What is “sexual health”?
Author: SCIRE Community Team | Reviewers: Lesley Houle , Rachel Nicoletti | Published: 12 June 2018 | Updated: ~
Your emotional, mental, and social wellbeing can be linked to your sexual health.1
Sexual health means being healthy and well in all parts of life related to sexuality. Sexual health is more than just being physically healthy; it also means feeling emotionally, mentally and socially well as a sexual being.
Having good sexual health means that we are able to be sexual beings and take part in sexual activities that are healthy and meaningful to each of us with our own unique needs, values, and life circumstances.
What is “sexuality”?
Sexuality describes who we are as sexual beings. It includes all the ways that we may experience and express ourselves sexually, including through aspects of our identities (such as gender identity), our physical features and functions, how we relate to others, our roles in relationships and society, and our sexual thoughts, values, beliefs and behaviours.
Sexual health after spinal cord injury
Sexual health and intimacy are important parts of living a fulfilling life and this continues to be true after SCI. In most cases, injury to the spinal cord will affect a person’s physical sexual functions in some way. Although being sexual may not be the same as it was before the injury, people with SCI continue to be sexual beings and can still have satisfying sexual and intimate lives after injury.
Watch a SCIRE video introducing sexual health after SCI.
