Journal of sex research
January 1, 2025
Meredith L Chivers, Bozena Zdaniuk, Martin Lalumière et al.
9 citations
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and supportive sex education both improved sexual response and reduced distress in women with low sexual desire and arousal, but MBCT was generally more effective. MBCT increased the alignment between psychological and physiological aspects of sexual response, known as sexual concordance, more than the education program. Gains in sexual concordance predicted reductions in sexual distress over the course of treatment. The study involved 148 cisgender women who were randomly assigned to eight weekly group sessions of either MBCT or supportive sex education, with assessments before and after treatment and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups.
Obstetrics and gynecology clinics of North America
June 1, 2024
Lori A Brotto, Melanie Altas
5 citations
Mindfulness—present-moment, nonjudgmental awareness—significantly improves sexual desire, reduces sexual pain, and lowers sex-related distress, according to systematic reviews and meta-analyses. It works by decreasing self-criticism and depression while increasing self-compassion, attention, and interoceptive awareness. Mindfulness helps individuals connect with their bodies, deepening understanding of sensations and desires, and reduces focus on negative, judgmental, and catastrophic thoughts about sex and pain. It also significantly reduces vulvovaginal pain intensity, with improvements retained a year later.
Journal of sex research
May 1, 2020
Cara R Dunkley, Craig D Henshaw, Saira K Henshaw et al.
Pain is a common part of BDSM activity, and this review explores how painful stimuli can be experienced as pleasurable by BDSM practitioners, in contrast to how non-BDSM individuals experience pain. The authors propose a theory, checked with BDSM practitioners, that emotional, physiological, and psychological elements interact to facilitate pain as pleasure. Factors include neural networks, neurotransmitters, endogenous opioids and endocannabinoids, visual stimuli, environmental context, emotional state, volition and control, interpersonal connection, sexual arousal, and memories. This experience can lead to altered states of consciousness similar to mindfulness meditation, demystifying and destigmatizing pain's role in BDSM.