Desire, Pleasure, and Erotic Intimacy in Midlife

I’m having so much fun and, yes, sometimes a little uncomfortable too, digging deeper into desire, pleasure, and erotic intimacy. The more I heal and grow in this area, the more space I can create for my clients to feel safe, be honest with themselves, and give themselves permission to want more.

Who said midlife is a crisis? It’s an awakening in every area of our lives.

And listen, one powerful way to resist patriarchy and Christian nationalism is through joy and connection, reclaiming your sexual desire and pleasure, being free in your own body, and knowing what you truly want. That’s resistance. That’s liberation.

When I started asking myself, What do I desire? What brings me pleasure? What are my fantasies? it opened up a whole new layer of healing and freedom. The second half of life is about coming back to life, back to your body, back to your truth, back to your joy.

If I’m being honest, this has been a struggle for me my entire life ,the generational trauma, the messages from culture, the shame I carried, and the struggles within my own marriage at the time, all of which led my husband and me into a conservative evangelical church for 12 years.

And let me tell you, a big buzzkill with sexuality is conservative evangelicalism. I had to stuff all kinds of stuff down. And yet, here I am, reclaiming my desire, my pleasure, and my freedom, and inviting you to do the same.

And just so you know, eroticism isn’t just sex. It’s much more than that. It’s connection, creativity, curiosity, and the full experience of pleasure in life.

Now, my kids and their friends might read this on social media, roll their eyes at me, or my youngest might say, “Ew, Mom!” But they will be grateful they won’t have to be healing this stuff at 50. The more free I become, the more free they become too, because I talk to my kids about all of this. I normalize it. It’s a big part of being human.

So get ready, I’ll be sharing lots more. If you want, follow me on substack or sign up for my newsltter @kimwatttherapy.com

If you are looking for a trusted therapist where you can feel safe as you rediscover who you are or If you are looking for a speaker for your next event, organization, or small group, send me a message at kim@kimwatttherapy.com