New research shows a surprising number of women feel post-coital sadness.
By Kait Smith — Written on Apr 07, 2011
Certain feelings come to mind when considering how one should feel after a nice romp in the sheets—sexy, joyous, confident, elated, orgasmic, just to name a few. But how often are women feeling the complete opposite? According to new research, the bedroom blues may strike more often than you'd think.
One third of young women feel sad, anxious, restless or irritable after sex, according to Australian research published in the International Journal of Sexual Health.
And it doesn't end there—10 percent of the women surveyed admitted to frequently or almost always feel sad after doing the deed. Study: Women Feel Worse About Themselves After Losing Virginity
Here is how one of the 200 women in the study described her emotions:
"I did not associate the feeling with an absence of love or affection for my sexual partner nor with an absence of love or affection from them towards me, because it seemed so unconnected with them."
In other words, her melancholy was not caused by a lack of love between her and her sexual partner. Rather, it was completely unrelated to their established relationship.
Researchers involved in the study say a definite cause of this post-coital sadness is unknown but may stem from past issues such as sexual abuse, which has been known to cause feelings of shame or guilt in women during sexual activity later in life.
Previous studies have found that an effective treatment for post-coital depression is to make sex less pleasurable; one researcher prescribed patients serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.). Two weeks later, these drugs—which even the mood, lift spirits and sometimes cause sexual dysfunction—helped prohibit an emotional crash after sex, although the intercourse was "less intensely pleasurable." Treating Post-Coital Depression
The next step in understanding the after-sex blues, according to the Australian researchers, is to study the emotional characteristics of women and how they view themselves in attempt to link personality traits to bedroom blues.
Hopefully after further investigation, a solution that doesn't take the fun out of sex is uncovered.
Have you ever felt sad after sex?