According to research, between one-third and one-half of the entire population has experienced at least one sexual dysfunction at some point in their lives. According to this information, one in every 2-3 people has a complaint, problem or situation that they perceive as a problem regarding sexuality. However, the importance of a problem is determined not only by its frequency of occurrence, but also by factors such as the damage caused by that problem, the rate of referral to physicians or other healthcare professionals, treatment opportunities in this field, the extent to which it is perceived as a problem by the society, and the extent to which it is shared with the environment. From this perspective, it can be stated that sexual problems have always existed, but have gained importance in recent years and treatment has been sought.
There are physical, psychological and cultural factors in sexual dysfunctions. You can read more detailed information about this subject in my article titled "Etiology of Sexual Dysfunctions". In this article, the issue of sexual dysfunctions seen mostly in women will be discussed.
Decreased Sexual Desire Disorder in Women
According to some sources, the most common sexual dysfunction among women in our country is low sexual desire. However, the rate of applying to a physician or treatment center due to low sexual desire is quite low compared to those who experience this problem. The main reason for this is myths about sexuality.
Sexual desire disorder is the low or no desire to engage in sexual fantasies and sexual activity in a constant or repetitive manner, taking into account the person's age and living conditions. Women who experience this problem have no or very low desire to prepare the environment for sexual activity or initiate sexuality. Women with sexual reluctance generally do not initiate sexual intercourse themselves, but they experience sexuality, which they perceive as a "female duty", even if they do not enjoy it for reasons such as making their spouses happy or not having any problems in their marriage.
Sexual reluctance begins in adolescence. It can start spontaneously at any time in life, as well as difficulties in living conditions, problems with the partner, mourning period, depression, drug use. It may also appear later due to reasons such as physical diseases. Sexual reluctance may occur as a general problem or it may occur specific to a particular situation or person.
Sexuality has very different meanings in women than in men, and this desire is generally more fragile. . It is much more affected by the general course of the relationship than by emotional closeness or distance. Therefore, when there is a problem with sexual desire, the person's partner and relationship need to be evaluated. Therefore, when making an evaluation about this problem, dimensions of the relationship other than sexuality should also be evaluated.
Women's age should also be taken into account as an important factor when evaluating low sexual desire. It is normal for there to be a slight decrease in the frequency of sexuality and intercourse as we get older, and this should not be perceived as a problem. Apart from this, mental illnesses seriously affect the decrease in sexual desire. Depression is, of course, the primary psychological problem that causes low sexual desire.
The treatment of this problem varies depending on the cause. For example, if there is a reluctance caused by medications taken during menopause, the problem can be solved by changing this medication; In case of problems arising from a person's relationship with his/her partner, the relationship of the couple should be studied first. The most important point here is to find and eliminate the reasons that reduce the person's sexual desire and to ensure a sexual life style that is compatible with the person's sexual desires.
Sexual Aversion Disorder
p>
It can be defined as a persistent or recurrent extreme disgust with and complete avoidance of genital sexual intercourse with a sexual partner. A woman experiences fear, anxiety, or disgust when faced with the possibility of sexual intercourse with her partner. Discomfort may be directed towards a specific aspect of sexuality, such as genital secretions and sexual intercourse, or the whole sexuality, including kissing and touching.
Factors that cause this problem; sexual fears, sexual traumas, sexual identity or orientation problems, severe personality problems, sexual phobias and partner rejection. While only one of the factors can be a factor, the combination of more than one factor can also cause this problem.
The main purpose in the treatment of sexual disgust disorder is to reveal which of these factors is the main factor underlying the disgust and to work on it.
Female Sexual Arousal Disorder
It can be defined as a condition in which sexual arousal is persistently or recurrently unable to provide an adequate wetting-swelling response or cannot maintain this until sexual activity ends. It is quite likely to be seen together with sexual desire and orgasm problems.
This disorder causes women to experience sexual intercourse without pleasure. A person who cannot experience pleasure cannot experience the plateau phase and cannot orgasm. As a result, one may not want to repeat an action that does not give enough pleasure or even hurts from time to time and cannot have an orgasm, and sexual desire disorder may be added to this picture.
A common situation in the sexual relationship table is the sexual desire of the man. A short time after they hear it, they become ready for sexual intercourse, have an orgasm, and end the relationship. A woman who needs stimulation for a longer period of time in a relationship does not want to have sexual intercourse without being sufficiently stimulated, or cannot enjoy it even if she does. This type of sexual intercourse before the woman is fully ready may cause more permanent problems as the number increases.
The approach to people experiencing this type of situation includes five elements. The first is what the woman and her partner, if any, bring to the relationship. The second element is the psychology of women; The person's values, thoughts, general logic and, if any, psychopathological condition should also be taken into consideration. The third is the evaluation of the couple in terms of relationship. The fourth element includes the family or social environment of both individuals; The impact of values such as families, educational environments, religion and culture on sexual life cannot be ignored. The last element is to observe how effective social and cultural factors are in decision-making and evaluation and to determine the impact, if any, on the woman experiencing this problem.
Orgasm Disorders in Women
Female orgasmic disorder is a persistent or recurrent disorder in a woman following a normal phase of sexual arousal in a sexual activity that the clinician evaluates as sufficient in intensity and duration. It is defined as a delay in orgasm or the absence of orgasm (APA, 2000). Diagnosing orgasmic disorder is a little more difficult than other dysfunctions. Considering the woman's age, sexual experience and the intensity of the sexual stimulation she receives, orgasmic disorder can be mentioned if orgasm is less than expected. Not being able to orgasm during sexual intercourse is quite common in women.
Evaluating in which areas (masturbation, sexual intercourse, etc.) women who complain about not being able to orgasm experience this, how long it takes them to experience it, and The treatment plan should be made accordingly.
The satisfaction of sexual intercourse cannot be measured by orgasm, and this is one of the mistakes made in this regard. Just as sexual intercourse does not result in sexual orgasm, it cannot be said that every relationship that ends with orgasm is sexually satisfying. But it should not be forgotten that orgasm is an experience that significantly affects sexual satisfaction.
It is known that clitoral stimulation is important for women in orgasm. Although it varies from woman to woman, it is known that it is difficult to reach orgasm if there is not enough stimulation before sexual intercourse or if the duration of foreplay is not kept long. It can be said that orgasm in women increases with knowing their own body, in other words, with experience and age.
It is known that in our country, women are less likely to seek help with the complaint of not being able to orgasm. There are many reasons for this; Women do not see sexuality as an experience that they can enjoy, they do not know where to turn to, they do not get enough satisfaction from sexual intercourse and do not feel any deficiency. Many components should be examined, such as which ones are not experienced, and the process should be started after that. Apart from this, if problems in the primary parts of sexuality cause inability to orgasm, these should be identified and resolved first. Considering that sexual disorders in women are generally seen together, it can be said that a condition that affects one phase of the sexual response cycle is likely to affect the other phases. This situation is Systemic evaluation of anorgasmia in men requires detailed examination of psychological, relational, social and medical histories.
Painful Sexual Intercourse (Dyspareunia)
Dyspareunia is defined as recurrent or persistent pain during sexual intercourse, not solely due to vaginismus or lack of lubrication. Women with dyspareunia generally complain of severe pain during penis-vaginal intercourse. The important point here is that it is repetitive, experiencing short-term or temporary pain does not mean that there is dyspareunia.
Among female sexual problems, dyspareunia is the disorder in which physical causes play the most role, therefore it is primarily A physical examination is required. We can say that it may also develop due to other problems or psychological reasons. Events that may cause sexual trauma, wrong sexual beliefs, and negative thoughts about sexuality are among the reasons that can cause this situation.
Vaginismus
In our country, 50% of women who apply to sexual treatment units do so because of vaginismus. Vaginismus is the occurrence of repetitive or persistent involuntary contractions in the muscles surrounding the outer third of the vagina when penetration into the vagina is attempted. The woman does not make this contraction herself, which usually does not allow sexual intercourse, and cannot go through it voluntarily. In addition to involuntary contraction of the muscles at the entrance of the vagina, it may also be accompanied by contractions in some parts of the body and sometimes even in the whole body; Symptoms such as fear, tremors, nausea and even vomiting, feeling unwell and crying may also be observed. This contraction in the vagina does not allow sexual intercourse in most cases, but in some cases, intercourse may be forced.
In our society, vaginismus usually occurs on the first night of marriage or when sexual intercourse is first tried. In fact, it is present from the beginning of sexual life, but it is not noticed because there is no attempt at sexual intercourse. This is primary vagimismus. Although more rare, there are also cases of secondary vagimismus that occur later. These may be caused by birth, miscarriage, abortion, gynecological examinations and operations that lead to a bad experience for the patient.
Read: 0
