Psychological Health

Difficulties with our psychological health can have an impact on our physical and sexual health e.g. stress, anxiety and depression.  In addition, medications prescribed for these difficulties may cause or exacerbate sexual problems e.g. anti-depressants.

Please always discuss any medication concerns with your GP.

Different life stages and transitions may also impact on our physical and psychological health and lead to sexual difficulties e.g. moving home, divorce, bereavement, finishing education and applying for jobs, marriage and redundancy.

You may also experience difficulty with sexual function and sexual wellbeing due to neurodiversity e.g. autism or ADHD, or conditions like OCD, EUPD.

It may be helpful for you to consider if your sexual difficulty is directly due to a psychological difficulty. If so, it may be helpful, in the first instance, to discuss options for managing this with your GP. Medication review, psychiatry review or further assessment and input may help you to manage the psychological factors which have indirectly  caused sexual difficulties.

Please see these links to app based support for a variety of difficulties including insomnia, anxiety. and chronic health conditions.

You may find benefit from looking at the psychological services which are available in Lothian: www.ithriveedinburgh.org.uk

https://www.healthallround.org.uk

https://services.nhslothian.scot/elpts

https://services.nhslothian.scot/mpts

https://services.nhslothian.scot/artspsychotherapies

https://services.nhslothian.scot/wellbeinglothian/resources

LIFE! And how to survive it:

It can be beneficial to consider your psychological health and if there are steps you could take to manage this e.g. manage stress and anxiety, improve sleep routines, get exercise, eat well, have a daily routine, reduce social media use, socialise or volunteer.

Anxiety and stress including performance anxiety have an impact on our physical, emotional and sexual health and wellbeing. Taking steps in this area could have a positive impact on your sexual difficulty. You can discuss these factors, and their impact, with your psychosexual therapist.

Trauma

If you have experienced trauma this may be impacting on you physically, emotionally, sexually and psychologically. This is an understandable response.

Trauma is a common part of our work within Psychosexual Therapy. However, it is not the only reason someone may present with a sexual difficulty.

Trauma may be sex related e.g. sexual assault, rape, childhood sexual abuse and/or gender-based violence but may not e.g. being a military veteran, being involved in a road traffic accident or experiencing harassment at work.

NHS Inform – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

If you have experienced a sexual assault support is available for you here.

If you are experiencing difficulty with every day life because of your trauma including difficulty functioning, sleeping and flashbacks to your trauma please speak with your GP. It is important that you receive psychological trauma processing input prior to starting Psychosexual Therapy as this may prevent you engaging with therapy.