Relationships

Well, I feel you shouldn’t fake it in the FIRST place, and would say it’s time to stop faking NOW. I know: it can be really hard sometimes to tell a partner we care a lot about that we’re dissatisfied, because we don’t want to hurt their feelings. But faking pleasure or orgasm is one of the best…

If he wants to wait until marriage and you don’t or feel you can’t, then this isn’t the person for you to be pursuing a sexual relationship with, because you two very obviously have strongly conflicting wants and needs. Talking to him isn’t likely to net the results you want, either – if he’s solid…

A young person is very unlikely to need or benefit from hormone therapy to help with sexual desire. And if she’s already been on many different types of birth control pills, it’s relatively safe to say that if hormonal BC is the issue here, then her best bet is to switch to another contraceptive…

Having sex with someone else is really intimate, and we’re all vulnerable in that space, and double for both when we have strong feelings for the person we’re with. So, in order to make our own best choices – including in terms of our emotional safety – we need to understand that. Does this person…

The biggest part of the battle with relationship problems isn’t fixing them so much as it is recognizing that there ARE problems, what they are and being willing to address them and work a little to seek out healthier patterns of behavior.

We talk a lot about sexual safety and safer sex here at Scarleteen in terms of your physical health. But what about checking in to see if sex is safe for you and yours emotionally? Taking care of your emotions, looking out for risk factors in advance – not just when they become an existing crisis – and safeguarding yourself, your partners and those around you from needless hurt and harm is just as important as doing what you can to prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancies.

Many people in long-term, committed relationships, be it marriage or steady partnership – no matter their age – have ideas about sex in partnerships they may not even be aware of. Often we base our ideas of relationships and sexuality on what we see in the media or in movies, on what our parents relationship is like, or on what we imagine, in a perfect world, sex and love to be. Talking about what those ideas are, communicating our feelings honestly, and creating clear limits and honoring them make everyone happier and healthier.