What happens when you’ve spent so much of your life taking care of everyone else that you lose touch with what YOU want? And what happens when that disconnection follows you into the bedroom? In this episode of Rise with Anita, Anita sits down with returning guest Dr. Julie Merriman. Licensed professional counselor, certified sex counselor, trauma specialist, educator, author, and host of Sex After Fifty for an honest conversation about women, burnout, desire, intimacy, and the nervous system. Because losing desire doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong with you, your body, or your relationship. Sometimes you’ve simply spent so long being the mother, wife, caregiver, professional, problem-solver, and person everyone can depend on that there’s very little space left to hear your own wants and needs. Anita and Julie unpack why chronic stress and constantly “doing” can make intimacy feel like one more thing on your list, why receiving can feel surprisingly uncomfortable for women, and what it takes to reconnect with pleasure, desire, and yourself. They also explore what happens to intimacy in long-term relationships, why some couples begin to feel more like roommates than lovers, and how creating safety, connection, and touch without expectation can help rebuild closeness. In this conversation, you’ll discover: • Why burnout and chronic stress can affect desire and intimacy. • How constantly caring for everyone else can become self-abandonment. • Why receiving can feel so uncomfortable and how to practice it. • The connection Julie draws between nervous-system regulation, pleasure, and desire. • Why intimacy can start feeling like another demand. • How to reconnect with your body when you’ve felt disconnected for years. • Why safety matters so deeply in intimacy. • How long-term couples can rebuild connection without making sex the immediate goal. • What changes around desire, identity, and sexuality in midlife. • Why Julie believes desire begins within you rather than with your partner. • How to start asking yourself, “What do I actually want?”. Julie also shares insights from her book, Are We Gonna Have Sex or What?, and challenges the idea that a woman’s sexuality has an expiration date. This conversation isn’t only about having more sex. It’s about coming back into relationship with your body, your voice, your wants, your partner and the parts of yourself that may have disappeared underneath years of responsibility. So ask yourself: When was the last time you wanted something simply because YOU wanted it? Not because it was productive. Not because someone needed it from you. Not because it made someone else happy. You don’t need to have the answer today. But maybe it’s time to start listening for it. 🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a woman who needs the reminder that her needs and wants still matter. Topics: women’s desire, low libido, intimacy, sex after 50, nervous system regulation, burnout, self-sacrifice, relationships, marriage, menopause, perimenopause, pleasure, receiving, emotional intimacy, self-care, women’s sexuality, long-term relationships, and personal growth. If this conversation brought someone to mind, send it to her. Connect with Dr. Julie Merriman: Website: www.juliemerrimanphd.com. Grab her free Desire Reset Guide for a three-day kickstart. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjuliemerriman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.juliemerriman Book: Are We Gonna Have Sex or What? Podcasts: Sexy After 50, Compassion Fatigue Cure Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/compassion-fatigue-cure-from-burnout-to-radiance-for/id1491548677 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/54zsxiEBdGDyPl4IUrV6Mu If you felt something shift inside you today… hold that. Honor it. This is how we rise, one choice, one voice, one brave breath at a time. If you’re ready to go deeper, download your free ARISE Activation Workbook at www.arisewithanita.com Email: anita@arisewithanita.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arisewithanita/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anita.karadalian.7 Linkldn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-karadalian-girgis-23362b335/f And if this message landed in your soul, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who’s done playing small. Because we don’t just rise alone, we rise together. I’ll see you in the next episode.
