I used to be eager for sex, easily aroused. My desire dipped after menopause and now barely exists. I can go weeks or more without desiring sex or thinking much about it. The funny thing is, if I get started, I like it, but it's so hard to get in the mood.
The number one sex problem that I hear from women is the lack of desire for sex. They do still enjoy sex once they get started, they tell me, but they're seldom in the mood ahead of time. It isn't just a problem for women -- many men also report decreased desire -- but for women, it's the primary complaint. The problem is that if we wait for the mood and don't make sexual pleasure a priority, we'll rarely have sex.
There are lots of reasons that you may be feeling decreased desire, but let's cut to a solution that works first, and figure out the reasons afterward:
Instead of waiting for the mood, start getting yourself sexually aroused -- on your own, with a partner, or with a vibrator. Just do it. The physiological arousal will trigger the emotional desire.
That's the opposite of the way it used to work! When we were younger, our hormone-induced sex drive bombarded our brain and body with desire -- especially during our most fertile times. This was simple biology. A glance, a thought, a murmur, a fantasy, or a touch sparked the mood. Once in the mood, we opened ourselves to the pleasures of physiological arousal. We got turned on, our arousal built, and we crashed joyously into orgasm.
But now, this all works the other way around. Instead of waiting forever for the mood to strike, we can induce the mood by letting ourselves get physiologically aroused as the first step. Arousal will lead to mood and desire, instead of vice versa. Here are your new mantras:
Desire follows action.
Use it, don't lose it.
Just do it.
"You may have just saved my marriage," a woman told me after I gave this suggestion at a presentation. Try it -- you may feel the same!
What to Do Instead of Waiting to Be in the Mood
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to approach our sexuality in this new way: Relax, start getting physically aroused, emotional arousal will happen, and voila, we'll be in the mood. So the key is to commit to regular sexual pleasure, partnered or solo. How does this translate to real life? Here are some tips:
- Schedule sex dates with your partner and/or with yourself at least weekly, more is even better.
- Exercise before sex for faster arousal and easier orgasms.
- Create rituals with your partner that signal sex would be welcome.
- Allow plenty of arousal time -- no rushing, no goals except pleasure.
- Make sexual arousal and orgasm a habit, whether you're partnered or on your own.
Make sexual pleasure a habit. Give yourself sexual pleasure frequently, and you'll find that you'll become aroused more easily and enjoy sex more!
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Ageless sexuality advocate Joan Price is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Sex After 50: How to Maintain - or Regain! - a Spicy, Satisfying Sex Life, Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex, and Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty. Naked at Our Age won Outstanding Self-Help Book 2012 from the American Society of Journalists and Authors and Best Book 2012 from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, and the audiobook was nominated for an Audie. Joan edited the new steamy senior sex anthology, Ageless Erotica. Visit her zesty, award-winning blog about sex and aging at http://www.NakedAtOurAge.com, where Joan reviews sex toys from a senior perspective, among other things!
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