What is vaginismus?
Vaginismus is a sexual disorder seen in women, mostly psychologically based. It is included in the scope of sexual pain disorders. However, it should not be confused with painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia). In dyspareunia, there is pain during sexual intercourse, but in vaginismus, the muscles in the vagina contract involuntarily, making sexual intercourse almost impossible, and pain occurs due to these contractions when the penis or something similar is tried to be inserted.
Vagina is one of the female sexual organs. It is a tube-like structure consisting of muscles, approximately 10 cm deep. However, when the penis enters it, it becomes longer. Except for sexual intercourse, it generally has a closed structure but is elastic. Thus, it expands when there is an entrance into it. In addition, the vaginal walls become slippery with the secretion of some fluids when sexual arousal occurs, so sexual intercourse can take place without any pain or irritation.
The first third of the vagina is open to sexual stimulation. The deeper ones are usually numb. In other words, stimulation of the deeper areas does not give the woman significant sexual pleasure. This means that the size or length of the penis is not important for sexual pleasure. But of course, this is the subject of another article.
Women have significant control over the muscles located in the first third of their vagina, especially. They even have partial control over deeper muscle groups. These muscles and muscle control are also very important for female orgasm. Women can make it easier to reach orgasm by controlling their vaginal and anal muscles together. As a matter of fact, one of the focal points in the treatment of orgasmic difficulty is learning this control.
However, in women with vaginismus, the muscles located in the one-third part, that is, close to the entrance, contract involuntarily and close the entrance to the vagina. They close. This causes pain and makes sexual intercourse impossible. This usually happens when the penis is about to enter the vagina. However, even in a gynecological examination, when the physician stimulates the vagina with his fingers, the same result occurs. Vaginusmus is suspected.
In case of vaginismus, the relevant specialist physician should be consulted first. Here, the physician in question will be an obstetrician or gynecologist. First of all, it is necessary to determine whether there is a physical condition or infection. In addition, there may be some other conditions that are confused with vaginismus and the patient may not be able to distinguish the situation he is experiencing.
For example, pain or contraction may occur in some fungal infections. There may also be a sexual arousal disorder involved. For example, the vagina may not be wet enough during sexual arousal, which may cause pain during sexual intercourse. For this reason, it should first be determined by a thorough examination whether the patient's complaint arises from these and similar situations.
After making sure that the situation you are experiencing is vaginismus, help should be sought from a psychotherapist who is trained and experienced in sexual therapies.
What is done on this subject? One of the main mistakes is delaying seeking help. Women experiencing vaginismus usually consult professionals after a long time. There may be various reasons for this, but we know that this is generally the case with sexual problems in our society.
What are the causes of vaginismus?
>
As you can imagine, vaginismus can have a variety of causes. The most common reasons are as follows:
-
Negative sexual experiences,
-
A past sexual harassment or Rape attempt,
-
Inadequate sexual information,
-
Intense anxiety and fears about sexuality. For example, first night fear or worry that it will hurt,
-
Fear of pregnancy,
-
An intense fear of sexually transmitted diseases,
-
Exaggerated and obsessive importance placed on virginity,
-
False information and beliefs about sexuality, etc...
Can vaginismus appear later?
Yes. Vaginismus usually occurs at the first attempt at sexual intercourse. This is the most common form. In other words, women who complain of vaginismus should consult specialists. They are generally women who have never experienced sexual intercourse (more precisely, penetration, that is, the penis entering the vagina). However, after a trouble-free sexual life for a certain period of time, vaginismus may occur later, after experiences such as illness, sexual assault, psychological trauma, and childbirth.
Is it possible to treat vaginismus?
Yes. Today, vaginismus can be eliminated with some psychotherapy techniques and processes. If vaginismus is determined to be caused by a traumatic experience, more specific techniques and approaches can be applied. For example, EMDR (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) treatment, which is very effective in disorders of traumatic origin, can be applied.
The duration of the treatment may vary from person to person. This period can be between 2-3 months, and in some cases even a short briefing can be effective. Considering that one of the most important reasons for sexual problems in general is sexual ignorance, the treatment of many problems can be sexual education.
Read: 0
