What is sexual performance anxiety?
It’s common to feel fear or nervousness in intimate moments. But feeling so worried that you cannot enjoy sex could be sexual performance anxiety. This type of anxiety can occur both before and during sexual activity, affecting both men and women. You may start to avoid sex, which can affect your relationships.
People’s sexual responses are highly complex. They are influenced by physiology, emotions, experiences, beliefs, lifestyle, and relationships. The disruption of any of these can affect your sexual desire, arousal or satisfaction.
One part of sexual dysfunction can be a low sex drive, meaning you might have less interest in sex. Sometimes low hormone levels also play a role. Age or relationship problems can contribute to a decreased libido, as well as conditions like depression and anxiety. While sexual performance anxiety may occasionally lead to erectile dysfunction, they are separate conditions and it’s important to recognise this.
Treatment for sexual performance anxiety often requires a comprehensive approach. Consulting with a doctor can help you identify the underlying issues and guide you in improving your experience with sexual activities.
32% of people silently cope with sexual performance anxiety
Up to 1 in 5 men and even more women experience loss of libido at some point
6 in 10 young men have avoided sex due to performance anxiety
Only 9% of people have discussed their sexual performance anxiety with friends or family
What causes it?
Sexual performance anxiety is rooted in negative thoughts and can be caused by numerous frustrating factors.
If you are struggling with your body image, this can affect your confidence in many areas of your life, including sex. Sometimes this is linked to age-related worries or the ‘ideal’ body image you see represented in society or pornography. It may have developed if you are recovering from an illness or you are worried your partner’s perception of you has changed.
There could be other worries in your life that are causing you to feel insecure, stressed or anxious in general. You might have a fear of failure or negative thought patterns that cause you to dwell on your sexual performance.
Your anxiety could be caused by putting too much pressure on yourself to satisfy your partner. Sexual performance anxiety can develop due to previous unsatisfactory sexual experiences. You may worry that your partner will leave you due to your performance difficulties.
43% of women and 31% of men experience sexual dysfunctions involving desire, arousal, orgasmic issues, premature ejaculation and sexual pain disorders.
Alcohol, smoking or drugs can sometimes be making your sexual performance anxiety worse.
What are the symptoms & effects?
Sexual performance anxiety creates a troublesome cycle with symptoms varying. Anxiety about pleasing a partner is induced by stress hormones and your mental state significantly affects arousal. This narrows blood vessels, which makes it harder for men to achieve erections, especially with sexual performance anxiety.
Men may experience erectile dysfunction, premature or delayed ejaculation. They may also have less interest in sex. For women, sexual performance anxiety affects arousal, preventing lubrication and physical desire. Women may experience vaginal dryness, difficulty becoming aroused or pain during sex. The anxiety can also be distracting, making it difficult for women to experience orgasm, even when aroused.
How can it be managed?
A personalised approach is crucial for sexual performance anxiety. A present awareness and a relaxed mindset are crucial for satisfying intimacy. Solutions will often combine therapy and medication effectively.
Reduce stress and set realistic expectations
It’s important to reduce stress in other areas of your life. Finding ways to unwind or using techniques like meditation will contribute to your recovery. Concentrate on your individual qualities to counteract societal pressures. These can help you to overcome shame and unrealistic expectations.
Open up to your partner
It can be difficult to speak to a partner about your intimate struggles. But communicating more with your partner will help you to shift the focus to the causes rather than the symptoms of your sexual anxiety. With your partner’s support, you will find it easier to move forward towards overcoming your anxiety.
Lifestyle changes
Breaking your cycle of negativity may involve lifestyle changes like smoking cessation and reducing your alcohol intake. A healthy diet and regular exercise will help to reduce stress. They can also boost your self-esteem, helping you to feel more confident in what you are capable of doing.Address any medical issues
You should consider checks for any medical conditions that could be causing your sexual performance anxiety. This will benefit your overall wellbeing. Combating issues like erectile dysfunction could involve lifestyle changes, medications and therapies. In rare circumstances, they may need surgical procedures.
Professional support
Only 7% of men and 5% of women seek help from a GP or specialist for sexual performance anxiety, but it is of real value for overcoming this problem. They can help you narrow down potential causes, although it may still require significant time and effort to identify the correct personal solution for you.
How can hypnotherapy help?
Sexual performance anxiety often stems from negative self-perceptions and low self-esteem. These beliefs often have no real basis in your past experiences. Using hypnotherapy for sexual performance anxiety, we can unravel the reality of these core beliefs, helping to reshape how your body reacts to sex.
By addressing the stressors that are contributing to your anxiety, hypnotherapy enables you to have more emotional flexibility. It involves self-hypnosis with client consent, creating a safe space for mindset shifts.
Hypnotherapy can target your subconscious thinking patterns, stress responses and confidence issues. It promotes a positive mindset to support lifestyle changes. Hypnosis for sexual performance anxiety can rewire your brain to focus on positive thoughts and eliminate your subconscious negative patterns.
Your hypnotherapist will use hypnosis to engage your imagination and limbic system, which is a part of the brain involved with processing our behavioural and emotional responses. Its main role is to regulate these while also dealing with sexual stimulation. By engaging these, your hypnotherapist will help you to gain improved resilience and emotional wellbeing.
Through reframing your beliefs, helping you to develop greater resilience and a positive mindset, hypnotherapy can reduce your sexual performance anxiety. With the right tools, you will be able to recover your sexual confidence and enjoyment.
Our Sexual Performance Specialists
Benn Baker-Pollard
Sittingbourne
Chris Johannes
Spalding
Claire Noyelle
Maidstone East
Gary Johannes
Peterborough
Keeley Smith
Southend-on-Sea
Why Choose Inspired To Change
Our solution focused hypnotherapists empower you to better understand your brain, helping to guide you towards solutions and achieve the outcomes you want. We have a team of fully trained hypnotherapists, giving you the choice of who to work with and how you want to work with them. Solution focused hypnotherapy is just as effective in-person or online in the comfort of your own home, so you can find the ideal therapist to help you reach your goals.
Every one of our hypnotherapists is recognised by governing bodies like the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the UK’s leading not-for-profit hypnotherapy professional association. They have all trained with Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training, one of the leading hypnotherapy schools in the UK.
