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The Psychology of Everyday Life:Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage

Sexuality

How does anxiety interfere with sexual functioning?

There is clear indication that anxiety about sexual performance or experience can have an immediate and profound effect on sexual functioning. Many studies show that a woman’s sexual excitement and pleasure is tied to feelings of relaxation. Fear of vaginal dryness, pain, or lack of response can immediately dampen a woman’s sexual arousal. Likewise in men, fear of erectile dysfunction can create a vicious circle, in which anxiety about impotence can cause men to lose their erection, which in turn reinforces their anxiety.



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