Page 131 - Healthy (March - April 2020)

BALANCE

If you want to improve
your sex life you need to

understand your desires

Workshop

your sex

drive

ou might think sexual response happens between low level all the time. Anything happening around you right
your legs, but the action really happens between now that makes it an inappropriate time to be aroused – the
your ears. The mechanism in your brain that people you may be with, the location you’re in, the stress
Y governs sexual response has two main parts. One you may be experiencing, even how you feel about your body
part is a sexual accelerator, or Sexual Excitation System, that and your sexuality – can keep the brakes on. So the process
notices sex-related stimuli – everything you see, hear, smell, of becoming aroused is the dual process of turning on all the
touch, taste, think, feel, or believe – and sends the ‘turn-on’ ons, and turning of all the ofs.
signal. It’s functioning at a low level all the time. Even now, When a person struggles with sexual arousal, desire,
as you read this, a little bit of ‘turn-on’ signal is being sent. or orgasm, the diiculty might be too little stimulation to
The other part is the sexual brakes, or Sexual Inhibition the accelerator, or it might be too much stimulation to the
System, which notices all the good reasons not to be turned brake – and it’s usually too much stimulation to the brake.
on right now – everything your brain interprets as a threat – To maximize your sexual wellbeing, you need to notice
and sends the ‘turn-of’ signal. The brakes, too, function at a what activates the accelerator and what hits the brakes,

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