EMOTIONAL DANGERS OF TEEN SEX

EMOTIONAL DANGERS OF TEEN SEX

In discussions of teen sex, much is said about the dangers of pregnancy and disease but far less about the emotional hazards. That’s a problem, because the destructive psychological consequences of temporary sexual relationships are very real. Being aware of them can help a young person make the decision to refrain from premature sexual involvement— both to avoid getting hurt and to avoid hurting someone else and above all to avoid sinning before God.

For human beings, sex is about much more than the body. It’s the emotional or psychological dimension of sex that is distinctively human. Our entire person—mind, body, and feelings—is involved. That’s why sexual intimacy has potentially powerful emotional consequences.

Over the past I have come across many young girls who have vowed never to fall in love again with any man and young men who say women are not trustable. Why because at some point their emotions were damaged by the aspect of early or teen sex.

And now let’s look at these dangers:

1. Emotional stress. 

 Many teens go for sex with no idea of what they are heading for and so this causes them to worry about pregnancy and disease. For many young people who have become sexually active, the fear of pregnancy or getting a sexually transmitted disease causes major emotional stress.

2. Regret. A 2004 survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy asked teens, “If you have had sexual intercourse, do you wish you had waited?” Two-thirds of all teens said yes. Girls are more vulnerable to feelings of regret. A girl who sees sex as a way to “show you care” may feel cheated and used when the boy doesn’t show a greater romantic interest after the sexual experience. Said one 15-year-old girl: “I didn’t expect the guy to marry me, but I never expected him to avoid me in school.” . I have asked several youths about the subject on how they feel after having this teen sex and the answer is they feel so empty, as if something they treasured so much has left them. I have seen many people go insane in response to regret of a relationship and early sex which has made them angry, bitter and unforgiving in life.

3. Guilt. Guilt is a special form of regret—a strong sense of having done something morally wrong. Guilt is healthy if you take it as a sign that your conscience is alive and working— and as a reason to avoid in the future the behavior that caused you to have a guilty conscience. That is why the Bible in Philippians 4:8 says: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”. That’s why if there are things that you know bring guilt to you after doing them then let them go and begin to think on things of virtue.

4. Loss of self-esteem and self-respect. Sometimes the loss of self-esteem after uncommitted sex leads a person into further casual sex, leading to further loss of self-esteem in an oppressive cycle from which it may be hard to break free.

5. The corruption of character. When we treat others as sexual objects to be used for our selfish pleasure, we not only lose self-respect, we change our character—the kind of person we are becoming.

6. Fear of commitment. Young people who feel betrayed after the breakup of a sexual relationship may experience difficulty trusting in future relationships. They don’t want to be burned again. In the world we are living in many having given up on the subject of relationship just because they felt betrayed. The bible says in Christ Jesus we are a new creation and the old is past away. Begin to focus on the great commission ahead of you, the dreams and vision of being someone better and above all allow God to lead you.

7. Depression and suicide. Research finds that teens who abstain from risky behavior—such as sex, drugs, and drinking—are the least likely to experience depression. Both males and females who engage in high levels of risky behavior are the most likely to get depressed.  A 1991 study in Pediatrics found that the attempted suicide rate for sexually experienced girls between the ages of 12 and 16 was six times higher than it was for girls of that age who were virgins.

8. Damaged or ruined relationships. Sex can turn a good relationship bad. Other dimensions of the relationship soon stop developing. Negative emotions enter the picture and eventually, they poison the relationship. I witnessed two young couples who got married and one day they came to a strong augments and began fighting. In the process the man told the lady how he was not saved but just came to Church in order to get a born again lady because of his past disappointments and the lady too said she also came to Church to hook up with a born a gain man. These two were going through a damaged and ruined relationship trends that point to teen sex.

9. Stunted Personal Development. Premature sexual involvement not only can stunt the development of a relationship, it can also stunt one’s development as a person. The risk appears to be greater for girls who get sexually involved and thereby close the door on other interests and relationships.

10. Negative effects on marriage. Most teens say they dream of being happily married someday. They should ask themselves, “What sexual decisions at this point in my life will help me realize my dream of a happy marriage? What problems might I cause for myself or future spouse by being sexually intimate before marriage?” Here are four: 1) comparisons to previous partners; 2) infidelity; 3) infertility; and 4) a greater chance of divorce.

Sex can be the source of great pleasure and joy. But it can also be the source of deep wounds and suffering. What makes the difference is the relationship within which it occurs.

Sexual intimacy is most joyful, meaningful, and fulfilling—most emotionally safe as well as physically safe—when it occurs within a loving, total, and binding commitment: marriage. Sexual union is then part of something bigger—the faithful union of two people’s lives.

Teens I believe we can wait. Patience pains but it pays. Give your life a meaning by using your body for glorious purposes. Remember your life on earth is God’s gift to you but what you do with your life is your gift to God. What kind of Gift would you love to give God?

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