most craved sensations and most people don’t feel they get touched enough. We are programmed from birth to crave touch and closeness with those around us. Newborn babies need to be touched, held, and loved otherwise they start to lose weight and are prone to illness. Touch is not something to be overlooked, but so often it is.
How do you add more touching into the relationship? Start by doing little things like a kiss on the cheek or lips when passing in the hallway or during household chores. While your partner is doing the dishes, come up behind them and kiss them on the cheek or give a quick squeeze. Make it a rule to kiss each other before you leave the house and kiss again on the return. When you pass your partner in the hall or living room, gently graze their arm as you pass. Graze their neck or shoulder as you get up to leave the room. Snuggle in front of the television at night, or lay your hand on your partner’s arm. The best time to touch is while on the couch, most people end their nights in front of the tv, take turns giving quick 10 minutes neck and back rubs. Hold hands out in public or when taking walks together, snuggle in bed for a few minutes before you fall asleep and after you wake up. There are so many ways to add touching into your daily lives. Touch can be sensual, but it doesn’t have to be.
Touch is good for putting you in a good mood and strengthens your immune system. The best thing about touch, the more you give the more you will receive. Touch is more than a sensation; it makes you feel good and brings an added closeness to the relationship. Touching can be a pat on the shoulder, a hug, or quick massage. Bringing more touches into the relationship can only make it stronger.

Are You Ready For Love?

SWK — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:07:37 +0000

Relationships can be tough. They bring two individuals, and different, people together and force them to get along, without losing their individuality. Having strong mental health can prepare you for such a relationship. Having a high self-esteem will keep you from falling prey to co-dependency.
Mental health does not only mean free from mental illness, it is your overall psychological well being. Some characteristics of good mental health are: feeling content; a passion for life, laughter and fun; resilience; being flexible and adaptable; finding balance; and self-confidence and high self-esteem. You must be happy and comfortable in your own skin before you can accept others or hope they will accept you. Contentment in your own skin, in your own life, will increase self-confidence and put a glow on your face. If you can be passionate about life, you can be passionate about other things and other people. Finding a good balance between work, play, dating, love, kids, family, all the things going on in your life can be a challenge, but it will help relieve stress in your life.
Good mental health is important because it is what will get you through the tough times. Life is never perfect and we are all faced with ups and downs. Resilience is what helps us bounce back from those tough times. You face adversity head on, deal with the problems and issues, maybe scream or cry a bit, but then you pick yourself back up and move on. Adversity sometimes leads to change and nobody really likes change. Flexibility and adaptability will get you through those times of change; sometimes it is better just to roll with it.
Everyone struggles with self-confidence and self-esteem, some more than others. Self-esteem is simply defined as how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. Self-confidence is how you live out your self-esteem. If you feel good about yourself and value yourself, you are going to go out and get the things you feel you deserve. If your self-esteem is low your self-confidence is low, you will hang back and let opportunities pass you by. Many times when we are in relationships we start to depend on our partner to build our self-esteem. The truth is that self-esteem, comes from “self” not from other people’s thoughts or opinions. Although we value what other people think, we must first be confident in ourselves and learn not to rely on our partner to give us confidence.
Relaying on our partner to give us self-esteem can quickly turn into a harmful co-dependent relationship. Co-dependency has many means, but when you rely on each other for happiness, fulfillment, and self-esteem you are in a co-dependent relationship. Co-dependency causes you to lose sight of yourself and become immersed in each other. You mental health depends on the other person leading to an unhealthy relationship. Many people enter into relationships feeling like their partner will save them from their low self-esteem and distain for life. In reality, each relationship is doing more and more damage and when the relationship ends, and it most likely will, they are left with lower confidence and broken self-esteem.
It is up to each individual to take charge of their lives. Develop good mental health and a strong self-esteem before you enter into a relationship. Relationships can be hard and you must be prepared mentally. Do not rely on other people to make you happy, instead be happy with yourself and confident that what you have is great. Relationships can add to your overall well-being and help boost your self-esteem, but never rely solely on another person to do those things. Finding your own mental health will make you a stronger, happier individual who lives every day to the fullest.