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MIND SEX
I think that I have worked with enough people to know that working on sexual technique alone will not resolve an entrenched and disabling set of sexual beliefs that you might have about yourself and what you are capable of sexually. The body's most powerful sexual organ is the mind. What goes on in your head is more important than what happens between your legs. So, what can you do to get your head working for you, rather than against you?
We all have an inner voice that talks to us. Call it a gremlin or sex saboteur - whatever you like really - but recognise that your critical inner dialogue could be messing things up for you sexually. Many people who have sexual problems have developed a kind of mind mantra that they run through whenever they get into a situation in which sex is a possiblity. Many begin 'what if...?'. What if he thinks I'm fat, what if I can't get an erection, what if I come too soon, what if I don't orgasm, what if I ask for what I want but she thinks I'm weird?
These poisonous thoughts are you turning sex into a performance; a pass/fail test in which you can be identified as a sexual loser if you fail to live up to someone's else's (or your own) expectations.
Compare this with a person who enters into sexual situations thinking how good can we make this, what an opportunity this is to find out more about my sexuality, here is a chance to give and receive pleasure. Or compared to a person whose sexual experiences are not hindered by negative thoughts but are empowered by them being able to relax into the feelings of physical and sexual sensation.
The first step to making your critical voice quieter and less powerful is to recognise what they are. Know what your own particular anxieties revolve around.
Next, you need to practice self-acceptance. Believing that whatever you feel sexually in the moment is for a reason and is not a statement about your entire sexual potential. For example, if you cannot maintain an erection, it could be for a number of reasons. Becaue you are anxious, under-confident, taking medication, you feel insecure with your partner. It does not mean that a lack of ability to get an erection is the final say about your sexual potential and how sexual a person you are or can become.
Create representations/memories of positive and joyful sexuality. Think back to your best sexual experiences and try to identify what made them good. Also, keep thinking about them. When you wake up and when you go to bed. If you cannot find good memories with a partner, create them. Invent a great experience and live it in your mind or use a masturbation experience. All sexual experience have the potential to help you feel good about who you can be as a sexual person.
Trust yourself to be able to deal with whatever happens. Most dangerous myths about sexuality are rooted in the idea as sex is a test, which can be graded as a success or a failure. Worse than that, if we have a not great sexual experience, WE ARE and must be a sexual failure. Sex is so bound up with self-esteem for many of us because it has acquired an almost magical aura of being somehow different from other experiences that we have. We should all know what to do and how to do it. We should always be able to want and have sex whenever we want and we should want it all the time. It should be effortless, spontaneous and always fantastic. I always ask clients to address your expectations. Having unrealistic expectations means always branding yourself a failure for not living up to the impossible.
All of these suggestions will help you begin to work your way our of negative sexual thinking about yourself. It can be easier to work through them with another person, such as a coach, therapist, partner or really good friend.
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