Does sex scare you? It could be sexophobia
The term sexophobia indicates the fear of facing any action or thought related to sexuality.
The fears related to sex are many and can concern both purely anatomical and physiological aspects of the genital apparatus or the legal acts of sexual intercourse.
The phobic rejection of sex generally concerns immature individuals, who have not reached a psycho-sexual balance and who therefore consider with unjustified adversity everything that, directly or indirectly, can be related to sexuality.
Some sexual fears, which in some cases then become real pathologies, are linked to childhood trauma, while many derive from the sense of guilt that social prejudices, too rigid education or religious norms that are sometimes too restrictive, contribute to forming From an early age, children soon realize that sexuality is something better not to talk about openly, something "dirty", something to be ashamed of and this sometimes compromises a healthy psychological maturation linked to sex.
Sexophobia: the symptoms
In sexophobia there is a rejection of erotic sensations in general, or of some specific activities or sensations related to sex. A sexual phobia, as happens in all other types of phobias, is intense, illogical, persistent and therefore gives rise to uncontrollable reactions.
When very pronounced, sexual phobia leads to phenomena of real avoidance and also to social isolation: in the most serious forms, in fact, subjects are unable to develop a normal relational life, are unable to build a solid couple relationship and, on the level of work, are unable to have normal relationships with colleagues of the opposite sex.
This phobia often leads to the development of obsessive-compulsive disorders, or even severe forms of depression, caused by the blocking of libido and emotions.
Before finishing the reading of the article, it is important to become aware of another type of phobia or the fear of loving. Watch this video to understand more!
See also
Sexophobia: how to heal
Depending on the severity and complexity of sexual phobias, one can intervene either with psychotherapy or with antidepressant drugs, or even through a combination of the two therapies.
The anxiety that precedes a phobic sexual situation can be reduced with a direct and systematic desensitization towards the anxiety-inducing stimulus. This requires the use of gradual sexual exercises within an integrated sexual therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy that allow the subject to gradually expose the feared situations, in order to limit their automatic reactions, until they disappear.
Very often it is also necessary to inform the subjects of sexuality, generally not too well known by the subject, which must be reassured and supported.
