Married for 8 years and parents to a 4-year-old son, Ayşe (33) and Kerem (41) appeared quite tense, unhappy, and irritable when they came to Prof. Dr. Halim Hattat. They stated that they had not had any sexual intercourse for 2 years and had reached the point of divorce, and therefore wanted to understand if there was a solution to their problem. In our consultations, we realized that both of them had a demanding work life and worked late hours. In the evenings, after picking up their 4-year-old child from Ayşe’s mother, they would come home, put him to sleep, eat dinner, and get absorbed in watching television. Consequently, they would fall asleep in front of the television and find themselves in the same rush again in the morning. This lifestyle with no room for sexuality felt comfortable at first since they were very exhausted, but over time it turned into a habit. As time went on, both adopted different mindsets and gradually drifted apart from each other. Ayşe thought that Kerem was no longer attracted to her, and even suspected him of cheating. Kerem, on the other hand, was experiencing a lack of desire due to this hectic lifestyle and was staying away from his wife out of anxiety over failing to perform in intercourse. This situation began spilling over into other areas of their marriage, leading to numerous conflicts. In our evaluations, we observed that the main issue stemmed from the couple’s lack of communication and that there was no underlying organic problem. We treated Ayşe and Kerem by enrolling them first in couples therapy and subsequently in sex therapy. Today, they have become a happy couple who are in constant communication with each other, nurture emotional intimacy, and make time for sex. Most importantly, they no longer bottle up their problems; they talk and understand each other better.
22Sep