By Julia Sergison
How’s your orgasm?
That’s the question that Dr. Suzanne Mulvehill, Executive Director of The Female Orgasm Research Institute and Founder of the Women’s Cannabis Project, is hoping to encourage.
According to the diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorders, it’s reported that up to 42% of women have difficulty achieving orgasm or suffer from a condition called female orgasmic disorder (or FOD). Despite advancements in sex education, sex therapy, and gender equality, this number is still the same as it was 50 years ago. Considering the possible limitations of populations sampled back then and even now, it’s easy to imagine that number is higher, in actuality. In the same way that the topic of FOD might not come up so easily at the dinner table, it also hasn’t been a priority of scientific research over the last five decades. Dr. Mulvehill has been working alongside her partner, Dr. Jordan Tishler of Inhale MD, to change the conversation and to provide more targeted studies on the relationship between cannabis use and treatment of FOD.
Of course, every superhero has her origin story.
Dr. Mulvehill recounted her own struggles with orgasms as the motivating factor that landed her on her current path. At a certain point in her adult life, well into marriage and motherhood, she lost the ability to climax. And she had lost it for thirty years.
As a woman who knew what an orgasm felt like—and to have lost that feeling—she was determined to find a solution. Dr. Mulvehill sought out handfuls of doctors and sex therapists, shelled out thousands of dollars to see specialists near and far, participated in domestic and international orgasm coaching programs, and flat out refused to accept this as a lifelong problem she couldn’t solve. This determination led her to discover studies about trauma and female orgasmic disorder. With a new lightbulb gently switching on in her head, Dr. Mulvehill turned her studies inward and examined the roles that trauma and shame played in her own relationships with her body and with her mind.
Ironically, some of her trauma was related to cannabis and cannabis users. The majority of the experience she had with cannabis until then was with her then husband, who overused the plant in a way that was detrimental to their lives and their relationship. As those who have dealt with addiction know, it’s often not the substance itself that’s at fault, but the underlying misuse, dishonesty, and dysfunction. Some time after the marriage ended, Dr. Mulvehill leaned into her trauma spot, never imagining that the very plant she blamed as the reason for ending her marriage was the same one that was going to help her heal.
Dr. Mulvehill was candid in sharing that it wasn’t a simple, quick, or painless solution. She didn’t, on the first try, take a few puffs and solve a 30-year problem. Instead, she used cannabis with intention and with direction, took time to work through the pain of her past, gave herself grace throughout, and regularly adjusted her consumption and dosage. Over four months, she found the quantity and environments that allowed her to surrender her thoughts and focus on being fully present. She realized that the difficulty she had in surrendering was perhaps the biggest distraction inhibiting her ability to orgasm. Processing her pain finally freed up space for her pleasure.
How many of us have been in a similar scenario, in or out of the bedroom? It’s easy to be lost in your mind, trying to think about the groceries you forgot to add to your list while you should be listening to your child tell you about the first day of school from the backseat of the car—even reading the same paragraph of a book ten times because you let your thoughts wander somewhere else over and over. Cannabis provided Dr. Mulvehill the solution she had been seeking: a way to get out of her head and into her body.
Since finding her way back to her own body, Dr. Mulvehill has been aiming her efforts at helping those like her. In addition to her ongoing research with Dr. Tishler, she coaches women who are looking for the same solution, regularly collaborates with other professionals like Dr. Nan Wise, a certified sex therapist, relationship specialist, and neuroscience researcher, and Amanda Moser, a sexologist and cannabis researcher, and is even writing her own book to further make these findings readily available. A lifelong student herself, she recognizes and emphasizes the importance of learning and is passionate about sharing what she has learned.
“Finding the right amount is really a trial-and-error thing for women in terms of addressing this issue,” she told me. “It’s kind of like Goldilocks. You’ve got to find the right dose, the right comfort. You’ve got to know when to take it, who to take it with—all of that.”
Despite the success Dr. Mulvehill had in taking the Goldilocks approach, not all cannabis users are as comfortable navigating without guidance. This is all the more reason she encourages us to bring up the topic amongst friends and those we trust. A safe, open conversation can help identify any issues, lose the shame, and start healing. While adding orgasm chat to girls’ night is a start, the research and efforts from Dr. Mulvehill and her colleagues have been pivotal in petitioning to add female orgasmic disorder as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis approval in ten states. So far, Dr. Mulvehill reports, “Connecticut approved it at the state level, and the Illinois medical cannabis board unanimously approved it… We’re waiting for state-level approval.” While the status of these petitions varies in the other eight states that have made attempts, it’s a step closer to access, education, and solutions for women in need.
Though the immediate benefits of an orgasm are obvious, there’s more to it than one might think. Dr. Mulvehill shared statistics that women who suffer from FOD or who don’t orgasm often enough are those with a higher prevalence of mental health issues, those that take more prescription medication, and those that report histories of sexual abuse. They may even be more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases or Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Mulvehill sees the correlations and is pursuing the questions of correlation. As she says, “it’s clearly an issue that needs to be addressed.”
In addressing it so far, Dr. Mulvehill has achieved a 95% success rate in helping the women she works with reclaim their pleasure. With this, along with her commitment and enthusiasm for ongoing research and changes in public policy, maybe it’s better we start referring to her as Super Suzanne.
Curious about more from Dr. Mulvehill? Us too! There’s more to learn, and we’re eager to continue sharing it with you. Stay tuned as we continue our conversation…and don’t be afraid to get one started with the women in your life in the meantime.
