Senior Relationships Can and Should Have Intimacy and Passion

For many seniors, the reduction of intimacy and passion in their relationships occurs quite gradually. It just seems to slip away a little bit at a time, until one day you may wake up and wonder why it is gone. For many other seniors, the loss of a spouse and fostering of new relationships leads to all sorts of worrying and wondering about whether intimacy and passion are even possible anymore. There is no reason why seniors cannot enjoy a healthy intimate life and experience the comfort and happiness of being in an intimate relationship.

Physical Changes Experienced by Seniors

As time passes seniors experience many different physical changes in their bodies that affect all aspects of their intimate life. For both men and women the natural drop in hormone levels can reduce not only the desire to be intimate but the ability to be intimate as well. Some people take this as a sign they should give up on having a physical relationship, but that is absolutely not necessary. There are some who use this as an excuse if the love for their spouse is gone, but if you have a loving spouse there is no need for the passion to stop!

Women tend to lose the natural vaginal lubricants that make intimacy more comfortable, which can lead to discomfort and pain. Men also experience changes, most noticeably the reduction in desire and difficulty getting and maintaining an erection. These issues alone can be enough to deter even the most eager of senior couples.

Overcoming Nature to Create Passion and Intimacy

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to help alleviate the challenges and discomforts of physical changes and foster the rewards of intimacy once again. Physical issues can be addressed in a number of ways, such as:

• Use of water-based lubricants
• Medication to support arousal
• Healthy eating and good nutrition
• Physical activity and exercise

Sometimes, though, the challenges are due to other issues such as medical conditions, medication side effects, and the like. It’s particularly common for both men and women to have a range of difficulties with intimacy when they have illnesses and ailments such as:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Arthritis

These kinds of conditions may make it a bit more difficult to achieve physical intimacy, but they do not have to make it impossible. Schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss the possibility of changing medications to reduce side effects or even adding the more current medications available to improve intimate function.

Ideas for Creating Intimacy and Passion

One thing that is all too easy to forget is that intimacy and passion are based as much on emotion and feeling as they are on physical abilities and reactions. If you want to improve your physical relationship and experience a rich and full intimate life, here are some great ideas for addressing the emotional aspects that are so vital for success:

• Physical touch – Make a point of enjoying plenty of gentle and affectionate physical touch. This can mean holding hands more often, sitting close and snuggling on the couch, putting your arms around each other, a gentle caress on the back, or any other touch that increases your sense of connectedness.

• Communication – This may seem like an obvious one, but all too many seniors simply forget about the power of just talking with each other. So turn off the TV, put down your newspaper, cuddle up on the couch or in your bed, and just talk about whatever you want. You could talk about pleasant memories, fun times in your relationship, favorite foods, favorite activities, or the like.

• Romance and courtship – Practicing examples of romance and courtship are especially powerful for enhancing intimacy between seniors. Just as when you were first becoming a couple, try doing and saying the little things that may have fallen by the wayside over the years. Light a candle at dinner, surprise him or her with flowers, leave a note on the bathroom mirror, even something as simple as saying “You look great” can generate a surprisingly strong response.

The most important thing to remember through all of this is that it’s okay to want to improve your intimate relationship and it’s absolutely possible to do so. Don’t let anyone tell you seniors cannot be happy, healthy, intimate partners because it is just not true…I asked my grand-parents!