From historical texts to modern pop music, it’s a common theme that alcohol is essential for a night filled with romance. While drinking can aid in healthy sexual activities, it can also cause dangerous situations. Here’s a look at how alcohol can affect your love life for better or worse:
Helps You Focus on the Present
Stress is a common reason many individuals experience a lower sexual frequency. The depressant properties present in alcohol can help temporarily slow down the neurons in your brain to lower pressure and allow you to focus on the current sensations in your body.
Lowers Inhibitions
While the relationship between alcohol and your libido is minimal with light drinking, it can help individuals move past issues that prevent them from feeling sexual, such as body image concerns. A small amount of alcohol may also help reduce anxieties and contribute to improved performance. Too much, however, can have the opposite effect, and prolonged heavy drinking can actually lower your sex drive.
Increases Attraction to Your Partner
Drinking alcohol causes individuals to perceive others as more attractive than they might when sober. Since attraction is fluid and can depend on factors such as your state of mind, experiencing lower inhibitions due to alcohol can help you focus on the present and get closer to your partner.
Impairs Your Judgment
Drinking alcohol can impair your judgment and make it more challenging to make informed decisions. Alcohol use may lead you to make impulsive choices such as having sex with an inappropriate partner or engaging in dangerous behaviors like having unprotected sex.
Impacts Your Sexual Arousal and Performance
While alcohol can help lower anxieties surrounding sex and sexual performance, having too much to drink can decrease your genital response and physical arousal. For women, drinking too much alcohol can cause vaginal dryness leading to friction and discomfort, while men may be unable to maintain an erection.
Separates You From Reality
When drinking alcohol, it’s essential to understand that drinking too much can turn a positive feeling such as closeness with your partner into a negative feeling such as detachment or disinterest. Drinking too much alcohol may impact your relationship by causing you to feel disconnected from reality and your partner.
Get Support From Crest View Recovery Center Today
While enjoying a few drinks before becoming intimate is okay every once in a while, if it becomes a habit or you begin using alcohol to function in the bedroom and other areas of your life, it may be time to seek support from a professional.
At Crest View Recovery Center, we offer compassionate, comprehensive care to help those suffering from alcohol abuse regain a healthy, sober life. Call us at 866-986-1371 or complete our online contact form to learn more about our services at our Asheville, North Carolina, center.
