In our semi-regular continuing series here on healthy sexuality and the combat veteran, here's an important quotation from Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D., quoted by Jonathan Shay, M.D., Ph.D.:
“For some vets, sex is more than sex. It is a form of tranquillizer or sedative for their anxieties and other tensions. Not only does sex provide a sense of physical peace, but of emotional peace as well. “Sex takes away my anger,” explains Tom. “After satisfying sex, for a few moments at least, all seems well, both within and without.” … Furthermore, for some vets, orgasm functions as a form of “shock treatment” for their depression. “If I don’t have at least three orgasms a day, I get so blue I can’t stand it. The minute I start feeling down, I reach for my wife…” [said another veteran.] When his wife refuses him sexually, it is not just sexual frustration he feels, but the full weight of some of his symptoms of PTSD.”
