Sex Without A Condom = Good For Your Mental Health
Posted by: Jessica Wakeman
Filed in:
sex
11:30AM, Monday August 3rd 2009
It’s no secret that condoms are no fun to use, but a new study says that having unprotected sex may actually be better for your mental health.
When Stuart Brody of the West of Scotland University, Paisley, asked 99 women and 111 men about sexual pleasure, he found that the ones who go bareback handle stress better and experience less depression. Humans might be biologically programed to enjoy unprotected sex, Brody theorized, since we were boinking for thousands of years without Durex Pleasuremax.
There are lots of other theories, though. Maybe people who don’t use protection want to start families and are at an emotionally-ready and healthy place to begin with. Or, maybe unprotected sex, while more risky, just feels more intimate and that makes everybody happier! [Scotsman]
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Potstirer
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 10:49 am: [report]
It probably has a lot to do with security in a relationship. You only go bareback when you trust your partner.
http://www.Blissfullthinking.com
Kiki T
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 10:58 am: [report]
@potstirer So true!
Melania
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 12:03 pm: [report]
Potstirer , i have to disagree. We use condoms because i can’t take the pill and vasectomy’s arent typical for people our age in our country. (the pill bothers me horribly) Sometimes condoms can be fun and sexy, illicit even.
maroon
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 12:47 pm: [report]
not wrapping it would stress me out even more, because i’m a paranoid biologist and i don’t 100% trust my pill to keep me pregnancy-free, and i’m unwilling to tell my man to make his deposit elsewhere
metricula
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 12:59 pm: [report]
I prefer going bare with my fluid-bonded partner and while I know the pill isn’t 100% effective it’s close enough that I feel comfortable with my chances.
powplz
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 01:06 pm: [report]
Yeah, I’m not exactly on board with the blanket reference to sex sans condom as “unprotected,” especially with its connotation of reckless or unsafe behavior. While I’m sure that’s the case in many unwrapped situations, I don’t think it’s entirely fair since many std-free monogamous couples use other (bc) protection that doesn’t involve condoms, and that’s hardly unsafe behavior in my book.
I used to be a little nervous just on the pill, but the odds were good enough for me (and I was really good about taking it religiously at the same time every day), and now that I have an IUD, I just don’t worry about it at all.
lareinedeslames
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 01:10 pm: [report]
Scientists actually speculate that the mood-uplifting effects (affects? I always get these confused) of non-condom sex have to do with testosterone compounds in semen; there was even a study that showed that women who had unprotected sex sought out sex much sooner than women who used condoms. In a way, we’re biologically programmed to be “addicted” to semen, at least that’s the current theory.
Interesting, though.
Melania
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 02:54 pm: [report]
The other thing i want to know and have not read anywhere, is ok, so cervix cancer is a std, but where do those bacteria come from. Surely NOT all from other sexual partners. We get it that you are supposed to wash after you pee but how about before?? And especially those not circumsized, are they at greater risk for bacteria?
And lareinedeslames i agree, i do think that women ae programed to want and need unprotected sex. The idea for survival of the species needs semen to be a turn on. Although does that make us uncapable of controling our desires? So many thoughts.
powplz
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 02:58 pm: [report]
@Melania - Cervical cancer is NOT an STD. It is commonly caused by HPV, the most common STD.
metricula
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 03:07 pm: [report]
The rates of HPV infection are incredible. The fact that most people (especially men) aren’t aware they even have it is a huge contributing factor.
The only sure way not to get HPV is just not to have sex. Condom use reduces the risk substantially but even barriers like that aren’t 100%. It can still be found on skin that isn’t covered, like the manberries.
(This post was partially an excuse to type “manberries”.)
CaleeKay
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 05:10 pm: [report]
i’m sort of surprised no one else said this, but this seems like a horrible title, i can see too many girls using this as an excuse not to use a condom, which will lead to more pregnancy. Is that just me? or am i not reading it right.. hm.
Ginger
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 05:53 pm: [report]
I recently tried condomless sex for the first time (We were out, diseasw-free and I’m on the pill so we figured it was still safe enough) and I actually wasn’t blown away by any astounding difference (though I’m sure he felt one).
Seeing as I am slightly paranoid about pregnancy (and not in a committed relationship), I think I’ll just stick to condoms. As far as I’m concerned, sex with a condom is just as good for my happiness level as sex without.
GirlyLocks
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 09:24 pm: [report]
I am so glad hubby is getting the big V soon. No more condoms for us. I despise them. There is a huge difference and I much prefer to be without them. If I can have 3 c-sections, he can have the big V.
bogart4017
wrote on August 4 2009 @ 01:01 pm: [report]
I feel sorry for couples in committed monogamous relationships that still have to use condoms. Its safe and all but its still as if there is a barrier between you that subtracts slightly from the intimacy of the act.
Ms. LeFay
wrote on August 4 2009 @ 11:36 pm: [report]
Maybe people that feel they have to use condoms all the time are just more risk averse which makes them more stressed.
thesleepingman
wrote on August 7 2009 @ 12:57 pm: [report]
Makes sense to me. Haha, great article.
fifi
wrote on August 10 2009 @ 10:18 pm: [report]
I was newly dating my boyfriend and we were using condoms at first. But he couldn’t orgasm when he’s wearing them. After a month or so he and I couldn’t take it any longer (it was driving me nuts, too, that I couldn’t make him come). We checked that we were both disease-free, then I switched to pills. Best decision. Sex is much more intimate without a condom. I would only recommend skipping the condom if you fully trust your partner already, though.
duhh
wrote on October 24 2009 @ 02:08 am: [report]
if you are fixed then you don’t need em do ya?
cataclysmicdiva
wrote on November 19 2009 @ 12:42 pm: [report]
@ Melania - Cervical cancer can be caused by undetermined factors, or, most commonly, by HPV. That’s why it’s important that after you get the HPV vaccine to continue regular annual screenings with your doctor. Bacteria in the vag, however, will not give you cervical cancer.
Bacteria “down-there” can happen for any number of reasons! Using ‘scented’ feminine products, swimming in a dirty pool, & other vaginal products can all cause pH to become imbalanced, therefore leading to the growth of bacteria. Even eating too many sweets or downing too many sodas can cause yeast to grow. Sometimes even taking antibiotics can leave you with a yeast infection (yay! from sick to itchy!!) A man can however ‘put’ bacteria there with dirty hands (such as trichomoniasis) or sometimes by performing oral on you. I typically make my man wash his hands & brush his teeth before we get down