Impact of mindfulness versus supportive sex education on stress in women with sexual interest/arousal disorder.
Journal of behavioral medicine August 1, 2024 Lori A Brotto, Rosemary Basson, Andrea Grabovac et al.
A mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) group treatment and a sex education comparison group treatment both reduced perceived stress in 148 women diagnosed with sexual interest/arousal disorder, with MBCT producing significantly greater reductions. The cortisol slope, indicating stress system regulation, steepened from pre-treatment to six-month follow-up in both groups, with no difference between them. Exploratory analyses showed that reduced perceived stress predicted increased sexual desire and decreased sex-related distress only after MBCT. The findings suggest that group mindfulness for women with low desire improves both self-reported and physiological stress, and that improvements in self-reported stress partly account for improvements in sexual desire and distress.