What Causes Reproductive and Sexual Issues?
Reproductive and sexual issues can occur as a result of your body and mind trying to adapt to stress, pressure, or past experiences and protect you from harm. It’s understandable if you’ve started to lose trust in your body or feel frustrated and disheartened but if you view your body as trying to protect you, it can soften your feelings towards the issue and allow it to start changing.
While medical factors can contribute, a significant number of issues stem from:
• Past trauma – if you have been unfortunate enough to have experienced trauma (emotional, physical or sexual), it can be held in your body as tension patterns which can lead to health conditions and dysregulation of your natural sexual responses
• Stress and nervous system dysregulation – your body can be stuck in a “danger response,” shutting down normal reproductive or sexual function to protect you
• Learnt beliefs and expectations – your attitudes to your body and intimacy are shaped by your family beliefs, cultural beliefs, religious beliefs and messages you take on from partners. These beliefs then affect your body's openess (or otherwise).
So even if you have a physical health issue, your body may be able to resolve it for you when you resolve the trauma, stress and beliefs that are influencing your condition.
Common issues we see include:
- Endometriosis & painful periods
- PCOS & irregular cycles
- Menopause
- Infertility & miscarriages
- Painful sex / inorgasmia / low libido (men & women)
- Erectile dysfunction
- Sexual trauma and negative sexual associations
We have seen good results for these conditions when the underlying stress response, beliefs, and trauma patterns are addressed.
Some inspiring client stories...
From Endo to Pregnant
Sexual Abuse Recovery
Post-SSRI Erectile Dysfunction
What Research Shows About Trauma & Endometriosis
While endometriosis is a physical and complex gynecological condition with multiple contributing factors (including genetics, hormonal influences, immune function, and environmental exposures), a growing body of research suggests trauma (including sexual trauma) is correlated with is.
While no research to date proves a direct cause for endometriosis lesions to develop, many studies show that trauma and stressful experiences are associated with a higher likelihood of diagnosis and more severe symptoms.
Childhood abuse and endo risk
A major prospective study of over 60,000 women found that those reporting severe chronic abuse in childhood — including sexual and physical abuse — had up to a 79% higher risk of having laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis later in life compared to women without such histories.
Another article says "our findings highlight the potential association between contact traumas and endometriosis, which appears to be independent of the disease genetic predisposition.”
Trauma linked to endo
A 2025 study in Sweden studied 1.3 million women, of which 24,000 had endo.
Difficult childhood experiences—such as parental mental illness, substance abuse, family financial problems, violence, or sexual abuse—are associated with a higher likelihood of developing endometriosis.
One factor had about a 20% increased risk, rising to around 60% for those with five or more adverse experiences.
Possible explanations
Trauma is strongly linked to how the nervous system processes pain, which may explain why people with a trauma history often experience more severe pelvic or sexual pain. Their body has effectively learnt to interpret threat and danger more frequently than other people, and to smaller stimuli.
Another explanation is that stress during childhood can affect the immune system, which could prevent it from effectively eliminating endometriosis tissue.
I have observed that almost all my endo and other pelvic pain clients have had sexual trauma experiences, or have grown up around very negative sexual belief systems. I'm sad if this is your experience. That's tough! And you may have already done lots of therapy to try to resolve it, but the issues still show up. However, I have seen such amazing uplifting trauma healing among my clients. It really can happen!
How Empower Therapies can help
The Switch tackles reproductive and sexual issues from all angles:
• Physiological regulation – calming the stress response and nervous system dysregulation to allow pleasure pathways to operate naturally again, and fertility to improve. One of my clients had had 11 miscarriages in a row. Poor woman! After The Switch, she got pregnant a month later and went full term!
• Mindset work – transforming thoughts that interfere with pleasure and reproductive function. I've seen clients who have learnt to view intimacy in a different way and are thrilled to discover how wonderful it can be! I often receive thank you emails from grateful partners...
• Trauma & inner child healing – using the Deep Switch to clear past experiences that have become trapped in the body and are affecting health and pleasure. A lady with severe endo was able to release all her sexual abuse trauma using The Deep Switch and was amazed to find that her very next period was already comfortable and normal.
• Belief transformation – shifting expectations that limit enjoyment and sexual satisfaction. An example of this was a client who had a belief that sex is only about men's pleasure. When she shifted this belief, she was thrilled to feel excitement about her own pleasure as well.
Feeling safe in the course
Because my programmes are mostly in groups, I want to reassure you that you are always in control of what you share.
Sexual issues and past trauma can feel very personal, and there is never any pressure to talk about things you don’t feel comfortable sharing. Some people share openly with the group, some talk to me privately, and some don’t share details at all. You can still make excellent progress without revealing things that feel too vulnerable to share.
We want this to be a space where you feel in control of your own wellbeing. If another group member is sharing something that feels heavy or triggering for you, you are welcome to step out at any time, for any reason, no questions asked. Your comfort comes first.
If you would feel safer working more privately, you can also choose one of our webinar programmes, which allow you full privacy and anonymity.
How can you help yourself?
Sexual Issues
Sexual arousal can shut down when sex is associated with danger, shame, or stress. To help your body re-learn pleasure:
• Observe evidence from your life showing that old fears are no longer necessary.
• Gradually create new, positive associations with sexual experiences.
Period & Reproductive Health
• Shift your mindset – see your period as a natural, life-giving process. Positivity can reduce pain and tension.
• Ice trick – gently place ice cubes over your ovaries (not directly on the skin). The brain can confuse cold for pain, helping the womb to relax and stop hurting.
• Vaginal exercise – avoid stretching or dilation exercises when not aroused. Penetration should be explored only when relaxed and aroused, restoring natural responses rather than forcing the body.
