Ioana’s Reviews > Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire > Status Update

Exposure to trauma can profoundly rupture an individual's sense of safety, sense of control in their world, and ability to trust and feel connected to others, features considered fundamental to healthy sexual functioning.

FOR MANY WOMEN, managing stress is key to improving their sexual desire. Myriad studies have shown the strong link between chronic stress and sexual dysfunction in women, and stress can interfere with both emotional functioning and also thought patterns to decrease a woman's motivation for sex.

[Masters and Johnson] coined the term “spectatoring,” in which a person watches themself vigilantly during sex and judges their own as well as their partner’s performance instead of immersing themselves in the encounter. Spectatoring is associated with anxiety, negative judgement, and worries about a partner’s thoughts and behaviours.