How Does Sex Affect Your Emotions? Everything to Know About Attraction and Arousal

Introduction

Sex and Emotions are not similar but both have a close relation. Sex is a good time spent on an emotional roller coaster to express your ultimate romantic love and intimacy. It plays a crucial role as a tension reliever. So sex is all about procreation. But this is also true that sex has different meanings for different people. However, what it means to you is that you must enjoy it. Different phases of life introduce you to the different meanings of sex. Even you can feel it differently from day to day. 

Despite all the facts mentioned above, sex always affects your emotions, whether you’re in a good mood or bad or you are a young energetic person or a mature person with a serious attitude. Sex brings changes in your moods and feelings and it’s all a natural phenomenon. 

Beliefs about Casual Sex: Sex has historical, cultural, and religious prejudices. These prejudices promote marriage to do sex. Marriage or committing a relationship is considered the only acceptable way for sex, according to some traditions and religions. Whereas, in some cultures, sex is considered necessary only for reproductive purposes. It is taboo to consider this a pleasurable activity. These rules make sex an unapproachable and weird activity, especially for men who have a great interest in sex and want to enjoy it with different partners. According to cultural and traditional rules, if a person (man or woman) is caught while involving such activities, his/her reputation will be damaged in society. 

Men and women who commit casual sex are labeled as whores, trash, or sluts in some communities. These boundaries suggest that the idea to enjoy sexual pleasure is a sinful practice and casual sex ruined the bonds of marriage. 

In 1960 a revolutionary step was taken to introduce an effective and safe birth control law followed by the “free love” revolution for sexual freedom. But still, some conservative communities have strict rules for sex and they consider sexual freedom as a violation of their religious or cultural laws. 

As people are recognizing their rights and have now the power to spend life according to their preferences and choices, many have shaken off or rejected the traditional ideas about sexual or romantic relationships including the LGBTQ+ community.

So it is the necessity of this era to have a belief that everyone needs freedom to choose the way of sex or sexual relationship for themselves. Satisfying sexual relationships helps explore sexuality free commitments. This can be a way to rejoice in your sex life. 

Sex, Gender, and Emotions: Your gender has no impact on your emotional response to sex. It means that women and men both are controlled by their sexual emotions. However, studies show that women are more expressive about their emotions, and in our region, it is a common thing to show the desire for having romantic sex from the female side. Even the United States and some Western Union Countries have allowed a one-night stand for everyone to have a joyful sexual activity.  Same with the case of men, they also have greater physiological responses to emotional stressors but are slightly less expressive than women. 

Thus it is not wrong to say that people nowadays are less inclined to conform to simple categorization of gender. Whatever gender you belong to, you can openly express it and your emotional response towards sex will always be unique.

Read More: https://onlinehealthpoint.com/small-tattoo-ideas-for-couples/

Emotional Attraction And Physical Attraction

Sex and Emotions
Sex and Emotions

Sometimes emotional attraction is required to develop or arise physical attraction. It is a normal phenomenon that you will feel some level of emotional attraction towards someone before having thought of sex with that person. Sometimes you may have a spiritual connection to someone and sometimes you both share the same basic philosophies of life that bring you closer to each other. It may be a kind of twinge of excitement you felt whenever someone made you laugh at your time of emotional disaster. It may be a case of seeking intimacy that compels your feelings towards someone and you have aroused a desire to get physical with that person. That’s a physical arousal, simply. Now you are in a world of sex only for making love. 

Physical Attraction Influences Your Emotions

Some sex experts claim that some people have a natural attraction for each other and they attract physically like magnets.

In sexual language, it is a purely physical craving like a hunger or chemical reaction and such feelings are known as lust. The right chemistry between two people attracts them both and they get physical soon. 

According to a retrospective view, in 2012, your brain has two areas that track the progression from sexual arousal to true love. The first part is located in the cerebral cortex and called Insula while the other is located inside the fore brain and called Striatum. An interesting fact is that the Striatum is also linked with drug addiction. Sexual arousal and love activate different parts of your brain, especially Striatum. 

The lust part of your emotions is activated through some most pleasurable things such as your favorite food and Sex. In addition to these, the reward and value received by the partner activates your love part.

Are Emotional and Physical Attractions Different?

Sex experts also categorized a new form of emotional and physical arousal. They say that some people have different characteristics for sex. For them, the emotional and physical attraction operate in two different vacuums. These people are intricate creatures with several layers. They do have clear dividing lines between emotional and physical attraction.

For example, someone might be emotionally attracted to a person without having a little interest in a sexual relationship with that person or have an extraordinary physical attraction to a person who doesn’t have any emotional attachment to them. Even some people have clear differences between their love and sexual life. Their long-term relationships used to alternate between sex and love and that’s OK for them. They continue this with a satisfied feeling. 

Individual Outlook about Sex and Emotions

Everyone has their outlook on sex and emotions. Although sex and emotions affect your brain in the same way, a study made in 2018, revealed integral links between sexual, emotional, and reproductive brain processes having combined operations with your endocrine system. Here is a special hormone for this purpose, kisspeptin

According to research made by Tufts University, sexual arousal always happens in a context, it never happens in a vacuum. It has a close link with your neurological, physiological, and cognitive processes and all of these are influenced by your emotions. Understand!

Emotions During Sexual Activity and After Sex

Sex and Emotions
Sex and Emotions

Do you feel similar emotions during sexual activity and release? The rush of hormones involved in sexual activity that’s why most of the feelings are common during or immediately after sexual activity. Every emotion cannot be felt at the same level every time. Something is different every time. Some are positive and some are negative. Positive ones include:

  • Level of satisfaction
  • Calmness and relaxation level
  • Total release
  • Euphoria

But some conditions or circumstances affect your sexual activity with less positive emotions like:

  • Guilt
  • Physical or emotional overwhelming feelings
  • Embarrassment
  • Vulnerability

Sometimes you may feel anxious, depressed, or tearful after sexual activity, this condition is post-coital dysphoria. And then you need a consultant to get rid of such feelings.

Impacts of Sexual Arousal on Brain Functioning

The prefrontal cortex, a part of your brain, gets affected by sexual arousal and hormone production during sexual activity. You may not identify the impact of sexual arousal on your brain parts but it is happening in hindsight. Don’t take it as a fantasy or a stuff of science fiction. It is a fact that sexual arousal can deactivate some parts of the brain that support your critical thinking and your behavior like a rational human being. And thus you take leave of your senses. Yes, it is real. 

When you come back to reality, you might be astonished and feel a tinge of guilt or regret, about what you were doing or thinking. At that time you feel that you weren’t.

Sex and Oxytocin Dependency

In your brain, the hypothalamus secretes a hormone, Oxycontin, that is involved in opening the floodgates during sexual activity. A large amount of oxytocin takes part in the physical attraction necessary for sex. It boosts romantic feelings and emotions including, euphoria, love, and affection. The hormone has a good reputation as the “love hormone”. Oh, you may become hooked on the feeling of love. Oxytocin keeps you energetic and raises an urge for more. 

Variables in the Lust, Attraction, and Attachment

Researchers are striving to unpack the various variables in the lust, attraction, and attachment equation. This equation between lust, love, and attraction is not simple. It also contains hormones that make it a complicated equation. 

A general analysis clears the difference that lust is controlled or directed by testosterone and estrogen hormones, regardless of gender. Craving for sex drive lust in you. 

Yes, now talk about attraction. Researchers suggested that lust is driven by serotonin, nor- epinephrine, and dopamine hormones. It sometimes involves lust too but often it doesn’t have the factor of lust. The brain has a central role that makes you feel light and swift as you’re walking on air. This usually happens in the early phases of a relationship. 

And now the Attachment! It is controlled by vasopressin and oxytocin hormones. Therefore, it sets a strong bond between both partners for a long-term relationship. 

Scientists are continuing to delve into the mysteries of sexual arousal and emotions. They are investigating how they play on each other. Scientists have claimed that sometimes, hormones overlap and the results are different. So it is right to say that we may not be able to solve the equation correctly. So let a little something to the imaginations!

Can You Separate Sex from Emotion?

If you want to differentiate between sex and emotion, you must know some facts that help you to compartmentalize sex and emotion. Here you need to explore your motivation because through motivation you can deal with any unresolved issue, easily. In case you are searching for a casual relationship or a “friendship with benefits” situation, you must follow these suggestions:

  • Be fair with your partner because honesty is the bonding magic.
  • Talk openly about your desire or your unlike acts. This may give emotional and physical support to your relationship and you may get what you want. 
  • Discuss safe sex practices to control birth.
  • Establish some rules to avoid getting over-attached or dependent on each other.

These rulers help you in maintaining good sexual and emotional relationships. Keep in mind feelings are not under your rule. Feelings are free from all boundaries. You can try to manage them but they cannot be planned. Yes, it’s a funny fact about emotions.

Sex and Emotions
Sex and Emotions

Ways to Deepen the Relationship Between Sex and Emotions

Despite the amazing biology and hormonal sciences of emotions, there may be some tricky ways to deepen the bond between both. Let’s learn how to get started:

  • Don’t make physical intimacy a random activity and don’t link it with your leisure time. Make a proper plan for it. Plan a date and put it at the top preference. 
  • Show your devotion and love through gentle touch throughout the day. Hug, cuddle up, stroke an arm, and hold hands. These actions will show your affection and a message is conveyed to your sex partner. 
  • Make frequent eye contact in different situations such as when you share inside jokes, when you feel bored, when you agree, or when you disagree.
  • Be their person. Be available for them and get emotionally vulnerable.
  • Kisses are magic in a love relationship. Kiss them. And do it repeatedly.
  • Say “ I Love You”, it will work to convey your feelings. Communication of emotions is an effective way to make your bonding stronger.
  • Being physical means using your all senses to rejoice yourself. Touch, hear, smell, and taste the joy of physical relation by tuning in to your senses. 
  • Live in the moment at the time of involvement in physical activity because the other person demands your emotional and physical presence. Don’t think about any other thing or task.
  • Switch off your mobile and T.V. to feel the fun.

Conclusion

Just be yourself and let your emotions free from all fears or boundaries. Just think about yourself because the burdens and struggles of life have snatched the taste of real happiness. Thus, sex is the only way to feel the taste of a happy life with emotions.

Hira Shabbir

Hey, I'm Hira shabbir. An experienced content writer who is providing quality SEO content to clients, from the past 2 years. I have been a biology and English teacher from the past 20 years, which gives me an edge in providing quality content.

Hira Shabbir
Hey, I'm Hira shabbir. An experienced content writer who is providing quality SEO content to clients, from the past 2 years. I have been a biology and English teacher from the past 20 years, which gives me an edge in providing quality content.