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Stop Settling for So-So Sex!

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Unhappy woman in bed
This is not how it has to be...
The key to improving mediocre sex is getting to the root of the problem.

Everyone has dealbreakers.

They're the unalterable qualities in your prospective partner that eliminate the possibility of a happy relationship. Some are shallow: gnarly feet, freakishly small hands, a CD collection that's a little heavy on the Limp Bizkit. But others are critical indicators of compatibility: he doesn't want kids and you do. Or his deeply held religious convictions don’t mesh with your own.

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But one potential dealbreaker defies categorization: bad sex. Is it a shallow concern that shouldn't matter if two people care about each other? Is it the ultimate indicator of compatibility because it's so primal? Or is it not a dealbreaker at all because, with enough time and effort, it can be fixed?

"Sometimes people just need a little physical training," says Barbara Keesling, PhD, author of Sex So Great She Can’t Get Enough. "But since passion is practically a philosophical concept, bad sex almost always results from emotional, mental, and physical issues."

Before you can figure out whether you can improve the bad sex you're having, you have to figure out if you're having bad sex. Every couple has an unsatisfying or disappointing encounter now and again.

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