Yes, estrogen is one of the main female sex hormones. Yes, it balances with progesterone – the other main female sex hormone. And yes, we do have more than just the two.
But what does it actually do for your Sexual Wellness?
SO many things!
Estrogen is responsible for the development and maintenance of the reproductive system plus the typical female characteristics (hint: why you develop breasts during puberty). But beyond ensuring you ovulate each month, it does so much more.
Have too much? This can leave you with acne, bad PMS symptoms like swollen and tender breasts, weight gain, depression or anxiety, moodiness and a lost sex drive.
Have too little? You then may be experiencing hot flashes, sleeping problems, thinning of the vaginal wall causing vaginal dryness, moodiness and a lost sex drive. (And this may sound like your typical menopause picture.)
The takeaway: High AND low estrogen can impact your sexual desire and your mood but each in a different way.
If you want to learn more about how estrogen could be affecting your body, make an appointment to see how we can work together to regulate your levels.
Tag: sex
A Peak into Female Sexual Function
This is not as routine as getting a blood test. And it’s definitely not something that happens at your regular check-up. It’s not something that is the same for everyone. It IS dependent on what each person WANTS and FEELS. This can be vastly different.
So how do we measure it?
Sexual function is a tricky thing. There are so many different factors that contribute to it. It is not black and white or about engaging (or not engaging) in sexual activity solely. There is a Physical, Mental, Emotional, Sensual and Relationship aspect to it. Then we consider your overall health too; like your hormonal balance, your stress response, how you’re sleeping and what your energy looks like throughout the day.
Let’s look at the breakdown:
- Sexual Desire
- Sexual Satisfaction
- Emotional Relationship with Sex
- Emotional Relationship with your Body
- Relationship Satisfaction (with a partner or yourself)
- Overall Health
Have you been thinking about your Sexual Wellness? Are you looking for something more or someone to discuss it with? Book an appointment to see how I can help get you to living your most satisfied life!
Build Body Confidence
Are you happy in your body right now? No changes, no when x happens, but right now?
Starting a new year we tend to put extra pressure on ourselves to meet goals, achieve conventional standards and we can be our own worst critics. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with wanting to live a healthier life (in fact I’m all for it) but it is a problem if you set your expectations to be happy when those results are achieved.
No one is perfect.
And if you think they are, there are lots of things you just don’t see. To be happy now with your situation should be the goal or at a minimum having compassion for yourself where you currently are as we all go through ebbs and flows. After that, you can work towards those health goals.
This has a huge effect on your self-esteem.
And on your confidence too and that can impact your libido. When we feel good, we are more likely to want to share ourselves with our partner. When we don’t, we tend to hide and push them away.
If this is something you’re struggling with and finally want to break free off this year, book an appointment and we can discuss all the ways to get you feeling your best!
The Keys to Great Sex
What makes for magnificent sex?
Hint. It’s not what you were made to believe. The research has been done, the results are in and it does not involve any crazy positions (although those can be good too).
So what makes it great?
Communication. Yes, the most obvious one but still the one that is so often missed. You have to tell your partner what you like. I promise they don’t know if you don’t say it. And you might not know what that is right away, that’s okay too. That’s why a focus on pleasure, not performance is SO key. You can find this out together. You just have to trust each other enough to be open to trying those new things.
What are the other keys?
Anticipation – think about those butterflies you get when you still don’t know what’s going to happen. Affection – intimacy OUTSIDE of your sexual relationship is key to creating intimacy inside your sexual relationship. A non-genital focus – only 30% of women orgasm from penetration, if this is all you are focusing on you will be missing out.
Want to learn more? Magnificent Sex: Lessons from Extraordinary Lovers written by two amazing female doctrates Peggy Kleinplatz and Dana Ménard explores the latest research in the sexual health field to help us all achieve this.
Your Vulva 101
This is what encompasses the (external) female sex organs and what they are ACTUALLY called.
I will admit this. I didn’t know this for way to long. I thought it was your vagina (or your vajay jay, as I sometimes called it). How is this possible?!
We aren’t taught proper terminology. We need to know proper terminology if we want to be empowered in our sexuality and our health.
So let’s discuss the basics:
Your Vulva includes everything on the outside. The vagina is the vaginal canal where a baby would exit your body or where a penis (or finger, or toy, or tampon) would enter.
This misses some of the most important parts!
When we discuss sex and pleasure, most women (and men) think and consider sex to be penetrative intercourse. This is just not the case. And I don’t blame you. We aren’t taught about the clitoris properly and we don’t discuss our anatomy in a way that makes it important. We don’t include it.
The clitoris IS important!
It is the pea shaped mound under your clitoral hood (that offers protection) and is designed for female pleasure. But it is so much more than its external part. It is actually wish-boned shaped and has two legs that extend around the vaginal canal allowing you to feel good during penetration.
The other parts of the Vulva are your labias (majora amd minora), mons pubis, the urethra (where you pee) and your glands (Bartholin and Skene)
ALL of these parts make up the VULVA and all are included in the female sex organs.
Sexual Education is ALWAYS important. Let’s do it right.
Have you Heard About This?
This does happen. You’re not alone.
So what actually is it?
Simply put, you don’t or can’t have an orgasm when you want to. You’ve done all the right things, you’re sufficiently turned on and yet you can’t quite get there. Then you get upset (rightfully so) and you become sexually dissatisfied and frustrated. I don’t blame you. This happens to all women at some point or another. It becomes a problem when this becomes a pattern. The less we enjoy something, the less we want to participate in it. The less we get the results we want, the less likely we are to try again.
What causes it?
A few different things. The medications you’re on, a decrease in sensation to the clitoral tissue, any number of hormonal imbalances, relationship breakdown, and psychological reasons like anxiety or past traumas.
Can I get my orgasm back?
YES! Just because this is the way you are feeling right now does not mean this is the way you always have to feel. The ability (and right) to have an orgasm is a reflection of our overall health. This is what are bodies are capable to do when all our other needs are met, we seek out PLEASURE.
Working with me I will tease out what is blocking your ability to fully achieve your O because that’s what every woman wants right?
PMID: 26439762
A Need to Know:
Your libido fluctuates. This is NORMAL.
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What’s not normal is when it stays that way for a long time. You are missing out on such a big part of being human; we all DESERVE PLEASURE in our life. Right now, the majority of us are under an increased level of stress and this could be killing your sex drive, but there are other underlying issues that could be having an effect. Let’s learn the causes:
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The Obvious Ones (the ones we normally think of)
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Hormonal Imbalance
Vulvodynia (Painful Sex)
Stress
Relationship Breakdown
Lack of Sleep
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The Less Obvious Ones (these are just as important)
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Endometriosis
Poor Body Image
Past Sexual Trauma
Low Self-Esteem
Vaginismus (Involuntary Vaginal Contractions)
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There are SO many reasons you may not be feeling yourself right now. That is okay. I am here to make sure that you get back on track solo, or with your partner, because we all need that. When patients come back to see me and tell me how much better they are feeling, it lights me up. Let me do that for you, book an appointment today!
There’s More Than One Reason for Pelvic Pain
How do these relate?
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The official definition of pain is “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage.”
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Did you catch that?
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Pain has an emotional connection. Does this mean that your pain is all in your head? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But pain does not always provide accurate information on the health of your tissues. If your pain has been persistent for over 3 months, your central nervous system (CNS) may be playing a big part in your pain response.
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The CNS and the sensation of pain
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This weekend I’ve been taking my Pelvic Floor Therapist Level 3 course to learn more about all the different types of pelvic pain, including pain with sex, to help my patients. We’ve spent a lot of time discussing the role of the central nervous system and how pain lives in the body. One of the main takeaways of this was the role of central sensitization which is the amplification of your nerve signals within your CNS which is causing your hypersensitivity to pain. In basic terms, your nerves are firing when they shouldn’t be or sending more signals than they should.
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If you’re living with chronic pelvic pain, please know you don’t have to! There are so many things you can do to fix this. Set up an appointment with me so we can get to the root of your pain and get you back to enjoying your life the way you want to!
Let’s Improve your Sleep & your Relationship
This has two benefits.
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Let’s start with sleep
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Researchers looked at stopping the use of your smartphone just 30 minutes before falling asleep. The results? After only four weeks sleep latency was reduced (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep), the amount of time you were actually asleep increased, your sleep quality improved (meaning you were able to achieve those coveted deep sleep waves). They found a reduction in your pre-sleep arousal (or an improvement in your relaxation), and as an added bonus, the NEXT day participants had improved mood (this is definitely me) and working memory. Is there a downside to this? I can’t think of one.
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How blue light affects your body
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Your body needs to produce melatonin (a hormone that helps regulate your circadian rhythm) to let you know it’s time to sleep. This is done through your eyes exposure, or lack thereof to light. It has been shown that light lowers the production of melatonin and that blue light (from smartphones) is extra powerful at doing this, making it even harder for you to fall asleep.
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And now for the effect on your relationship
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This is the easy one, I bet you can guess it. You get that extra little bit of quality time together. You can nurture your connection, check in at the end of a long day, and snag a snuggle increasing your oxytocin secretion (creating those feelings of love).
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If you are struggling with your sleep, I can help! There are many ways (other than just this) to help you fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. You can wake up feeling refreshed, let me get you there.
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DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228756
Add Sex to your Wellness Routine
Let’s say that again. And now let’s think about it.
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What does optimization mean?
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It’s realizing your best life. It’s ensuring you are experiencing pleasure more times than you’re missing out. It’s learning how to make your body work for you. It’s improving your relationship with your body, yourself and your overall health. It’s realizing there are many ways to experience pleasure, it’s making love not porn.
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When we usually seek help
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When something is WRONG. Not when something is not quite right. If we can live with it, we leave it. It doesn’t have to be this way. You know your body better than anybody else. You know when it’s off. So why not address it? It doesn’t have to be a major problem for it to be a MAJOR problem for you.
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What might be wrong?
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Multiple things. Your libido is low. You’re in a love-hate relationship with your body. You experience pain with sex (vulvodynia). You’ve never achieved an orgasm (anorgasmia). You have vaginal dryness. Your period causes you pain and discomfort every month so miss that week. That pesky UTI keeps coming back (or that yeast infection). Your body is not working for YOU period.
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I work with women to help put a pin on what is missing; what is not quite right and then we work together to develop a plan to fix it. Life’s to short to not fully experience pleasure, am I right?
Don’t Forget to Look at your Partner
The cliché about staring into a lover’s eyes? It’s backed by science.
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What the science says
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Eye contact is a cornerstone of non-verbal communication between individuals. (The others are tone, pitch, speed of speech and body language) Did you know that? Eye contact is a key element that connects people when they’re communicating, and it shows their level of intimacy with each other. This is why you feel uncomfortable holding a prolonged gaze with a stranger but are okay to do it with someone you trust.
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Eye contact in your relationship
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Eye contact tells us if our SO is listening and responding to us; it lets us know when we have their full attention, it allows us to see their emotions including when they’re concerned, happy, having fun and feeling love.
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It IMPROVES your communication
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When we look at why a lot of relationships end, it can come down to a breakdown in communication. In the age of screens, it’s becoming harder and harder to get that full attention we crave. When you’re trying to relate something important and their full attention isn’t given in the form of eye contact, people reported having their feelings hurt. If what they are trying to convey isn’t given the attention they feel it deserves, they can withdraw a little bit from that relationship.
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What to do about it?
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The good news here is that making time to give your partner your undivided attention in the way of eye contact can actually work to repair your relationship. It tells them I’m paying attention to you, I see you, you are what I am focusing on. It lets them know you’re interested in what they have to say. It’s that simple.
How Sex Can Lead to a UTI
If you are an adult woman, there’s a 50-60% chance you have had or will get a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) in your lifetime. If you’re sexually active, that increases your chances, it being the major risk factor for younger women. That’s one out of every two of us.
The question is why does this happen?
Let’s look at the science, the female urethra is much shorter than its male counterpart making it a. lot more susceptible to bacteria entering and colonizing where it shouldn’t. The majority of UTI’s are caused by the E. coli bacteria that are naturally present in the digestive tract.
During sexual activity, bacteria from your partner’s genitals, anus, fingers or sex toys can get pushed into your urethra allowing the bacteria to make a home and causing you discomfort.
What do I do about it?
Good news is that you can greatly reduce the risk. Steps to take to avoid getting a UTI are peeing directly after sexual activity to flush out your urinary tract, always wiping front to back to avoid pushing the bad bacteria into your urethra, cleaning your sex toys after each use, having your partner wash their hands before engaging in your fun and sleeping in breathable clothes (if you wear any at all) to maintain air circulation and avoid a moist area.
If you are experiencing recurrent UTI’s it’s a good idea to seek treatment from a Naturopathic Doctor to find the underlying cause of your problem. I would be happy to help!
DOI: 10.1177/1756287219832172