The Hidden Impact of Motherhood, Stress, and Mental Load on Sex – Caroline Hood

Caroline Hood is a certified sex therapist, licensed clinical social worker, and author of the forthcoming book Sex Begets Sex: Reclaiming Desire as an Act of Female Empowerment. She holds a BA from Columbia University, an MSW from USC, and an executive certificate from Harvard Kennedy School. She is also a mother of three and has been in a committed partnership for eighteen years.‎‎She challenges one of the most deeply ingrained myths about long-term relationships: that desire inevitably fades over time. She argues that what disappears is not libido, but intention, agency, and practice.‎‎In this episode of Empowered Conversations, we talk about:‎- Where women's desire actually goes in long-term relationships‎- What women are longing for when they say they've "lost desire"‎- Why women feel disconnected from sex after motherhood‎- Whether stress really kills desire – or if something deeper is happening‎- The hidden impact of motherhood, mental load, and cognitive overload on sex‎- What women privately think about sex that they rarely say out loud‎- Why sex becomes obligation or performance instead of something women want‎- Why play is essential to desire and intimacy‎- The difference between having sex and playing sexually‎- What reclaiming sexual agency looks like in real life‎- How to rebuild intention, agency, and practice in long-term love‎- The role of frequency versus perfection‎- One small thing you can do today to start reconnecting with your desire‎‎If you have ever wondered where your desire went – this conversation is for you.‎‎Desire does not have to disappear. What fades is not your libido – but intention, agency, and practice. And those can be reclaimed. You are not broken. You are not alone. And pleasure is not selfish.‎Connect with Caroline Hood‎Website: desireinreallife.com‎Book: Sex Begets Sex: Reclaiming Desire as an Act of Female EmpowermentFollow and rate the show.‎