Depressed? Have some unprotected sex!
I’ve been a little depressed lately and Michael had a solution for me. He left me on the computer three news stories about a study claiming women who had unprotected sex were happier than those who used condoms or who didn’t have sex.
Apparently it’s not the act of sex that makes the women happier, it’s the actual chemicals in the man’s semen. (Oh Lord, every husband will be using this as an excuse to get some now. “It’s all for you baby! It will make you happy.”)
“The finding that women who do not use condoms during sex are less depressed and less likely to attempt suicide than are women who have sex with condoms and women who are not sexually active, leads one researcher to conclude that semen contains powerful—and potentially addictive—mood-altering chemicals.”
“Study author Gordon G. Gallup, Ph.D., a psychologist at the State University of New York in Albany, also found that women who routinely had intercourse without condoms became increasingly depressed as more time elapsed since their last sexual encounter. There was no such correlation for women whose partners regularly used condoms.”
“Gallup’s survey of 293 college women also found that those who did not use condoms were most likely to initiate sex and to seek out new partners as soon as a relationship ended. “These women are more vulnerable to the rebound effect, which suggests that there is a chemical dependency,” says Gallup.”
An article in Scientific American helps explain how it works (scientifically):
Why the vagina is a great place to absorb chemicals, such as those in semen:
“Now, medical professionals have known for a very long time that the vagina is an ideal route for drug delivery. The reason for this is that the vagina is surrounded by an impressive vascular network. Arteries, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels abound, and—unlike some other routes of drug administration—chemicals that are absorbed through the vaginal walls have an almost direct line to the body’s peripheral circulation system. So it makes infinite sense, argue Gallup and Burch, that like any artificially-derived chemical substance inserted into the vagina via medical pessary, semen might also have certain chemical properties that tweak female biology.”
What is in semen that can make you happy:
“In fact, semen has a very complicated chemical profile, containing over 50 different compounds (including hormones, neurotransmitters, endorphins and immunosupressants) each with a special function and occurring in different concentrations within the seminal plasma. Perhaps the most striking of these compounds is the bundle of mood-enhancing chemicals in semen. There is good in this goo. Such anxiolytic chemicals include, but are by no means limited to, cortisol (known to increase affection), estrone (which elevates mood), prolactin (a natural antidepressant), oxytocin (also elevates mood), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (another antidepressant), melatonin (a sleep-inducing agent) and even serotonin (perhaps the most well-known antidepressant neurotransmitter).”
“Given these ingredients—and this is just a small sample of the mind-altering “drugs” found in human semen—Gallup and Burch, along with psychologist Steven Platek, now at the University of Liverpool, hypothesized that women having unprotected sex should be less depressed than suitable control participants.”
The scientific study on semen’s affect on depression and what it found:
“The most significant findings from this 2002 study, published with criminally modest fanfare in the Archives of Sexual Behavior , were these: even after adjusting for frequency of sexual intercourse, women who engaged in sex and “never” used condoms showed significantly fewer depressive symptoms than did those who “usually” or “always” used condoms. Importantly, these chronically condomless, sexually active women also evidenced fewer depressive symptoms than did those who abstained from sex altogether. By contrast, sexually active women, even really promiscuous ones, who used condoms were just as depressed as those practicing total abstinence. In other words, it’s not just that women who are having sex are simply happier, but instead happiness appears to be a function of the ambient seminal fluid pulsing through one’s veins.”
I’m not sure if it worked or not because I also made some double chocolate cookies the same night and those are supposed to make women happy too!
So what do you think? Do you believe that semen has chemicals in it that fight depression? Are you willing to have sex to improve your mood and keep your spirits high? Would that be OK with your husband? Can you see spouses using this as a persuasive measure to convince you to jump into the sack more often? Have you ever seen this trend in your own sex life? (Before you focus the comments on my husband, let me just say that he was half kidding for me and thought it would be a great topic for us.)
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91 comments Add your comment
Marquetta Burton
September 27th, 2010
11:40 am
read this
I am whatever you say I am
September 27th, 2010
12:00 pm
DB: I am a realist but I will not apologize for the fact that my realist comments do not fit in your Mary Poppins world. If one is not having sex on a basis that is agreeable on both parties, it’s a problem. Probably masked by other bigger problems. Happily married people have sex! That’s what they do. If problems within a marriage (not just sex) were not able to be worked out, what’s the point of a marriage. Don’t people work together in a marriage? Being the realist I am, I am not going to wear rose colored glasses stay married and pretend there’s no problem for the sake of children. I love my child but I wouldn’t stay in a marriage I wasn’t happy in just for him. No sex is not everything but show me a guy that says he would be okay with not having sex in a marriage and I will show you a gay guy at Swinging Richards every Friday night
Caycee
September 27th, 2010
1:24 pm
I am whatever you say – I agree 100% I left my husband after 20 years of marriage for the exact reason and my children are very happy & well adjusted. If anything, my oldest has asked me why it took me so long.
I am whatever you say I am
September 27th, 2010
1:32 pm
Caycee- See they do know! As a child growing up, it was obvious my mother was not happy in her marriage. She took out her frustrations on us poor kids. I used to wish that she and my dad would get divorced and they never did. 30+ years later, she’s still unhappily married. My poor dad :-(
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
September 27th, 2010
1:42 pm
I am — poor dad — it is sad.
Young@heart
September 27th, 2010
1:46 pm
@ I am…have your mom read this topic…it could be the answer …Women of our mothers/grandmothers generation never talked about how unhappy they were in this area, maybe its not poor dad maybe its poor mom cause dad never took the time and thats why she’s always unhappy.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
September 27th, 2010
1:46 pm
Guys — I have to run out for a little bit so I have to put the blog where comments have to be approved before they will show up because it is such a racy topic. I will post them all as soon as I get back. I’ll be back in about two hours. I am so sorry!!!!
I am whatever you say I am
September 27th, 2010
2:05 pm
Theresa: While you are out, swing by Publix and pick me up some red pepper humus, nectarines, bananas, and chocolate- the kind used for fondue.Thanks a mil!
DB
September 27th, 2010
3:49 pm
@I am whatever: My “Mary Poppins” world? Sorry, I’d type more, but I’m laughing too hard . . .
My point is that it takes communication and work to create a marriage that satisfies both partners. I think that’s pretty “realistic”, don’t you? If you don’t believe in marriage, fine. I happen to believe in it, and it has worked pretty well for me. Personally, and this is MY personal take on this, mind you — I’d be a lot more concerned what my son was seeing and thinking if I were choosing to live with a man outside of marriage. That makes me old-fashioned in your eyes, I’m sure. So be it. I don’t apologize for my views, and I don’t expect everyone around me to conform to them. I’m just stating what’s worked for me for 30+ years.
My daughter called from college her first semester last year, and said, “Did I ever thank you and Daddy for being normal? If I didn’t — THANK YOU!” She was sitting around talking with some friends, and they were talking about their parents — unflatteringly. Step-parents, absent fathers and mothers, parents who didn’t pay child support, dads who beat their family members, alcoholics, moms who had stabbed their dads, etc. They turned to her, asking her what was wrong with her parents, and she said — “Umm — nothing. I’ve got nothing here — my parents are really boring!” They thought she was in denial. :-) It’s sad, really, when people expect the worst. There are no aspirations, apparently.
How that happens to be Mary Poppin-ish, I don’t know. I don’t know why people think being a “realist” means that you automatically default to the worst and lowest common denominator. There ARE men and women out there who are committed to making their marriage partnership work. There are men who are faithful and honorable and there are women who enjoy having a loving, sexual relationship with their husbands. It’s not always easy, and it’s not always perfect. But that’s my reality, and frankly, I’ll take my reality any day of the week. You can sneer at it by calling it “Mary Poppins” and sniff at rose-colored glasses if it makes you feel better.
Yes, some marriages fail. That’s sad. But I stand by my original point that a lot of marriages fail for what is ultimately, to me, shallow reasons that are mired more in a self-centered “me, me, me” attitude. Adultery — yep, I’m gone. Drug use, violence — yep, I’m gone. Other issues take work — and I personally don’t think a lot of people have a good work ethic when it comes to marriage, because more and more, over the last 30 years, they don’t have an example of what a good marriage can be. If they do see a good marriage, they think there’s got to be something wrong that they just can’t see — and sneer and call it “Mary Poppins”.
mom of 3
September 27th, 2010
3:53 pm
Children in college, no interruptions, a husband who wants to please as much as he wants to be pleased. I don’t ever want it to stop. We are back up to where we were when we were first married. My husband is in his 50’s and guess what guys we went 4 times in a 24 hour period so it does get better with age. Love my sexy husband and my committed sex life.
Caycee
September 27th, 2010
4:19 pm
Oh yes, the kids know. I saw my mother unhappy and she finally divorced after 30 years only to have cancer take her six months after. She never got to be happy which is why I was out the door in less than a year after her death. Now, I’m with a man that makes me smile everyday and my only regret has been that I waited that long. Like Dr. Phil says, the only thing worse than children being FROM a broken home is children living IN a broken home. Happy parents make for happy children.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
September 27th, 2010
4:32 pm
I’m back
I am whatever you say I am
September 27th, 2010
4:55 pm
DB: communication is key. I don’t know why you thought I was living with someone
idiotso your daughter calls to Thank you for you and your husband for being normal :roll: and? puking right now. there is no such think as normal, everyone has problems, and once again, married couples have sex and not just when one person finds it convenient.I am whatever you say I am
September 27th, 2010
4:58 pm
Oh and DB: before you start to judge: yes i am a single parent, yes my son’s father pays child support and then some, yes my son has an active relationship with his father, yes my son’s father calls all the time to talk or see his son which I do allow and accommodate. Is my child happy? Hell yes!
miracle
September 27th, 2010
5:05 pm
miracle
September 27th, 2010
5:06 pm
text to strike
mom2alex&max
September 27th, 2010
5:08 pm
To I am whatever: me thinks you doth…..
catlady
September 27th, 2010
5:16 pm
Chemical studies aside, you wonder what is cause and what is effect. Are “happy” women more likely to say, “The h3ll with it, let’s go without” and women who are more serious (worried) insist on condoms? Are those who are “happy” also past childbearing age or have had a hysterectomy?
catlady
September 27th, 2010
5:20 pm
You never know what is going to “come up” on this blog!
I am whatever you say I am
September 27th, 2010
5:22 pm
mom2alex: I don’t care what you or anyone thinks of me nor will my a*** stop shining over it.
Long time lurker
September 27th, 2010
5:41 pm
These studies are nothing new. I’ve been hearing about this for years.
I do believe there is a very real problem of “bait and switch” with both men and women when it comes to dating and then marriage. When will people learn that honesty with you partner from the start is what is going to lead to long term fulfillment?
I am whatever you say I am
September 27th, 2010
6:02 pm
I concur with lurker
DB
September 27th, 2010
6:43 pm
laughs, hands ‘I am whatever’ an airsickness bag and jumps out of the way . . .
Whimpy
September 27th, 2010
7:49 pm
im having fun shootin this off!!!
.
September 27th, 2010
7:50 pm
Enter your comments here
tracey
September 28th, 2010
3:41 pm
yeah, but what do you do for the depression you are going to get when you find out you have hiv????
Colleen Newvine Tebeau
September 28th, 2010
10:43 pm
John and I read about a study like this years ago and it’s become a standing joke in our house — “getting your antidepressants” is code for having sex.
I don’t know what the cause and effect relationship is. I have a guess that it’s having sex in a committed enough relationship to be able to go without a condom that creates the antidepressant effect, but if it’s semen, well, that’s fine, too. Whatever gets you through your day.
Cheaper than Xanax.
Rob
October 1st, 2010
8:55 am
Wondering if the method of administering these chemicals has the same effect–Vaginal or Oral?
SS
October 1st, 2010
9:23 am
I can sooo relate to this study! I’m not sure abut the “addiction” to semen part like it’s a drug, but i do believe that the chemicals in the semen make you feel good. My bofriend only wants sex once a month, It has taken a toll on me, i do feel depressed. I can tell the difference physicaly between when he cum’s ‘in’ me vs. when it gets off ‘on’ me. In me it’s a rush, on me I feel nothing. Now i have to wait another month……
SS
October 1st, 2010
9:35 am
Rob, yes there is a difference. Oral- Im just being kind, I really get nothing out of it. Vaginal i’m feeling it.
SS
October 1st, 2010
9:50 am
Single but commited woman. Are we dating the same guy? haha, I’ve been with mine for 9 years. SAME thing, he has no stamina either. 10 minutes into it he rolls off huffing and puffing and expect’s me to finish him off with a bj, which takes another 10-15 min. For you women who complain thats all your man wants, be thankful he still desire’s you and wants you. There is nothing more painful or hurtful than feeling rejected or unwanted by someone you thought loved you.
John
October 1st, 2010
11:19 pm
To all the ladies who feel that sex does nothing to enhance their outlook on life. Should find someone that can perform the “pink sock” on them. (definition can be found on Urban Dictionary)
tron
October 2nd, 2010
8:38 am
Wow! Maybe they should just bottle the goo and sell it over the counter for the ladies who ain’t gettin’ none…
Cedric
October 2nd, 2010
9:00 am
So if she’s not happy, it’s his fault? It’s all about her? Maybe this is why marriages are failing. Choose to be happy or not but don’t blame others, their semen or lack of it.
Lee
October 2nd, 2010
9:31 am
To DB, I totally agree…..I’ve been married 32 years and communication is so important. The road has not always been a smooth one but we keep on talking and working things out. I wouldn’t have gotten on this “roller coaster” ride with anyone else.
Winfield J. Abbe
October 2nd, 2010
10:02 am
This study was likely paid for by the Catholic Church. After all , this is how they keep the money coming in century after century and the kids available for the priests, and to pay off criminal charges with money donated for church purposes. A district attorney in Wisconsin is currently begging the Vatican to “serve” legal papers on Pope Benedict so he can answer questions under oath. This is a sick as it gets.
I got that grin
October 2nd, 2010
10:39 am
The mother-in-law gave my wife a piece of advice for a successful marriage–she called it “The Well F**Ked Man” theory. If I have to explain, you wouldn’t understand. We have been married for 31 years with no problems under the sheets and very few outside of them. The wifey poo gets what she wants—–and so do I, most of the time!
Estranged
October 2nd, 2010
11:23 am
Matters not what chemicals are in the “goo”, if a wife has lost her sex drive. Mine lost hers 13 years ago when my son was born and we’ve been sleeping in separate beds for the last 10….. Oh and yes, I’ve remained “loyal”…only God knows why….
I got that grin
October 2nd, 2010
12:12 pm
@mom of 3 –”we went 4 times in a 24 hour period ”
lawdy mercy!!
nathan quinn
October 2nd, 2010
12:45 pm
Wow, so based on the article semen in the system works as mood enhancer. Then shouldn’t we assume the same affects can be obtained through ingestion. Very interesting! I am going to share this with my girlfriend right now!
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