YNOT EUROPE – A new study by Relationships Ireland indicates economic woes are translating into dissatisfaction in the bedroom. According to the study, a distressingly high 30 percent of couples with relationship issues report sexual dissatisfaction associated with stress precipitated by the global recession.

Founded in 1962, Relationships Ireland is a registered charity and one of Ireland’s leading relationship counseling agencies.

The Dublin-based agency reported men are particularly susceptible to economic stressors, and a pervasive emotional upheaval of that sort can depress their libidos. Consequently, decreased sexual activity “is creating a lot of yearning and rejection” among both men and women, relationship counselor Lisa O’Hara told The Herald.

She also said she was surprised by the statistics: Although typically one in three women and one in five men suffer from low libido, the current economic situation has caused a shift in those numbers. Men now seem to present much more frequently with complaints about level of desire.

“The amount of men suffering from lack of libido is surprising because it is typically considered a female concern,” O’Hara said.

Dr. Richard Petty told the newspaper both high-pressure jobs and unemployment can wreak havoc on a man’s ability to perform.

“In the short-term stress can increase levels of testosterone, and this is useful to help people respond quickly to pressures and new situations,” he said. “But chronic stress, which is ongoing, is a major factor in the decline of testosterone. Chronic stress occurs all too frequently due to our modern lifestyles, when everything from high-pressured jobs to unemployment keeps the body in a state of perceived threat.”

Psychotherapist David Kavanagh of Avalon Counselling told The Herald financial status is among the prime determinants of a man’s identity; therefore, job loss, extended work hours and unavoidable work-family conflicts can have a profound effect on a man’s psychological state.

“A man’s identity can often be bound up in his financial success,” Kavanagh said. “Men with no income can often feel like a failure. Feeling like a failure can impact how you perform in bed.

“In this situation, I would encourage the partner to see the man as a success in areas of the relationship other than financial, and help him to reconstruct his identity.”

Ironically, last year IrishCentral.com reported that sex addiction, alcoholism, gambling and other types of compulsive behavior all were on the rise as people sought ways to deal with increasing financial stress.