The pandemic has meant important changes in our lives, and also in sexuality these changes have been notorious. In March, at the beginning of the confinement, this feeling of tiredness still did not exist, but now, almost a year after the declaration of the state of alarm, tiredness influences our mood. Fatigue, apathy, disconnection -- these are some of the emotions that are becoming more and more frequent in consultations with psychologists and therapists. The new cuts in mobility and eviction orders affect life, especially relations.

In the article dedicated to the changes suffered by female sexuality, El Salto spoke to the psychologist and sexologist Ana Lombardia. “Today, there is a social exhaustion, because the restrictions are increasing and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Fatigue is general, apathy and people are desperate, unwilling, not enjoying things...”, says Lombardia.Es undeniable that the pandemic has influenced our mood and sexual life has been left out of the lives of many people, at least in the first months of the pandemic.

Another main reason to consult psychologists and sexologists is the lack of sexual desire. Women have suffered the most from this situation, for the better and for the worse: a third have diminished their sexual desires and a third, more or less, have had more sexual desires since the beginning of the pandemic.

Stress, anxiety or fear are the main enemies of sexual desire

One of the most common reasons to go to the consultations is the difficulty of accessing orgasm. According to Valérie Tasso, the writer and sexologist, stress, uncertainty, anxiety and the feeling of loneliness negatively influence the desire of women. “The difficulties that most of the women without a partner tell me start to suffer from the ‘secondary abnormality’, that is, they do not always achieve orgasm in masturbation. And a lot happens to women who had no problem reaching orgasm before the pandemic,” says Tasso.

Anxiety and uncertainty are others responsible for the problem. More and more women use anti-depression and anti-anxiety medications, which do not prevent orgasm, but which “delay” the sexual response of women. Many women need more time to reach orgasm, and that “extra” time despairs them. Valérie Tasso explains that desire is like our body: to be healthy and fit you have to work. Otherwise, he would fall asleep. It doesn’t go away, but it stays “asleep” and the longer you spend without working, the more “useless” it becomes.

Sexual pleasure is healthy

Desire is something we can work on. If we work on desire, we will be able to live the current situation better. Valérie Tasso explains that desire is a fundamental part of our well-being. Search for spaces of intimacy, explore new forms of pleasure, masturbation, use of toys, communication through networks, treat and treat with sweetness, experiment and research sexually within our possibilities… All of this contributes to our physical and mental health, and more if you live alone. “Sexual pleasure is an ally of our health.”