Podcast: How mental health can impact your sex life

Dive into the vital link between mental health and sexual wellness with relationship expert Keletso Mabunele. Learn how conditions like anxiety and depression can affect libido and self-esteem, shaping our sexual experiences

Just as our emotions and thoughts influence our mental health, they also play a significant role in our sexual experiences.

In this episode, relationship and sexual educator Keletso Mabunele delves into this crucial connection, exploring how mental health conditions can impact sexual wellness.

“The mind and the body shouldn’t be thought of as two separate entities but rather as a connected system where the mind influences the body and vice versa,” explains Mabunele.

“So when it comes to sexual health specifically, mental health issues have a way of affecting a person’s interest, their libido, their self-esteem, and even things like performance anxiety, which all stem from issues such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”

Putting pressure on yourself to perform

She says changes in sexual well-being due to mental health issues can worsen the mental health condition itself to a certain degree.

“What often happens is that because they are aware of their lack of interest in engaging in sex, that puts more pressure on them to perform for the sake of performing.

“So that can definitely exacerbate the current mental issues because if they’re performing for the sake of performing and they are aware of the issues that they have, then they feel as if they’re defective, which then worsens the symptoms of their mental health issues.”

To manage these symptoms or mental health issues relating to sexual wellness without the help of a mental health professional, Mabunele suggests exercise, prioritising sleep, managing stress, meditation, and prioritising pleasure.