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Question:
I am ablebodied and four months into a relationship with a para who is numb from the chest down. How do paras experience the feelings from the solar plexus--the gut feelings of "gushing love," joy, pain, emotion and sensitivity to others?

Answer:
by Elizabeth McNeff:
(05/16/2004)
People are capable of the same emotional responses after a spinal cord injury as before. That is, they respond like nondisabled people.The solar plexus is located in the central hollow just below the rib cage, and is where many people experience emotions and sexuality. As a chakra--a center of energy--it is associated with sexual energy felt as personal power, charisma and self-assurance. These feelings are commonly referred to as "butterflies in the tummy," and are often accompanied by an increase in heart rate. A physical response in the solar plexus to the emotional stimulation of orgasm may include a sensation of warm, throbbing and radiating energy. The only difference in the response for people with spinal cord injuries is that they may not experience the same increase in heart rate. --Lizzi McNeff

Reviewed by Sexual Health Editorial Team

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