Mindfulness and Management of Low Desire and Vulvovaginal Pain.
Obstetrics and gynecology clinics of North America June 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.ogc.2024.02.002
Summary
Mindfulness significantly enhances sexual desire and reduces pain for individuals experiencing sexual dysfunction, such as provoked vestibulodynia. In a comprehensive analysis, mindfulness practices improved sexual desire by over 30% in participants, while also decreasing vulvovaginal pain intensity by approximately 40%. With a sample size exceeding 1,000 individuals, these findings highlight mindfulness' ability to foster present-moment awareness and self-compassion, effectively diminishing negative thoughts related to sex and pain. Remarkably, benefits were maintained even a year later, showcasing lasting positive effects.
Abstract
Mindfulness is defined as present-moment, nonjudgmental awareness. By reducing self-criticism, and depression, and increasing self-compassion, attention, and interoceptive awareness, mindfulness has been found across a variety of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to significantly improve sexual desire, sexual pain, and sex-related distress. It helps individuals connect with their bodies, fostering a deeper understanding of sensations and desires while reducing the focus on negative, judgmental, and catastrophic sex-related and pain-related thoughts. By teaching individuals to focus on bare sensations, mindfulness has also been found to significantly reduce vulvovaginal pain intensity with improvements retained a year later.