Sabine Walter

An anonymous writer put it this way: "Friends in your life are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up and sometimes they lean on you. Sometimes it's just enough to know they're standing by." ©Seventyfour / Adobe StockWriter Elisabeth Foley points out that friendship doubles your joy and divides your grief, and that the most beautiful discovery that true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.

If a couple tries to conceive but can’t seem to do it, one of the first things that doctors look for is a problem with the man’s sperm. Sperm compose about 5 to 10 percent of semen, and are the only part of the semen that can cause pregnancy. If a man is infertile, there is a problem with his sperm — often a low sperm count or low motility.

If you’ve heard of only one STD, it's probably AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), which is linked to infections by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Why is so much more attention given to HIV/AIDS than to any other sexually transmitted disease? Because AIDS is deadly, and it has no cure and no vaccine.

A common misconception is that when a couple's children leave home, Mom and Dad will develop empty-nest syndrome. Yes, they may have an empty nest, but for some couples, their love life blossoms during this period of their lives. The victims of the syndrome are the couples whose relationship falls apart when they're the only two left at home.

Many women start out with a low sex drive. Others have problems after they've had children. Still others don't begin to have such problems until after menopause. A number of women also have low desire after surgery to remove their ovaries (oophorectomy) or the uterus (hysterectomy). Low desire needn't mean no sex For the partner who has a very low or nonexistent desire for sex, be it the woman or the man, the problem is not as acute as it is for the partner who does want to have sex.

Revealing one's homosexuality is never easy — for young or old — but the process can be particularly difficult for teens, who are dependent on their families and have not yet established their own private lives with their own place to live and a job to provide financial support. In fact, the rates of suicide for young homosexuals are much higher than for heterosexuals of the same age, in great part because many can't cope when faced with rejection from their families.

Not every ailment is visible, and one of the most common problems that affect sexual functioning is a heart attack. Overcoming fear You may well have heard rumors of famous men who died because of a heart attack while in the throws of passion. For the average person who suffers a heart attack or undergoes heart surgery or even has angina, problems with sex almost always result.

One out of four Americans between the ages of 15 and 55 will contract at least one sexually transmitted disease. The more you know, the more you can prevent this from happening to you. Below, two incurable diseases are discussed. Genital warts Nearly two million people in the United States are infected every year with genital warts, which are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV).

What's the right age to start having sex? When to start having intercourse (or any other type of sex) is a very difficult and serious decision to make. Some people believe you must wait until you're married before having sex. Other people may not have a problem with premarital sex. You're the only one who can decide for yourself — although there are important factors to consider in that decision.