Hi Sandrah, I'm so sorry that this anxiety is still weighing on you! I remember that you were considering taking a break from sexual activity to help manage your anxiety. Is that still something that you're thinking about doing? How do you feel about that? I'm wondering if you'd like to explore wher...

Hi Wanjiee! I love your list of things you're doing to make yourself feel better! I also agree with your friend that it can be good to let yourself feel your sadness and anger and any other negative feelings that might come up. When we recognize the emotions that we're feeling and let ourselves feel...

Hi Itsxafx! Welcome to our boards! Based on what you've described here, there is no chance that you are pregnant. The sexual activity you describe has a low risk of pregnancy, which drops to essentially zero with your birth control. Regardless of whether there was even a tiny risk or not there, you ...

Hi Bobbie, welcome to the boards! Just to make sure I understand, you're worried that your boyfriend might have sexually assaulted you in your sleep when you shared a bed with him? Is there anything that happened then or since that is contributing to your worry that this might have happened? Before ...

Hi Tyler, welcome to our boards! Your question makes perfect sense and is entirely appropriate to ask here, no need to worry. :) I hear you saying that you feel anxious in situations where you think you might get turned on, partly because being turned on makes you feel uncomfortable and partly becau...

Hi Umbr8llaa, You're absolutely right that changing hormone levels can affect people's sex drive and it does sound likely that that was the precipitating factor in your case. Adapting your sexuality to your changing body is a difficult but necessary part of many people's lives, though you're experie...

Hi Nymphcalypso! I'm glad Jacob's response was helpful for you! I just wanted to follow up with a couple of articles we have on some of the topics you were discussing, in case you'd like to read more: We have this article which has some ideas for how you can bring up sex, and birth control specifica...

Hi Annatea, I'm sorry to hear about your conflict with your mom. It makes sense to me that you're feeling relieved about having a break from the conflict, while also feeling conflicted because you wish you felt closer to her. I think that's a common way to feel when you're struggling with a relation...

Glad to hear you're feeling better, Claire! Just in case you need it in the future, I thought I'd offer you this article that can help with anxiety over pregnancy symptoms: Chicken Soup for the Pregnancy Symptom Freakout's Soul. Sounds like you've got it under control this time, though!

I'm so glad Caitlin's suggestion was helpful! Good luck with your shopping!

Hi Sandrah! I'm sorry you're still experiencing so much anxiety about this. Would you like to talk more about how to manage your anxiety around sex? We could try and dig into what might be triggering your anxiety or brainstorm actions you can take so that you feel more comfortable in the future.

Hi Fresariver, what a tough situation! I understand why you're feeling so confused and mixed up by this. I think it's really common for people to act in confusing ways after a breakup and when we're already feeling all hurt and angry, it can be really temping to believe that if we can just figure ou...

Hi Reapergirl! I'm sorry to hear that your relationship has been stressful lately. Tough work schedules can be so exhausting and it can be so difficult to feel connected with your partner when one of you is so tired! A lot of people have the impulse, when sex isn't going well or isn't happening as m...

Hi Sarxzer, and welcome to the boards! You're doing just fine and you're absolutely allowed to talk about things like this here. You can rest assured that owning and using toys and masturbating in general is all perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Can you talk a little more about why you ...

That's right! You are completely okay.

Hi Malla_Fluff! One of my favorite Scarleteen articles, Am I normal? Who cares? , makes almost exactly the same argument that your Mom did. I know that it can feel bad when other people comment on something that you like and say that it's weird to like it, but I bet there's someone out there (probab...

Hi Sandrah! It's hard to say why other sources might have different information from us. Some places on the internet might be working with outdated information or even misinformation, either accidentally or on purpose. Some places might feel obligated to err on the side of caution due to legal liabi...

Hi Brian! I'm glad to hear that the aftercare article was helpful — I think it's great that you made a plan together. One thing that stands out to me about your situation is that your girlfriend clearly has an irregular cycle, which is very common for people your age. I wonder if it would help to st...

Hi iloveeveryone! It can be a bit jarring when we suddenly develop a crush or an attraction or feelings for someone, especially someone we're close to! I think feeling a bit thrown off by that is really common. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about your feelings so we can try to figure out ...

Hi lb07! I just want to clarify something — when you say you have very little or no discharge, do you mean that your vagina and vulva feel uncomfortably dry or do you mean that you rarely see discharge on your underwear? If you're experiencing discomfort or it seems like your vagina (the inside part...

Hi BlueRed! I'm sorry that you're struggling with this. It sounds to me like you are so focused on respecting your partner's boundaries and emotions (which is great!) that you aren't really acknowledging all of your own feelings? Sometimes we can feel like in order to respect other's boundaries, tha...

Hi Malla_fluff. I wanted to jump in here because I relate A LOT to your story — I also struggled as a teenager with feeling ashamed about a similar situation with an uncommon kink. I can happily say that I have found no shortage of people to love me and that it has not been a big obstacle for me in ...

You're so welcome! When you say that fingering and clit rubbing doesn't work for you, do you mean that you don't find it pleasurable or that it doesn't lead to orgasm? You said in your first post that masturbation doesn't feel enjoyable anymore now that you've started doing it again. Does that mean ...

Hi Piebymeh! It completely makes sense that sex and masturbation are hard to enjoy when you're having negative feelings like anxiety and insecurity! You might have heard someone say before that sex is more about what's "between your ears" than what's "between your legs." Sexual p...

Hi MickTheMash! Welcome to the boards! Like Sam said to Lylecouse, sperm is very fragile and it can't survive well being moved from place to place on your fingers. Is that information and the rest of what Sam wrote helpful at all? We'd be happy to provide more clarification or talk through your situ...