Your Relationships Matter: Let’s Talk About Intimacy
Living with pemphigus and pemphigoid comes with many challenges – some visible, and others deeply personal. One area that can be especially difficult to talk about is how our diseases affect intimacy and close relationships. You’re not alone in facing these concerns, and it’s important to know that.
This message is meant to open the door to an honest, supportive conversation about the ways pemphigus and pemphigoid can impact physical closeness, emotional connection, and self-confidence, and how to navigate those challenges with care, understanding, and the right tools.
What helps:
- Open communication with your partner
- Focusing on emotional closeness first
- Time physical intimacy for the times of day you feel your best
- Being patient with yourself and each other
- Your worth and your capacity to love (and be loved) haven’t changed.
Links to intimacy websites you may find helpful:
- Mayo Clinic- Sexual health and chronic illness: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/sexual-health/in-depth/sex-and-chronic-illness/art-20044706
- Covers how fatigue, pain, and emotional stress affect intimacy with tips for communicating with partners and finding alternate forms of closeness.
- CreakyJoints – Maintaining Sex and Intimacy with a Chronic Illness:https://creakyjoints.org/lifestyle/maintain-sex-intimacy-with-chronic-illness/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- Offers practical tips from a rheumatology nurse on maintaining intimacy, emphasizing communication, planning, and adapting to changes in physical abilities
- Better Health Channel – Sex and Chronic Illness: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/servicesandsupport/Sex-and-chronic-illness?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- Provides general advice on maintaining physical intimacy when living with a chronic illness, including the importance of communication and exploring different forms of closeness.
- Psychology Today – Sex & Love in Chronic Illness: https://www.google.com/search?q=Psychology+Today+%E2%80%93+Sex+%26+Love+in+Chronic+Illness&oq=Psychology+Today+%E2%80%93+Sex+%26+Love+in+Chronic+Illness&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigAdIBBzc0N2owajmoAgCwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
- Discusses the psychological aspects of maintaining intimacy when living with a chronic illness, including strategies for communication and emotional connection.
- Henry Ford Health – Sexuality after Chronic Illness: https://www.henryford.com/services/gynecology/sexual-health/sexuality-after-illness
- Explores how chronic illness can affect sexual health and offers suggestions for adapting intimacy practices to accommodate health changes.
Next Time: “You’re Not Alone: Mental Health with a Rare Disease”