A mother suffering from depression is live-blogging her quest to achieve an orgasm, in the hope that it will help others to overcome their own personal struggles.
"Professional over-sharer" and sex blogger Crista Anne has suffered from depression for as long as she can remember.
Now, after losing her ability to orgasm through masturbation, Anne has started a long-term project called #OrgasmQuest with the goal of regaining her ability to orgasm unaided.
Currently, the mum-of-three's aim is to achieve one self-induced orgasm a day.
Anne was left with difficult achieving orgasm (also known as anorgasmia) after having an IUD fitted as well as starting medications for fibromyalgia and an anti-depressant.
Speaking to the Daily Dot, Anne said that there's a stigma associated with discussing sexuality which can be off-putting for both men and women. Especially when it comes to speaking about it in public.
“When people bring up that their medication is hurting their sex life, most people seem to experience a complete dismissal that sexuality changes are important,” she said.
“While my doctor spoke to me in depth about it, the stories I get from hundreds of other people are horrific.”
The sex blogger explains that, for her, sex is a weapon against depression: "It's been my go-to pick me up for combating depression, allowing myself to feel something other than the darkness."
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In her first post for #OrgasmQuest, Anne writes: "I have major depression. Came out of the womb depressed, will be depressed for the rest of my days.
"After an IUD installation and starting medications for fibromyalgia and an antidepressant, my orgasm disappeared briefly. At the time of recording, with partnered sex I was missing my explosive orgasm."
She continued: "I was only experiencing gentle waves, and while those waves were nice, they were nothing close to the restorative experience I so depend on for a mental, emotional and physical recharge."
Anne soon discovered that - after some persistence - she was able to reach heightened orgasm with the help of sex toys and also during partnered sex.
But, sadly, her ability to orgasm through masturbation is still missing in action.
"Masturbation is part of my identity, a part that I am not about to give up on," added Anne.
And so her journey continues...