I have already written a post about a link between sexual activity and UTIs. In that post I explained physiological factors contributing to your risk of contracting UTI during sex. However, there could be psychological reasons, too.
Most of us hate the fact that sex causes UTIs. Obviously, sex is the last thing on your mind when you are in pain and peeing blood. Moreover, when you keep getting UTIs after sex, it creates stress and worries every time you are sexually active. You don’t wont to have sex because you do not want to risk your health!
However, there might be a category of readers who thought to themselves: “Oh thank God, now I have a legit excuse to not have sex”.
If you are in the second category, I have bad news for you: you have an extra factor playing against you (hint: your own psyche). Yes, that’s true! In simple words: if you do not like sex you could have some psychosomatic reasons for your UTIs.
Did your doctor perform all the tests but fail to find bacteria causing your UTI symptoms? Sometimes the issue with your bladder could be of psychosomatic /ˌsīkōsəˈmatik/ origin. Therefore, if your doctor said that sex is causing your UTIs he might have been right one way or another.
Merriam-Webster defines psychosomatic as “of, relating to, involving, or concerned with bodily symptoms caused by mental or emotional disturbance”. Which basically means that the saying “it is all in your head” could be true even when the symptoms seem to be obvious.
“At least 15% of women complaining of UTI symptoms have no organic basis for their complaints” . This is an old article (1952) but it provides an interesting outlook on the problem. Basically, it points out that urinary systems and genital systems are both highly susceptible to your emotions.
Researchers go on to point out that “almost all patients with urinary frequency and urgency for which no physical cause can be found are women, and almost all are sexually repressed or even frigid, their symptoms originating in situations of sexual frustration or temptation”. This emotion most likely will go unnoticed since all you need is a subconscious reaction to a situation.
Are yours and your partner’s needs for sex matched to each other? Are you at peace with your own sexuality? Are you satisfied with your sexual life? These are some questions you should ask yourself if you are experiencing chronic UTIs. At least, working with your emotions doesn’t have any side effects.
