Depression after sex is for real in some women

Do you get depressed or feel anxious or agitated post-sex? You are not alone. According to researchers, some women do suffer from postcoital dysphoria (PCD) or "post-sex blues."

This condition is characterised by tearfulness, a sense of melancholy or depression, anxiety, agitation, or aggression following sexual intercourse.

For the study, 230 female university students completed an online survey.

Nearly 46 percent of the respondents reported experiencing PCD symptoms at least once in their lifetime.

Over five percent experienced PCD symptoms a few times within the past four weeks.

There appeared to be no relationship between PCD and intimacy in close relationships.

"The findings build upon our previous research investigating the correlates of sexual functioning in women," said lead researcher Dr Robert Schweitzer.

"The results of our original research in this area have now been confirmed in an international multinational study on negative postcoital emotions, which appear to have evolutionary functions," Dr Schweitzer noted in a paper that appeared in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

According to a recent Australian study published in the International Journal of Sexual Health, one-third of women said they felt depressed even after satisfactory sex.

The researchers theorised that hormonal shifts after orgasm - the same changes that sometimes trigger post-sex headaches - could be to blame.