People often think of their sexuality as a nice addition to the rest of their lives, but for most, it’s an integral part of being human. You’re wired for pleasure, pleasure helps you connect with yourself and others, improve your emotional health, and enhance your mental well-being.
That’s why there are so many emotional benefits of sex toys. No matter what sex toys you prefer to use, they can be a tool to help reduce your stress levels, improve your self-confidence, and enhance intimacy with yourself and your partner, if you have one.
Pleasure is a form of self-care, one that is necessary for most people’s well-being. Finding new ways to get in touch with your sense of pleasure can create a sense of empowerment and help you feel better overall in your life.
The Connection Between Sexual Pleasure and Mental Health
Do sex toys improve mental health? Sexual wellness has been a huge buzzword in the wellness and sex tech industries and recent years – and for good reason. The psychological benefits of sex toys are endless.
When you have an orgasm, your body releases what are called “feel-good hormones. The most well-known one is oxytocin, also known as “the love hormone”, but you also release other feel-good hormones like endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.
Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for your brain’s reward system – it’s associated with pleasurable sensations and helps you feel good. Serotonin helps regulate your mood, along with your sleep, memory, and more. Endorphins are the body’s natural pain reliever.
Essentially, pleasure and mental health go hand in hand. These feel good hormones help you reduce stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and emotional stability, get better sleep, and feel more relaxed.
How Sex Toys Boost Self-Confidence and Body Positivity
Lacking confidence or not feeling good in your body can impact your ability to experience pleasure. But self-exploration can be incredibly helpful in boosting your confidence and sexuality.
There are many reasons why someone might not feel confident in their body. This could be after you’ve experienced some type of trauma, if you’re struggling with your body, or if you had changes such as postpartum, menopause, or surgery.
There is a big connection between self-esteem and sex toys. Using sex toys can help reduce any anxiety you may feel about sexual performance or looking a certain way, so you can instead just focus on your enjoyment and connection with your body. You deserve pleasure, and embracing your pleasure is vital to helping you overcome any self-consciousness you may be experiencing.
The Role of Sex Toys in Stress and Anxiety Relief
Stress is a part of life, but knowing how to mitigate your stress levels is vital for maintaining your mental health. Stress relief through sex can be a great way to do this. That can mean sex with someone else, or sex by yourself.
Self pleasure is a natural way to distress. It allows you to get out of your head and into your body, while focusing on your pleasure. That’s in large part and thanks to the link between orgasm and stress relief.
Just like how orgasms release feel-good hormones, they also help reduce stress, hormones, a.k.a. cortisol. When you reduce cortisol levels, you not only improve your stress and anxiety levels, you improve your physical health as well. Having lower cortisol levels allows you to feel more relaxed, while also sleeping better and feeling more emotionally balanced.
Stress relief is one of the many emotional benefits of sex toys. Plus, vibrators and wands don’t just have to be used for sexual stimulation, they can also be used as a relaxation tool on the rest of your body.
Sex Toys as Tools for Self-Discovery and Personal Growth
If you wanna continue to grow as a person, then you need to practice self-discovery. Self-discovery is important for understanding who you are and what you want.
Exploring pleasure is an incredibly healthy way to help you understand your desires, preferences, and boundaries. Using sex toys for self-exploration is much more impactful if you’re on a new journey in your gender or sexuality, such as if pleasure is new to you, if you’re coming out, or if you’re exploring your gender.
No matter where you are in your self pleasure journey, using it as a space for exploration can help you learn more about your body so you can better communicate your needs in a relationship or with someone else.
Strengthening Emotional Intimacy in Relationships
Using sex toys isn’t just helpful for your own emotional well-being, they can also be beneficial in your relationship. Wondering how sex toys help relationships? It comes down to emotional connection and intimacy.
Sex toys are a tool that can be used with your partner to enhance both your pleasure, while also increasing your emotional intimacy. That’s because using them encourages both of you to communicate about your desires and preferences.
Using sex toys also helps to break any routine or sexual rut you may be in and introduce new experiences and sensations into your sex life. This spirit of explanation helps to bring you closer together and feel more intimacy.
They can also be incredibly helpful in the case of long-distance relationships. Many brands, like LELO, now make remote and app-controlled toys. These toys help you to maintain closeness and intimacy, even when you’re across the world from each other.
Overcoming Shame, Taboos, and Stigmas Around Self-Pleasure
If you feel guilty or anxious around your sexuality, that probably comes from cultural and societal shame that you grew up with. This conditioning may prevent you from wanting to use sex toys in the first place.
It might seem contradictory, but embracing your pleasure and sexual exploration is the antidote to this. Once you start to explore your own body, you realize that your pleasure is not harmless but it’s also incredibly beneficial for your well-being.
Exploring our pleasure through the use of sex toys helps to encourage sexual confidence, whether you’re by yourself or with a partner. Tapping into embracing your sense of pleasure can also help you heal from sexual repression, and or other negative experiences you may have had.
How Sex Toys Can Support Mental Health Therapy and Healing
We’re not just promoting the use of sex toys because we make them, we also genuinely believe in the emotional benefits of sex toys –– and therapists agree.
Sex toy therapy is not abnormal, especially in the field. Sex therapists often recommend vibrators or other toys for:
- People recovering from trauma or sexual dysfunction.
- Individuals experiencing sexual anxiety or difficulty with arousal.
- Women dealing with menopause-related changes in libido.
- People with PTSD, body dysmorphia, or other mental health conditions.
The use of sex toys and a therapeutic setting are vast. Pleasure in itself is a valid form of self-care that can be incredibly beneficial for your emotional healing.
Who Can Benefit from the Emotional and Psychological Effects of Sex Toys?
Wondering just who can benefit from the psychological and emotional benefits of sex toys? The short answer is everyone –– or at least anyone who’s interested in using them.
That includes:
- People with high stress levels or anxiety.
- Those seeking greater body confidence and self-love.
- Couples looking to enhance their emotional and sexual intimacy.
- Anyone wanting to feel more sexually empowered and in control of their pleasure.
Addressing Common Questions & Concerns
It’s normal to have questions or concerns about using sex toys for your emotional well-being, especially if they’re new to you. We’re here to clear up any confusion.
Q: Are sex toys addictive?
A: No, they’re definitely not. On the contrary, they can become part of a healthy self-care routine.
Q: Do sex toys replace emotional connection?
A: No, sex toys are not a replacement for emotional connection. They can, however, enhance intimacy both with yourself and with a partner.
Q: Can using sex toys boost overall happiness?
A: Yes, absolutely! Using sex toys can help increase confidence, reduce stress, and improve your emotional well-being.
Q: Is it okay to use sex toys if I struggle with mental health issues?
A: Yes, many people find pleasure an effective tool for relaxation and self-care. Plus the hormones released during pleasure and orgasm may also improve your mental health.
Sex Toys and Your Emotional Well-Being
There are so many psychological and emotional benefits of sex toys. These benefits extend across different areas of your life, from your physical, mental, and emotional health to overcoming cultural barriers to pleasure.
Self-pleasure can be a valuable tool to help boost your confidence and your emotional well-being, helping you to feel better in your body and in your life. If you want to personally explore how sex toys can improve your emotional well-being, try it out for yourself! Try a new toy that aligns with your emotional and wellness goals. These could include wanting to experience more pleasure, feel more confident in your body, or experience deeper intimacy in your life.
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