I just drank it away. My sex drive, my erections, my job, my marriage. I just drank it away.
ALCOHOLIC HUSBAND
A total of eighty-one men and forty-three women described themselves as alcoholics in the couples groups. Forty-seven of the men reported problems with erections and thirty of the women reported decrease in sexual interest. Even in cases where the physical examination did not reveal liver damage (a frequent consequence of alcoholism and one directly related to sexual problems because of impact on hormonal patterns), erective and sexual-interest problems were present. One woman reported, “I can’t tell you if I am interested in sex or not. I do it a lot. But that doesn’t mean anything. I go to work, too, but that doesn’t mean I want to. When you’re a drunk, you just do things. You’re lucky if you remember what.”
In addition to liver damage, neurological and circulatory problems occur with excessive drinking. Alcohol in the blood directly suppresses the sexual-reflex system. The body’s immune system is seriously jeopardized by alcoholism, and the generally poor and deteriorating health of the alcoholic seriously affects sexuality.
Alcoholism, like all health problems, affects the entire family system. I have found that sexual counseling is not effective until the drinking problem and related family and marriage problems are confronted and remediated wherever possible.
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