I know living with pelvic pain can make self pleasure tricky, because,
1. You are in pain 2. You may not like your body as much due to having pelvic/vulvar/vaginal pain
And self pleasure may not become a priority if that's the case. You may even hide from it at times (guilty!). If you live with any sort of vulvar or vaginal the chance is that you are also holding on to a lot of tension in your pelvic floor, which may cause you even more pain. Self pleasure to many just equals orgasm, and it's a "dirty" thing to do, but it's so much more than that. It opens up the door to get to know yourself and your body better, and help you feel more safe.
What do you like? What do you not like?
What does your body like?
It also opens up the door to healing.
After having my laser surgery 2 years ago I experience a lot more vulvar pain, and intimacy and touch of any kind became very challenging to me - more than usual. But together with my pelvic physio I realized that all touch doesn't have to equal pain, because my nervous system thought it did, so we de-sensitized the area. And it kinda shifted my perspective a little when it came to my pain. Often when I'm in pain now I invite in self pleasure as practice of getting to know myself and my body better. If I've got pain on any part of my vulva, I make myself comfortable and breathe. I use my hands to figure out where the pain is coming from (body awareness), what kind of pain it is, and how does the pain feel when I'm actually touching the area. Is it the same as when I'm just sitting around? Does any touch feel good around the area? Is it giving me any pleasure massaging the area around it? Can I experience any pleasure anywhere? By also using my hands I massage the area which will invite in more blood flow, and ease into the tissue. That along with breathing can have an amazing effect on your pain.
I like using my hands, because I think of my hands as a part of the healing, but if this makes you feel uncomfortable you can use a Q-tip or a small towel to massage the area and notice how the pain feels.
You can also use your dilator or vibrator, if that is something that you like.
Try it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comment section!
I just started working with the Empress 2 from VUSH, you can get yours 50% off with VUSH50, purchase it here.
Lots of love, Penny