Menopause and sex

MENOPAUSE is the most controversial and difficult moment in every woman’s life.

While it’s true that the decline of sexual desire is stronger and more frequently confessed in this period, on the other hand we can’t underestimate the great number of women of all ages and backgrounds which come to us doctors complaining about other issues related to their sexual sphere. Problems that often start before menopause. Anyway, let’s focus on this complex period of approximately 10 years, linked to the end of a woman’s fertile life. Menopause is not an objective process that goes exactly in the same way for everyone; it should, instead, be studied case by case. Women don’t react all in the same way: some of them almost don’t notice it, while some other ones start to perceive symptoms with many months or even years in advance.

The ones to blame for this are always the HORMONES which are capable of affecting the psyche, the psycho-physical wellness and the sexual desire itself.

Many women complain about their loss of SEXUAL DESIRE, which means less excitement and lack of orgasm; in short: a globally poor quality of their sexual life. It’s true that the reduction of female hormones is the main cause for all this process, but we can’t underestimate the problem by limiting it to some biochemical and physiological aspects. There’s another important phenomenon in this phase of a woman’s life: the fear of ageing, the awareness of being unable to procreate anymore, the mostly wrong idea of having lost any seductive power. It’s more than a matter of hormones: we have to face the PSYCHOLOGICAL aspect of the process, too. That’s the reason why, even if the endocrine glands have their importance, we should give more attention to the mental approach each woman adopts to face the time before and during the climacteric, especially considering that life expectations after menopause are much longer than in the past.

In general, the female sexual disorders (FSD) are as widespread as often underestimated first of all by women, unlike the male sexual disorders which are much more studied. We know, as we already said, that their causes are both physical and psychological and often intertwined. There are still many disputes and TABOOS on this subject, because of the complex interplay between biological, psychological and social factors plus the sexual education, that is still practically absent in many cases.

The most discussed, widespread and heard disorder among women is the lack of SEXUAL EXCITEMENT.

We know for sure that the female hormonal cycle influences their personality and sexuality and it’s established that hormones deeply affect sexual desire. However, they have no significant influence on the excitement and pursuit of pleasure, since these phases are more linked to the psychic sphere.