Feeling sad or depressed right after sex? Well, you are not alone. There were previous studies that showed women often feel sadness right after they have had sex but a recent study has found that even men feel sadness and can suffer from the emotional tides right after they have had an intercourse.
The feeling of anxiety, agitation or sadness, right after sexual intercourse is termed as Postcoital Tristesse or Postcoital Dysphoria (PCD). Many suffering from PCD exhibit intense feelings that last from five minutes to two hours after they have experienced consensual intercourse.
According to the latest study from the Queensland University of Technology, PCD was once assumed to exclusively occur in women. But after a survey conducted on 1,208 men from numerous countries, the researchers found that PCD is more common among males than one might have previously expected.
"Forty-one percent of the participants reported experiencing PCD in their lifetime with 20 percent reporting they had experienced it in the previous four weeks," revealed co-author Joel Maczkowiack.
According to the researcher, after having a satisfactory intercourse, there were men who acknowledged the statements such as, "I don't want to be touched and want to be left alone" or "emotionally empty."
Prior to this latest research, there were several studies that talked about women's feelings after having sex. Dr. Robert Schweitzer, a lead researcher of the PCD, told Cosmopolitan in 2016 that after the feedback his and his team received during the tenure of their research, they found that post-sex sadness is more common than they have previously assumed.
"We don't know terribly much because it's so counterintuitive to the dominant thinking about what sex should be like," he has said. "But it is more common than anyone expects."
Schweitzer recently stated that those who engage in afterplay, have more satisfied and strong relationship than those who do not engage in cuddling, kissing or talking after they have had sex. He even stated that PCD brings the emotional tides and could increase the conflicts in the relationship if not dealt with accordingly.
"As with the men in this new study, it is not well understood. We would speculate that the reasons are multifactorial, including both biological and psychological factors."
