Latest / Libido Lounge / The Truth About Sexual Fulfillment: Relationship Advice No One Talks About With Leah Spasova
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to the libido lounge.
- 0:02We focus on all things love, lust, and libido.
- 0:05We believe that fabulous sex is important to health as exercise and good food.
- 0:20Hey, everybody.
- 0:22Welcome back to another episode on The Lounge.
- 0:24I'm your libido expert, Doctor.
- 0:25Diane, and I have a great treat for you today.
- 0:29Psychologist and sex and relationship expert and new friend of mine, Leah Spassova, is on
- 0:35the show with me today, and we're gonna talk about pleasure.
- 0:38We're gonna talk about society programming around pleasure, about prioritization of
- 0:43pleasure, and what truly is happening to us as humans when we just pass over pleasure.
- 0:50And it's just this afterthought that we don't attend to.
- 0:52And we're gonna get into the nitty gritty of what that actually means for your health, your
- 0:56wellness, your relationship, your happiness, and so much more.
- 0:59So, Leah, welcome to the show.
- 1:01So happy to have you.
- 1:02And tell us a little bit about yourself and just your journey.
- 1:07How did you get introduced into the sexology world?
- 1:11You have a great website that we'll put in the show notes called Life's Explicit.
- 1:16How did you create that?
- 1:18Just kinda give us the background if you would, please.
- 1:22First of all, thank you for having me.
- 1:24It's a pleasure to chat with you again and, create with you as well.
- 1:30And the the long story short is that I was just very lucky to grow up in a sex positive family
- 1:37and grow up having questions about sex and relationships just like every other kid, and my
- 1:45questions were always answered as a matter of fact.
- 1:48Nothing to be a big deal.
- 1:50I was never made to feel shame or guilt around it, by being asked, like, where did you hear
- 1:56this?
- 1:56Or who told you that?
- 1:58Or you're too young to know or any of that.
- 2:01So, I just, you know, grew up curious and learning and became the sexpert for all of my
- 2:08friends from a very early age because I was nerd as well as to where I am, learning about
- 2:14these kind of, topics from people, from books, from, nongovernment organization that I joined
- 2:22when I was 14, and they took us on trainings on healthy relationships, toxic, domestic abuse
- 2:28and violence, drug use and abuse.
- 2:30All these things I've been learning since I was, like, that young.
- 2:36And when I went into the psychology field, mental health field, I still found myself
- 2:42answering phone calls and text messages from friends from back when I was a teenager saying,
- 2:49oh, Leah, how do I deal with this, and what happens when I do x, y, zed?
- 2:53All about sex and relationships.
- 2:55And at a crisis in my, work when I was working in mental health, which is atrocious in The UK,
- 3:02I just realized I needed to listen to myself and to the people, around me, what I'm good at
- 3:09and, going to that.
- 3:11So I ended up going into sex and relationships and, opening my private practice.
- 3:19And years later, as you mentioned, the Life's explicit website, I have a full practice.
- 3:25I keep getting great referrals.
- 3:27And, quite a lot of the time, I have a wait list because people are so keen on working with
- 3:34me, when they hear and see the results that I achieve.
- 3:37And I'm like, hey.
- 3:39There's such a need for us sex and relationship professionals.
- 3:42And, I just want everybody to be able to access sex and relationship support.
- 3:52So, that's why I created Life's Explicit, and I invited colleagues to join the website to be
- 4:01promoted on the website and found by their ideal clients because I don't have all the
- 4:06expertise.
- 4:07You know?
- 4:08And I want people to find what they need.
- 4:13Yeah.
- 4:13I love your story.
- 4:14It's like in in many ways, this profession seemed like it just found you through your own
- 4:20interest and knowledge and just, like, the direction of you just learning about sexology
- 4:26and and studying the the art of sex and people asking you.
- 4:30So I love that I love that it found you in many ways.
- 4:33And let's jump into our questions today.
- 4:37So my first question for you is is something that we talked about briefly offline, which is
- 4:43censorship.
- 4:44Right?
- 4:44And and I'm sure I imagine I shouldn't say I'm sure, but I imagine that you've experienced
- 4:49what I have in being a sexologist is that there's a lot of censorship that happens even
- 4:55in just, like, promoting our work in the world.
- 4:58Right?
- 4:59So there's so much censorship around what you can say on social media and what you can
- 5:03advertise online.
- 5:05And how does the level of censorship that we're seeing, how does it actually influence us from
- 5:13a standpoint of healthy sex and being able to talk about it?
- 5:17And what do you feel like would happen if we really started having better policies around
- 5:23this?
- 5:23So what would, like, say, future generations of of women, of humans experience if we really
- 5:29took away some of the this intense censorship that's going on?
- 5:34The censorship is brutal.
- 5:37I mean, I keep saying comedians have more freedom of speech to talk about getting laid
- 5:43and getting, you know, sucked off or whatever, than than we do when we open our mouth and
- 5:49start talking about healthy sex and relationships and and how people can have them.
- 5:53We get banned, and people don't know about this.
- 5:57That's one of the reasons why I created LifeExplicit so that it's a censorship free
- 6:01space where you can actually find resources by professionals.
- 6:05And when it comes to the future of it, the future is bleak considering, the the world
- 6:14going far right and more polarized.
- 6:17I was just talking to, another, podcaster.
- 6:23She's a sex worker and a content adult content creator.
- 6:27And I said to her, these companies, the world of consumerism does not profit when you're
- 6:35happy.
- 6:35They profit when you're insecure, when you're detached, when you're full of horrible things.
- 6:42You know?
- 6:42That's when you're the best consumer.
- 6:44That's when you're gonna buy this next thing that would make you feel better for, like, an
- 6:49hour or a night or whatever it is.
- 6:52We're when we are happy, we're having a picnic that costs nothing, with our loved ones.
- 6:59We're making love all night long.
- 7:01We show up joyful, and we're not doomscrolling.
- 7:05You know?
- 7:05We're not shopping.
- 7:07And people need to realize that if we are to have a future without censorship, everybody
- 7:13should be clued in on why this is happening because it's not for your protection.
- 7:17It's for their profits.
- 7:19And, to make sure that people understand how do they avoid censorship.
- 7:26How do they stay connected to us?
- 7:29And how would a world look like if we had no censorship, no oppression?
- 7:39Well, it will be more, like, closer to utopia than the dystopia that we live in.
- 7:44People will be connected.
- 7:46People would have a lot of pleasure in their life and joy.
- 7:51A lot of women would enjoy their bodies.
- 7:55They will be healthier.
- 7:58They will have a lot more sex because in a society where we talk about sex and
- 8:03relationships, men and women are interested in pleasure rather than due to sex and are
- 8:11actively pursuing, connecting, and having pleasure.
- 8:15Right now, it's just like, oh, let me just have a quickie and and be done.
- 8:21I'm like, are you kidding me?
- 8:23Like, you can have a full night of pleasure.
- 8:29People's idea of sex is so limited.
- 8:32And I'm like, oh, it's like going to a buffet and staying in one corner of it and think,
- 8:38yeah, that's all the food there is.
- 8:40Well, it isn't Exactly.
- 8:43Look up.
- 8:46Yeah.
- 8:46I think that's where, you know, people get bored so much and, you know, with sex and just
- 8:51throw in the towel, and it becomes just, like you said, this, like, three minute experience,
- 8:56and everybody gets in their sexual script that I do x, you do x, he does x, she does x, they
- 9:01do x, and, like, then it's over.
- 9:03Right?
- 9:03And it's just like it's just this script that just gets repeated over and over and over
- 9:09again.
- 9:09And and, frankly, like, you know, if, like, you're staying in the buffet like you said, if
- 9:12you're in that one corner and all you eat is chicken salad, it could be really good chicken
- 9:16salad.
- 9:16But if you eat it and that's all you eat, I don't care how good it is, you're gonna get
- 9:21bored with it.
- 9:22So that's a really, really great analogy.
- 9:25And another thing you're making me think about as you're you're chatting is this, like, human
- 9:29tendency for moving either towards pleasure or away from pain as, like, motivation.
- 9:37And when you're talking about, like, consumerism and and all that, like, what I hear
- 9:40in a lot of your saying is, like, oh, yeah.
- 9:42We we capitalize oftentimes around most humans are more motivated around running away from
- 9:50their pain, around, like, getting out of pain than the other motivating factor, which can be
- 9:56towards pleasure.
- 9:57So what do you think would happen in, you know, in a society where we started really
- 10:03prioritizing pleasure, where we really, like, put it as a priority, where we say motivated
- 10:10ourselves, not just away from pain because none of us wanna suffer, of course, but if we really
- 10:14also added on top of that that drive to pleasure and prioritize that, like, how do you
- 10:20think, like like, things would change for people, like relationships, health, you know,
- 10:26just especially for women, like, where would how would their their lives potentially change
- 10:32if they reoriented this way?
- 10:35I would I would have to start a little bit further back.
- 10:39Yeah.
- 10:40To to the back to the consumerism.
- 10:42And I wanna highlight, if people haven't read, two classic books, 1984 by George Orwell and
- 10:49Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, they should read them.
- 10:54Because I feel like governments of today have read these books that are dystopians, that
- 10:59depict a horrible world and have gone, that's a great manual to create the world by.
- 11:06Right.
- 11:07Who should read these books?
- 11:08The reason why I'm saying this is, yes, people are motivated to run away from pain.
- 11:15They are still motivated by pleasure, though.
- 11:18So, buying something from Amazon or or Gucci or or wherever, it still promises pleasure, and
- 11:26you still have satisfaction by getting it.
- 11:30So we are sold pleasure and satisfaction, but these are fleeting.
- 11:35We are sold confidence that's, in a dress or in a car.
- 11:39It is not part of us.
- 11:41This is not the real us.
- 11:45So the reason that I highlight sex is, you know, used to sell everything from a perfume to
- 11:53a bag to a car to fucking Marmite.
- 11:58Alright.
- 11:58Honestly, if you haven't seen the Marmite advert that's so sexualized, you should.
- 12:04But the reason why they use sex is because they know the power of sex.
- 12:09Because through sex, we get so much connection, confidence, pleasure, sense of identity even of
- 12:20someone who's loved and respected and cherished and appreciated.
- 12:25Even if it's a one night stand, you still feel appreciated for whatever happened that night,
- 12:31with, you know, all they thought I'm sexy.
- 12:33Good.
- 12:34You know?
- 12:35So whatever it is, they sell everything through sex because they know that sex is the one thing
- 12:43that can give us all of those feelings.
- 12:46All of these desires get fulfilled through sex.
- 12:49But they don't want us to experience sex because then we don't buy the car, the dress,
- 12:55the blah, the blah.
- 12:56So they do sell us what we want, except it's fleeting and it's fake.
- 13:03And if we are to live in a actually pleasure filled life, and and world, you would have far
- 13:14less stuff in your house.
- 13:18You would have a lot more relationships.
- 13:20You would have a lot more time off from work.
- 13:25This is where I'll plug in another book called Civilized to Death, and it's, by Christopher
- 13:30Ryan.
- 13:31It's definitely worth reading.
- 13:33But the point is we keep buying things and consuming because we're unfulfilled.
- 13:40Imagine being completely unfulfilled.
- 13:43You have the the comforts of your life, you know, your house, your car, etcetera.
- 13:51But now you have more connection with the people in your life because they have social
- 13:56skills, because they have relationship skills, because the intimacy between you is great.
- 14:01You're more likely to, as I keep saying, grab that blanket, grab a book, go sit on the beach,
- 14:08listen to a podcast together, discuss it, you know, get home, make love, have dinner.
- 14:16You know?
- 14:17Keanu Reeves has this tiny video of, like, what is the perfect world, perfect day for him.
- 14:24And he says wake up, have sex, have breakfast, go for a motorcycle ride, have sex, have lunch.
- 14:31And that's the whole, And I'm like, yeah.
- 14:35Because when you have your basics and you have the connection, you will have a lot of pleasure
- 14:41in your life.
- 14:42You will be more connected.
- 14:45And I'm not talking about, you know, addiction to sex or anything like this.
- 14:50This is a completely different topic.
- 14:53I'm talking about when you're connected, when you're at peace, and when when you're not
- 14:57paying off yet another thing or credit card, you have the capacity to enjoy your body, to
- 15:03enjoy your your partner, and to have better relationship because you would work on
- 15:09yourself, and you they would do the same.
- 15:12I appreciate that so much.
- 15:14It's such a important awareness of that connection of, you know, what are we trying to
- 15:19fill ourselves with if we are devoid of that?
- 15:22I said, and like you said, we're on Amazon.
- 15:25We're buying this, and it's cool for a second.
- 15:27We get a dopamine hit.
- 15:28Like, it feels exciting.
- 15:29It's it's like hanging that really great new picture on the wall in the first week.
- 15:33It's awesome, and it makes you so happy.
- 15:35And then a week later, it blends into the wall, and you don't even notice it really.
- 15:38Exactly.
- 15:39You know?
- 15:39So it's like that that fleeting type of pleasure.
- 15:42What about, like, other things you've noticed?
- 15:44Like, have you noticed that when people focus on more pleasure, have you noticed anything in
- 15:50their health or in their career improve or change?
- 15:55Yeah.
- 15:56Oh my god.
- 15:56Massively.
- 15:58I a while back, a couple of years ago, I was invited to speak to CEOs and entrepreneurs in
- 16:06Oxfordshire in The UK where I lived.
- 16:10And I held a talk about the return on investment when a company invests in their
- 16:18employee's sex and relationship well-being.
- 16:21And I I started with some rhetorical questions.
- 16:24I was like, have you ever had such an amazing connection and a sexual and intimate experience
- 16:31with someone that you felt like you can conquer the world, that you felt full of zest, full of,
- 16:38you know, positive vibes and and desire to just do stuff because you felt so capable and
- 16:44confident.
- 16:45And people are, like, nodding their heads.
- 16:47Right?
- 16:48And I'm like, okay.
- 16:49Well, have you had those other moments when you're absolutely disconnected and upset with
- 16:54your partner and you had a role and you go to the office, and the whole day you're just
- 16:59thinking how else you could have shut them down or told them off or whatever.
- 17:05And you are definitely not productive one bit.
- 17:09And they laugh, and they're like, yeah.
- 17:11Yep.
- 17:12Exactly.
- 17:13Like, so do you get me now when I say if you invest in your employees' sex and relationship
- 17:20well-being, when they show up at work because they have been connecting with their partners
- 17:25at home and it's being healthy and good, they come recharged and happy.
- 17:30If if there's drama at work and they have a supportive partner at home, that drama, they
- 17:37would deal with it way better.
- 17:39Mhmm.
- 17:40Rather than drama at work, drama at home, nothing gets done.
- 17:46And I keep saying there's a lot of power in sexuality and being connected to yourself,
- 17:52serving yourself, being compassionate to yourself, and allowing yourself that pleasure
- 17:59and being, quite brutal even with who you let in your life.
- 18:04Yeah.
- 18:05Because the person that's next to you as a partner or if you're a programmer is the
- 18:09people, they will create a huge percentage of your life's experiences.
- 18:17Mhmm.
- 18:18There is benefits when it comes to work.
- 18:22You will be more connected, more, full of zest and and capable.
- 18:30Health wise, oh my god.
- 18:32You know how much of our health is dependent on us being healthy Yeah.
- 18:39In our relationships.
- 18:41And not only that, but biologically, sex makes us fitter because it's a physical exercise.
- 18:50Best form of exercise, if you ask me, is benefits in terms of your mental health as
- 18:59well, because you're not feeling disconnected.
- 19:03You're not feeling sad.
- 19:05Depression is gonna stay away.
- 19:06I genuinely believe that if we we handle better relationship skills and better intimacy skills,
- 19:15so depression and anxiety will be way, way, way far away from us.
- 19:19Yeah.
- 19:20There's I'm not a medic, but I see it.
- 19:24There's a massive connection between being sexually fulfilled and having a healthy
- 19:29relationship and being healthy in body, mind, and spirit.
- 19:36Yeah.
- 19:36That's beautiful and well summed up and I think there's a lot of just awareness to the large
- 19:42amount of benefits from this around and and the importance of getting the censorship out.
- 19:47Right?
- 19:47Because I think people do truly think of sex as just this moment.
- 19:53Oftentimes, that happens maybe once a week, maybe once a week a month, maybe once a year,
- 19:58last a few minutes, and then, you know, and then moving on.
- 20:01And it really is a part of health and happiness as much as, you know, good water, good food,
- 20:09all those kinds of things.
- 20:10So I know we're at time today.
- 20:12I wanna make sure everybody knows how to get ahold of you, and you have a free gift for our
- 20:17audience.
- 20:17I wanna make sure to talk about that.
- 20:19And and also to remind everybody that, remember, in in 2025, we're doing the same
- 20:24thing that we did in 2024, which is that we are paying attention to whoever gets the likes most
- 20:32most likes, downloads, etcetera, across all of our channels, and that person will be invited
- 20:36back in December for a deep dive on their topic where we can go a lot deeper.
- 20:42You can submit your questions ahead of time, and and we can have a lot more fun.
- 20:45So please do spread the word for Leah.
- 20:48Download her episode.
- 20:50Share it around because I know I would love to have you back.
- 20:53And but before we say goodbye, please tell us about this this gift you're giving us as well
- 20:58as how people get ahold of you.
- 21:01The gift is, an ebook, called the three secrets to a pleasure filled life.
- 21:09And, it's available on my website.
- 21:12You can find me on Life's Explicit, or if you just Google my name, I'm very Googleable.
- 21:18You can approach me in on my website or on life's explicit.
- 21:23It doesn't matter.
- 21:24And I encourage you if what we've been talking about here and what Diane has, you know, to
- 21:32teach you in every single episode, And you're thinking, oh, I I need support with this.
- 21:37Please seek support.
- 21:39The world depends on us building those skills and having, those intimate connections that,
- 21:46you know, fill us with joy and prevent us from putting yet another, I don't know, painting or,
- 21:53unneeded watch on the credit card.
- 21:57We need more connection in the world.
- 21:59And if you need help, I would definitely recommend people to go to Life's Explicit to
- 22:04find me, to find you, and any other professional and resource they may want to to
- 22:10check out.
- 22:12So that's my my closing.
- 22:14Like, you deserve pleasure.
- 22:15You deserve great relationships.
- 22:17Don't deny yourself a single day anymore.
- 22:23I love it.
- 22:23What a great conclusion.
- 22:25And and we'll have all these links, everybody.
- 22:27We'll have all these links in Leah's show notes here.
- 22:30And, you know, sometimes I ask people to tell about their opt in, but I think your opt in is
- 22:34very clear.
- 22:35Like, three big secrets to a pleasure filled life.
- 22:37Like, I want those secrets.
- 22:39I imagine everybody else does too.
- 22:40So please go find out what those secrets are, what steps you can do right away to get that
- 22:46yourself moving towards that pleasure free life, please do check out Leah's website.
- 22:50And, again, all of that will be in the show notes.
- 22:53And thank you everybody for listening today.
- 22:55It's such a pleasure to be with you once again.
- 22:59And this is doctor Diane signing off here reminding you to always be classy, always be
- 23:04sexy, and always stay a little badass y.
- 23:07We'll see you next time.
- 23:11Thank you for listening to the Libido Lounge.
- 23:13Please don't keep me a secret.
- 23:14Please share this with your friends.
- 23:16You can find me on YouTube, on Instagram, as well as how to work with me at mylibidodoc.com.