FSIAD Help or Recommendations for Intimate Support

[MindBodySoul]

Hi All, Thank you for this online forum that makes an impact on countless people's lives who need support. I haven't come across my issue on here yet, and if anyone is aware of a specific online community that can help with this (and is anonymous), please let me know. Suggestions would be awesome! I am in a loving, committed relationship but I have experienced sexual issues for a long time. I am so frustrated and occasionally feel hopeless about it, as I don't feel any pleasure whatsoever during any sexual act. I think I might have FSIAD or sexual arousal disorder, heavily due to my anxiety. I have spoken to sex therapists in the past and have tried many things, but I seriously just don't feel any sensations or even enjoy it. Sometimes it makes me very emotional as I don't feel like a 'woman' or able to fully embrace my sexuality and the joy of connecting with my beloved. He is deeply understanding and supportive through all of it, but It's still so annoying and upsetting, and I was wondering if anyone else experiences this, and/or can recommend anything in particular, or a therapy/forum I can get further support from? Thank you.

[smallwolf]

Hello and welcome to the forums...

Sadly I don't have any suggestions of other forums to discuss this. This does not mean you cannot discuss the issue here. As cliche as this might sound, I would think there are other people in the space who might have gone through similar experiences and didn't think to write anything? I tried searching google and facebook and could not find anything 😞

I hope this link does not get blocked, but you could

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/female-arousal-disorder#treatment

for some information that might be useful to you.

It is good to hear your partner is very supportive. Still, I imagine this would be very distressing for you.

While I am speaking as a male here, there is a sense of shame when chatting with my psychiatrist about sexual dysfunction so suspect it is not something that is the really spoken about. If you want to chat more .... and I hope that you find a way of moving forward.

[Sophie_M]

Hi Mindbodysoul, 

Thank you for your post and welcome to the forums. We can hear that you are going through a lot right now and we think that reeaching out for support is a wonderful step towards feeling better. It takes courage to shar our stories, you never know who you may have helped by sharing yours. 

Relationships Australia are experts in supporting people who aer having difficulties with intimacy no matter the reason. While your experience and situation is unique, these are common concerns that can be supported. They have a different number depending on where you are calling for so we recommend checking out the link and going from there. 

If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, including when you are feeling heightened by your emotions, you can always call us on 1300 22 4636. Our team are there to help you feel better in the moment as well as find community supports if that it what you want. 

Thank you again for posting here today, we hope there is something useful for you in this community. We hope that you can have a look around and jump into any other conversations that feel right for you. 

Kind regards, 
Sophie M