Akanksha Chamola Opens Up About Being 'Asexual' Post-Divorce: Can Emotional Upheaval Affect Sexual Attraction?

Akanksha Chamola has been grabbing attention ever since she announced her divorce from Gaurav Khanna. Later, she was forced to admit that she is bisexual during a task and has now said that she is asexual. Expressing her fear of being in a relationship, she shared that she has no desire to be with a man or a woman after her divorce.

What did Akanksha Chamola say about her sexuality?

While speaking to fellow contestant Varun Yadav in Netflix's Lock Upp Season 2, Akanksha revealed that she does not want to be with anyone anymore and called herself asexual.

"Sexuality keeps changing. Aap ke phases ke upar hota hain ki... mera abhi divorce ho raha hain mujhe abhi kisi se sex nahi chahiye. Ladkiyo ke saath bhi nahi chahiye, admiyo ke saath bhi nahi chahiye. Mera alag phase chal raha hain isey kehte hain asexual," she said.

This is not the first time Akanksha expressed her decision to be alone. "I don't want to get married again. I think I am done. But for the first time in my life, main akeli rehne waali hoon. Like, not under my parents' roof or my husband's roof. I am going to have my own house. I am going to ride solo for life now," she told Pamela.

Can Emotional Trauma Affect Sexual Attraction?

Yes, emotional trauma or a major life crisis can affect an individual's sex life and attraction. According to Mission Connection Healthcare, sexual desire is influenced by a range of psychological and biological factors. Stress and sexuality can influence each other, with chronic stress significantly reducing sexual desire.

Major life events like losing a loved one to death, divorce, or losing a job can create huge trauma in one’s life, affecting other aspects, including sex drive and attraction too.

Confirming the same, Dr. Munia Bhattacharya, Clinical Psychology, Marengo Asia Hospitals, says, "Absolutely. One of the biggest myths is that sexual desire depends only on hormones. In reality, our emotional health plays an equally important role. Emotional trauma, whether it is betrayal, marital conflict, the loss of a loved one, prolonged caregiving, financial stress, or family disputes, can significantly reduce sexual desire. When the brain is under chronic stress, it shifts into survival mode, and intimacy often takes a back seat."

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Can you turn asexual after going through major trauma in life?

Asexuality is an umbrella term with asexual people experiencing little or no sexual attraction. People who identify as asexuals may want to form intimate relationships, including romantic, platonic, or any other connection.

"Trauma itself does not make someone asexual. Asexuality is generally understood as a sexual orientation, whereas trauma-related loss of sexual desire is usually a psychological response to overwhelming emotional distress. They are not the same," Dr. Munia Bhattacharya further adds.

There is another term that came to light recently called 'orchidsexual', which means a person feels sexual attraction for a person, but does not have any desire to act on those desires to have a sexual encounter.

However, one should keep in mind that celibacy is a choice and asexuality is a sexual orientation.