Do’s and don'ts of having casual sex after divorce

 

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For many, casual sex after divorce provides for their physical need without feelings of guilt and helps them to heal and grow.

But some women will confuse the intimacy with love, leaving them open to be hurt.

Many women find it difficult to be in a casual sex relationship because of the powerful hormone oxytocin, which is released during orgasm. It is believed that oxytocin may cause a woman to create a strong emotional tie to sexual partners.

So, it is important that women heal and let go of the fairytale before entering into a casual relationship for sex.

Now, the Huffington Post has provided a list of useful do's and don'ts of having casual sex after divorce.

First it says women should be honest.

Explore your innermost reasons for wanting to engage in casual sex as well as what that means to you, it said.

Next is to be straightforward.

You need to be confident enough to tell your partner exactly what you do and do not want in the relationship, said The Huffington Post.

One should be realistic. Know that this relationship is temporary and it will end.

And be safe and protected - Do your homework if you met him online. Let a trusted friend know where you are and with whom and be prepared with condoms and use them, even if you have other means of birth control, it said.

Don't get emotionally attached. Consistently remind yourself that this relationship is all about sex and that it’s not about love and it will never be.

Don't expect to be wined and dined. It is all about sex, it is not dating.

Don't take him home because it is just not safe unless you have a very good idea of who the man is.

Don't make it personal - When the relationship is over, know that it has fulfilled its purpose. There is no need to be sad or grieve, it suggests.

And lastly don’t have casual sex with your ex.

This is the worst thing you can do because you have way too much personal attachment with your ex for it ever to be casual.

Plus:
Sex `pleasurable with or without use of condom or lubricant`
How stress can negatively affect your sex life
Middle-aged women happier than men about their sex lives

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After Breast Cancer Surgery, Patient Assistance Programs Can Help

FRIDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Patient assistance programs make it more likely that breast cancer patients will get additional treatments after they have surgery, and receive other kinds of support, a new study finds.

These recommended additional -- or "adjuvant" -- therapies include radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal treatments.

"Doctors have been frustrated by data showing that perhaps as many as 20 percent of women with breast cancer -- especially black and Hispanic women -- do not take advantage of lifesaving adjuvant therapies," study author Dr. Nina Bickell, a professor of health evidence and policy and a professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, in New York City, said in a Mount Sinai news release.

"Some women lack critical information about the value of these treatments, while others need help dealing with the emotional aspects of breast cancer treatment, or with practical matters -- such as transportation, insurance or childcare -- before taking the next step," she said. "Fortunately, there are many high-quality patient assistance programs that can help women address these issues."

Bickell and her colleagues looked at 374 women with early stage breast cancer who had recently undergone surgery for their cancer. Nearly 80 percent of those who contacted a patient assistance program had some or all of their needs met, compared with 35 percent of those who did not connect with a program.

The programs were especially effective in meeting patients' needs for information about adjuvant treatment or counseling, according to the study recently published online in the Journal of Oncology Practice.

"We were delighted to discover that most of the women in our study who needed some type of assistance had a successful encounter with a patient assistance program and got the treatments they needed," Bickell said.

"Nevertheless, national statistics suggest that women in the U.S. continue to face economic and logistical barriers to getting adjuvant therapy for breast cancer," she added. "To ensure that patient assistance programs have the greatest impact on reducing national disparities in care, private philanthropies, which represent the biggest source of funding for these valuable programs, will be challenged to increase development in this area."

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Mount Sinai Hospital, news release, Oct. 22, 2013

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Social Isolation Linked to More Pain After Hip Replacement

SATURDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- People without social support may experience more pain years after surgery, a new study suggests.

Researchers surveyed 687 patients, average age 62, with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis who underwent total hip replacement surgery. Of those patients, 8.2 percent in the rheumatoid arthritis group and 7.8 percent in the osteoarthritis group were considered to be socially isolated.

This meant that they had few people who were close to them. For example, they were not married, had fewer than six friends or relatives, or did not belong to any community or religious groups.

The socially isolated patients were almost three times more likely than those with good social support to have serious, ongoing pain two or more years after having hip replacement surgery, according to the researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

The study is scheduled to be presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Diego. Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

"We believe further prospective studies should be done to determine whether interventions to evaluate and improve patients' social ties before surgery could lead to a better pain outcome after hip replacement," study author Dr. Lisa Mandl said in a hospital news release.

"It could be a way to improve outcomes without medication or other costly interventions. I see no downside to helping patients get the social support they may need to improve their quality of life," Mandl said.

She noted that previous studies have shown that people with poor social ties are at higher risk for heart attack, stroke and death than those with the support of family, friends and the community.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Hospital for Special Surgery, news release, Oct. 26, 2013

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