Grief can dampen sex drive, but intimacy may aid recovery

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Research published in the International Journal of Sexual Health (Jones et al., 2024) finds that grief — the emotional response to losing a partner or loved one — tends to make resuming a sexual relationship harder for older adults, yet sexual intimacy in that same period can be helpful for coping. Lucas Reyes Prieto, a sexual health and aging researcher, writes that the two findings together make it especially important for bereaved people who want to maintain intimacy to work through the barriers grief creates. Therapists who normalize open conversation about sex and loss report better outcomes for their clients, and Prieto argues the same openness applies outside therapy: talking with a partner, doctor, or trusted friend can make the subject feel less frightening and easier to navigate.