Your sexuality is defined as your sexual orientation, your sexual activity and your capacity for sexual feelings. It embodies much more than sex and gender however. It’s about how you think, act and feel as an individual. Your sexual identity can influence how you feel about yourself, your relationships and your place in the world. At LifeChange our team of experienced therapists ensure a non-judgemental and empathetic attitude in dealing with sex and sexuality issues.
Sexual orientation is a term frequently used to describe a person’s romantic, emotional or sexual attraction to another person. A person attracted to another person of the same sex is said to have a homosexual orientation and may be called gay (both men and women) or lesbian. Individuals attracted to persons of the other sex are said to have a heterosexual orientation. Sexual orientation falls along a continuum and individuals who are attracted to both men and women are said to be bisexual. Sexual orientation is different from gender identity, which refers to the internal sense of whether one is male or female. The concept of sexual orientation refers to more than sexual behavior. It includes feelings as well as identity. Some individuals may identify themselves as gay lesbian or bisexual without engaging in any sexual activity. Some people believe that sexual orientation is innate and fixed; however, sexual orientation develops across a person’s lifetime. Individuals maybe become aware at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
Body image is the mental representation one creates, but it may or may not bear close relation to how others actually see you. Body image is subject to all kinds of distortion from internal elements like our emotions, moods, early experiences, attitudes of our parents, and much more. Nevertheless, it strongly influences behavior. Preoccupation with and distortions of body image are quite common in Western society. They are significant factors in issues such as eating disorders, anxiety and self-esteem.