Chemsex impacts peoples’ lives differently. For some people, chemsex can stop feeling enjoyable and start to feel problematic. Signs that chemsex might be becoming a problem include:

• Difficulty or inability to engage in sober sex
• Feeling that your chems use is out of your control
• Its having a negative impact on your day-to-day life e.g. impact on close relationships, difficulties in day-to-day functioning
• Feeling disconnected from people or activities which don’t involve chems or chemsex
• Experiencing mental health problems associated with chems use e.g. chems induced psychosis/ anxiety/ paranoia
• Experiencing physical health problems associated with chemsex e.g. transmission of STIs, HIV and Hep C, physical trauma, drug dependency

If you feel like chemsex is having a negative impact on your life and you want to make a change, there are things you can do and people who can help. Some people want to have safer chemsex, some want to reduce the amount of chemsex they’re having, and some people want to stop completely. It’s up to you what changes you want to make. Below are some links where you can find tips and advice for ways to minimise harm or to stop/reduce your chemsex use.

• See  our Advice on Chemsex page
• Chemsex harm reduction
• Chemsex Tips and Advice 

Some people struggle to make this change alone and they benefit from working with a professional to manage their chemsex use. If you are ready to make some changes in your life related to your chemsex, you can ask for a referral to our Sexual Health Psychology team when you are next in clinic. The psychology team offer 1:1 support and they are experienced in working with people who engage in chemsex.  For more information visit our Psychology Service page.