Craig Peckham MD

Sex and ADHD Craig Peckham MD

There are many ways that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can affect your sex life. If you live with ADHD, you might notice that you are hypersensitive to sensory stimulation, making sensual touch feel irritating and even annoying. Or perhaps your level of sexual desire changes drastically from one day to the next. On the flip side, some people with ADHD have such a high sex drive and need for stimulation and novelty, such as pornography, that it causes problems in a partnership. People with ADHD may also be prone to sexual risk-taking such as unprotected sex or having multiple sex partners. The disorder is associated with a drop in neurotransmitters, which may lead to these types of impulsive behaviors. There's even something called post-orgasm irritability that can happen with ADHD, where the drop in dopamine following intense pleasure leads to feelings of sadness and depression.