The multi-billion-dollar industry with the little blue drug to treat the erectile disorder, viagra, is booming. However, a similar wonder drug has not been introduced for women’s sexual problems. The lack of medicine is not, however, an indication that women do not suffer from sexual problems… There are, indeed, many women struggling from a lack of desire and arousal. Mindfulness has been proposed as a solution to these issues, and that will be the focus of this article.
This article will focus on:
- Female Sexual Interest Disorder
- Mindfulness in sex
- Additional evidence
Research shows that as much as one-third of women across reproductive ages experience low sexual desire or lack of arousal [1]. Female sexual interest/arousal disorder (FSID) is defined as “absence or reduced frequency or intensity of sexual interest or arousal for a minimum duration of approximately 6 months” [2].
As an easy-fix pharmacological medicine for female sexual interest disorder is missing, psychological and behavioural alternatives have been researched to aid with sexual problems [1]. For example, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been used in treating sexual issues. A rather recent addition to the CBT technique is mindfulness. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S) has now been increasingly proposed as a solution to issues of arousal and desire for women. Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist tradition and it’s all about cultivating non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, including awareness of one’s own bodily sensations [1].
The idea of mindfulness is not entirely new in sex therapy. Masters and Johnson, sex researchers and therapists, were exploring practically the same idea in the 1970s [1]. They postulated that sexual interest disorder would be caused by anxiety and spectatoring (being distracted from the moment because of looking the situation from the outside, as a spectator). As a solution for these issues, they suggested sensate focus exercises in which they prescribed conscious and non-goal oriented touching exercises for the couples. This was meant to remove the pressure to orgasm, and instead allow the people to focus on the sensations in the body [1]. This idea has since been developed into a therapy model. Nowadays, mindfulness in treating female sexual interest disorder has been researched a fair bit, so let’s have a look at what kind of results have been found.
Mindfulness In Sex
If the issues in desire and arousal would be caused by anxiety and not being present, as suggested by Masters and Johnson, then cultivating mindfulness could help. An overall description of the benefits of mindfulness in relation to FSID are following:
“The plausible mechanisms of higher trait mindfulness correlating with lower odds of FSID in our study are likely similar to those proposed in other studies of mindfulness. These mechanisms include taking control of one’s attention and redirecting it at will, as well as having a nonjudgmental stance, which increases curiosity, openness, and acceptance and decreases negativity and rumination” [2].
So the practice of mindfulness is seen to increase the ability to control one’s attention and have a more non-judgemental and positive outlook. It is also explained that in relation to FSID, mindfulness is likely to affect women’s self-criticism and negative inner dialogue, by providing a more present-centered and process-focused mindset. This in turn creates more presence, and the presence creates more desire and arousal because one is able to focus on the sensations in the body instead of negative voices in one’s head! [2]
Diana Richardson, an author of several books about tantric sex, explains in her TedTalk that “sex as we know it is very much influenced by the mind” [6]. She recaps that oftentimes sex has become a climax and goal-oriented and this brings about stress and tension [6]. She introduces another kind of sex, ‘a mindful sex’, where awareness is key: “using the mind yes, but using it to direct the attention to be centred and aware in the body” [6]. She is talking about the same thing as many scientists, who have been researching to aid with FSID.
Additional evidence
In 2017 Paterson et al. created a study to research the effects of mindfulness in treating female sexual interest disorder. The program consisted of eight mindfulness sessions for women who had been diagnosed with sexual interest/arousal disorder. 26 women participated in eight weekly mindfulness classes and did at home mindfulness exercises. The results of the study were very positive; women reported increased sexual desire, sexual function and less sex-related distress, in comparison to their starting level. Moreover, depression decreased and mindfulness increased, thus mediating the improved sexual functioning [3].
Furthermore, Paterson et al. recognized that sexual difficulties may be, at least partly, due to cognitive distraction during a sexual act. This distraction can be caused by depression or anxiety, which can distract women from the sexual responses in their bodies, resulting in a lack of desire. Mindfulness comes in here, through creating more awareness of the bodily sensations and integrating the bodily experience with the psychological experience [3].
Similar, positive results have been discovered in a myriad of studies [4, 2, 5].
Some challenges and research gaps are found in these studies as well. For example, many of the mindfulness programs have also included sex education and sex-related exercises into their mindfulness programs. It can, therefore, sometimes be difficult to separate the pure effects of mindfulness on FSID, as there are also other factors present. Additionally, things like group-MCBT and online-MCBT deserve more research attention, as these strategies could really help to scale up the benefits of mindfulness treatment for FSID.
To conclude…
Mindfulness has quite a real potential to help women to have a more satisfying sex life. Therefore, mindfulness should definitely be kept in mind, when aiming to treat FSID and/or enhance sexual satisfaction.
And.. for the readers of Shrink it Out out there: keep it in mind for you own sex life!
References:
- Brotto, L. A., & Basson, R. (2014). Group mindfulness-based therapy significantly improves sexual desire in women. Behaviour research and therapy, 57, 43-54.
- Sood, R., Kuhle, C. L., Thielen, J. M., Kapoor, E., Vencill, J. A., Mara, K. C., & Faubion, S. S. (2022). Association of mindfulness with female sexual dysfunction. Maturitas, 161, 27-32
- Paterson, L. Q., Handy, A. B., & Brotto, L. A. (2017). A pilot study of eight-session mindfulness-based cognitive therapy adapted for women’s sexual interest/arousal disorder. The Journal of Sex Research, 54(7), 850-861.
- Mize, S. J. (2015). A review of mindfulness-based sex therapy interventions for sexual desire and arousal difficulties: From research to practice. Current Sexual Health Reports, 7(2), 89-97.
- Jaderek, I., & Lew-Starowicz, M. (2019). A systematic review on mindfulness meditation–based interventions for sexual dysfunctions. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 16(10), 1581-1596.
- Richardson, D. (2019). The Power of Mindful Sex. Retrieved 27 April 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqyW35EMLuM&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
Additional resources:
TedTalk about mindful sex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqyW35EMLuM&ab_channel=TEDxTalks
Guardian article about mindful sex:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/aug/28/mindful-sex-could-it-put-an-end-to-unhappiness-in-bed