What It Is
Sexuality, at any age in life, is an integral part of an individual’s psychophysical health. Even in later life, people need to feel loved and be the object of attention and affection, and for this reason, it is important not to give up experiencing sexuality serenely.
Although in our time there has been a decrease in false beliefs that led to considering sexuality in later life as superfluous or even inappropriate, many elderly people today still have difficulty dealing with the natural changes associated with aging and seeking help when sexual problems arise.
In studying sexuality in aging individuals, possible anatomical, hormonal, and neurological changes become meaningful only when integrated with an understanding of psychological and social aspects. Therefore, discussing sexuality in the elderly means considering the factors that affect satisfactory self-realization during this life phase, in relation to bodily changes linked to aging.
Psychological Factors
Among the psychological factors that can influence sexuality are feelings of anxiety and depression, fear of aging and being alone, fear of no longer being attractive, alterations in body image related to typical physiological changes of advancing age, and one’s self-perception as someone capable or incapable of experiencing and giving affection and pleasure.
Social Factors
Social factors mainly concern changes related to family and social roles (for example, retirement). Furthermore, feelings of loneliness affect the quality of social contacts and can cause sexual inhibition.
Biological Factors
Finally, biological factors involve natural physical changes related to age. The most evident modification for men is the need for more intense and prolonged stimuli (physical or mental) to achieve and maintain an erection. The arousal time tends to lengthen, orgasm intensity changes – while satisfaction and the sense of fulfillment remain unchanged – and the refractory period (the time between orgasm and the ability to have a new erection) tends to lengthen significantly.
The major sexual problems that many men experience with aging stem from difficulty accepting these changes. Rather than accepting slower erections, slower recovery, and reduced ejaculation, many men completely give up sex, denying satisfaction to themselves and their partner.
This, besides being unnecessary, can be psychologically harmful: sexual satisfaction depends, at any age, on accepting one’s desire, needs, and capabilities.
For women, the major changes concentrate around menopause, when the reduction in estrogens and androgens causes rapid physiological changes.
Estrogen deficiency leads to vaginal dryness and urogenital atrophy, accompanied by a decreased response to stimuli.
The thinning of vaginal tissue and slow lubrication can cause pain during intercourse, resulting in decreased desire.
Androgen deficiency can also cause a decrease in libido and psychophysical energy levels, accompanied by reduced clitoral responsiveness.
Orgasmic contractions are fewer, and the duration of each orgasm is reduced.
Myotonia, the general muscle tension that accompanies sexual arousal, decreases, and after orgasm, the body returns more quickly to the pre-arousal stage. If women process the menopausal transition positively without excessive worry, are in good health, and maintain a good relationship with their partner, sexual function and psychophysical well-being can be maintained for a long time.
Beyond age-related biological changes, it’s important to consider for both sexes the presence of other factors that can affect the physical dimension: medication use, including combinations of medications, increased possibility of developing organic lesions that directly affect genital function, and the presence of conditions (for example, cardiovascular system disorders) can influence different phases of sexual response.
General health conditions (one’s own and partner’s), the quality of sexual activity in previous years, and the degree of couple cohesion over time are important elements to consider in preventing the onset of sexual symptoms.
In the geometry of affections, sexuality should be in function of the elderly person and not the elderly person in function of sexuality.
The professionals at Gamos help individuals and couples understand the above-mentioned changes to accept them as natural and to experience them in the best possible way, integrating them into the new acquisitions that characterize later life.
