“A common pattern we see is that the sex has dried up.”

In millions of marriages around the globe, one partner is starving for intimacy, and the other feels confused, frightened, frozen, or all three. The sexually guarded partner doesn't know how to open, and their partner feels stuck, unhappy and alone.

So what can they do?

Here we explore exactly that, with a focus on a woman partner who may be terrified of engaging in sexual healing. We explore the origins and root causes of this pattern, as well as sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy, love, commitment, and connection.

We talk about the phenomenon of: “I’m so flooded now that we have kids that it’s really hard for me to have the bandwidth to connect physically with anyone.” And: “Our lack of physical intimacy started bleeding into a lack of emotional intimacy."

\We also talk about the prevalence of sexual trauma, whether from childhood or adulthood or both, as well as how to heal from it.

Hint: One of the best ways to move through it is as a woman is not with a love relationship partner, but with other women.

Sisterhood is powerful medicine.

Mentioned on this episode:

• Violet's program for women: Love Integrated (https://loveandlegacy.circle.so/LoveIntegrated)
• Violet & Jason & Luke's program for women: Heart of Shadow for Women (https://heartofshadow.com/women/)
• DM 1: Pain in Pleasure, Pleasure in Pain
• DM 348: ‘I wish we had sex more.’ (ft. Violet Lange)
• DM 325: What if *every* woman had a self-pleasure practice? 
• DM 265: What if she's got a sexual trauma background? How do you help? (ft. Violet Lange) 
• DM 227: How a woman can reclaim her erotic essence (ft. Violet Lange)

Memorable quotes:

• “It can be very easy for a woman to avoid these conversations.”
• “Couples are complex systems.”
• “If you can’t talk about sex and what’s coming up there, you start to close off other conversational doors.”
• “He’s starving for intimacy, and I don’t just mean physical sex.”
• “There’s a deeper layer of healing and connection that wants to come forth.”
• “‘The closer we got, the less interested in sex I became; it was easy to just focus on planning the wedding.’”
• “I funneled all my energy into work ... and if I’d had kids, I would’ve funneled it into them.”
• “There’s a leaning in so that you, as a unit, — you and your partner — are generating energy.”
• “I can’t live a full life and exclude this part of myself.”
• “I’m ready, and I’m scared.”
• “It’s about having a partner who expresses herself so that you really trust her.”
• “We, as humans, and especially women, are incredibly capable of change and healing and growth and renewal.”
• “Here I am; I’m alive!”