It’s easy to take for granted that sexual attraction is a universal experience and that certain people can send our hearts fluttering and fantasies racing. But some people never experience feelings of sexual attraction – not in their youth, not during puberty when their peers’ hormones are raging, and not as adults.
While many people may think of their 20s as a time for “sowing wild oats,” 53-year-old Diane* knew by her early 20s that sex was not that important to her.
“Since then, slowly, over the years, I realized that I didn't feel the need for sexual relations,” says the East Vancouver resident. “I know that sex is important in a relationship to keep it healthy, but for me personally it isn't important at all.”
However, when Diane entered a relationship at 31 that is now her marriage, she knew she would have to try and keep interested in sex.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the drug Addyi™ (flibanserin) – also known as “the female Viagra”, even though it does not work like Viagra – for women with low sex drive, its serious potential side-effects and contraindications (warranting a black box label on the medication) suggest that it may not be the answer for all women with low libidos. Luckily, women with sexual desire problems have access to a different drug-free and side-effects-free option. The therapy is called mindfulness – the practice of non-judgemental present moment awareness.
A unique collaboration between researchers, mathematicians, and frontline health care workers is determining how to make the best use of health care dollars for maximal impact in the fight against the HIV epidemic in B.C. Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute-affiliated scientist Dr.
