When Sexual Desire Fades

Having a great, healthy sex life is different from just going through the motions.

Anyone can have sex, but are we going through the motions, or are we keeping the connection alive? Do we genuinely desire and want our partner, or are we only being intimate to appease and shut him up? Yikes!

Let's keep it real. Sex, depending on the guy, isn't always going to be spectacular. Many couples will have moments when they aren't in the mood for sex—this is natural. However, if those moments happen on a regular basis (and aren't due to a health issue), then your sex life is plummeting. Not good.

Here's the thing, most of us can remember the great sex we used to have—when we craved the touch of our significant other. That "honeymoon" stage felt so wonderful that we thought it would magically last forever—with zero disruptions. Unfortunately, with time (and learning more about our partner), this is not always realistic, especially for women.

What kills the magic and desire for us is when we get to know our significant other better and realize we aren't as compatible with him as we thought. This new knowledge can fade the chemistry we originally felt fairly quickly if the emotional support is not there. Many times, our sex life will reflect this.

How to Keep Your Sex Life Healthy

Men, women's emotions are tied to her "cha-cha"—unless she is a nympho or has trained her body to disconnect from her emotions. Therefore, having a great, healthy and sustainable sex life means we need to like, care and love you while also feeling connected and fully supported—on all levels.

Although finding this type of connection is almost every woman's dream, unfortunately, obtaining and sustaining this is hard because we chose men who are wrong for us. This is why there are so many women who are unhappy and sexually turned off by their partners. Wonderful.

To have and maintain a healthy sex life, we have to be open and honest with our partners. If he is not capable or willing to meet your emotional needs, then he is not the right match for you. Ladies, being unhappy with our men is not something that most of us can hide—our bodies are truth-tellers—so be honest with yourself as well as with him. If you can't tell a guy what you need, how will he know?

Many women are afraid to be open and honest about what they want and need. They will stay silent in fear of him either not wanting them or possibly leaving them as soon as they speak up. This type of fear will cause many women to not be fully honest right away or sometimes not at all. Since most women cannot hide their emotions, they will show their unhappiness by pulling away physically.

Signs a Woman Is Pulling Away

She is not as affectionate
She's too tired (all the time) to have sex
When you try and kiss her she is unresponsive
Her "headaches" become more frequent
She claims she's not feeling well—a lot
Sleep becomes more important than sex—regardless how early it is
She's too busy to have sex
Looks of endearment feel more like resentment
She doesn't make much time for you
Snuggle time you might have had lessens or stops
Her text messages are not as loving or become short
Sexting ceases
She doesn't want to hold hands or touch you

By pulling away physically—although this does get the point across—for many men they will act clueless as to why. Really!? And, when he eventually gets sexually frustrated, your relationship ends up turning into a crappy game of tennis where no one wants to serve first. Great!

Wouldn't we want to risk being honest about what we want so that we can strengthen our relationship and sex life? If expressing how we feel scares a guy away then we have avoided wasting time and energy on the wrong man. Building a healthy sexual relationship requires being heard, validated, supported, respected and unconditionally loved. Without that, we become sexually disconnected and disinterested.

Physical and Emotional Connections Are Linked

Men will complain they aren't getting enough sex; however, they will refuse to look at why sex is plummeting. A big part of why sex lacks sustainability is due to a man not giving the support that a woman needs.

How often do you hear that once we are in a long-term exclusive relationship or married that great sex will no longer exist and that sex in general will eventually stop? Well, this can be true if we are with a partner who doesn't give us the support we need, who is horrible at communicating, who internalizes his emotions, who stops making an effort or who breaks our trust. Basically, we no longer feel emotionally connected or safe.

Women Aren't That Complicated

Men, when you: shut down, don't hear us, make us a low priority, make excuses for not trying, you aren't fully there when we need you, you don't call or text as much, you put emotionally walls up and think it's OK, or you don't give us the emotional, mental, spiritual or physical support that we need—all of these things will turn us off sexually. Duh!

When you disconnect emotionally from us—and still try to be sexual with us—your actions are far from flattering, nor are they appreciated. Frankly, it's insulting. Do you really expect us to happily spread our legs when we are feeling emotionally detached from you?

Again, most women's emotions are connected to their cha-cha. It's shocking how many men don't realize this and then will act surprised when we become disinterested sexually.

Here's the thing, many women might still stay in a relationship that they aren't happy in because they fear being alone. They might even stay because they don't want to break a family unit. However, by staying in a toxic relationship, sex will cease dramatically or die out—causing an unhealthy sex life to occur and unhappiness to escalate. Is this what you really want?

Signs Your Sex Life Is Unhealthy

You close your eyes and have to think about someone else
You wait for the moment to be over
The thought of sex with him dries out your cha-cha
You never initiate sex
You're disinterested in oral with him
His touch becomes annoying/irritating and unwelcome
Every time you have sex you have to get yourself aroused (lots and lots of lube)
You kiss less or not at all
You have to be intoxicated or high before having sex
You will fake orgasms to get "it" over
His touch does nothing for you

My Personal Experience

My ex-boyfriend and I had a very strong sexual relationship—one that I honestly envisioned lasting.

I thought I knew my ex until I had a tragedy and he was not there for me. He was incapable (because he didn't want to be) of being there emotionally for me and putting me first. He made me feel unimportant, unappreciated and not sincerely loved—regardless of how often he would tell me. His self-center behavior and selfishness was a complete sexual turn-off.

What he failed to realize (or just too dumb to get), pulling away sexually had nothing to do with the tragedy, it was because I did not feel supported by him. When I expressed how I was feeling (in case he was unaware), instead of working on making me feel better, he decided to emotionally shut-down and pull away, but would still try and kiss me and grab my ass when we would see each other. Really?! Did he honestly think that sex was something I would still be interested in? Please.

Don't get me wrong, sex is important in a relationship. Sex can alleviate stress, it gives you a natural glow, it can keep us youthful and in better shape. Sex can also connected us on a deeper, emotional, sensual and intimate level—with the right partner. What sex alone does not magically do is diminish issues that occur or replace a severed emotional disconnection once it's happened.

Ladies, connecting with a man on a personal, meaningful, unique, intimate and trusting level will skyrocket good sex to undeniably incredible sex. Also, having open, honest communication and support, will create the essential tools for a lasting and healthy foundation on all levels.

Bottom line, sex does not need to occur daily nor is it the most important aspect in a relationship. However, with the right partner, maintaining a healthy sex life (that's sustainable) can happen—bringing excitement, joy and a stronger intimate bond...as well as another avenue in keeping us feeling healthy and young.

Article originally posted on Pairedlife.com