Enjoying sexual life is one of the greatest pleasures that human beings have.It is not only as a source of bodily satisfaction, but also as a powerful intimate connection with another person.
Sex can give way to many scenarios, such as reconciliations or new loves, it is essential for the life of a couple because there is a special bond that you do not have with someone else and also brings multiple benefits to our own health.
Pleasurable sexual relations help to strengthen the immune system, shape the body figure and even give shine and purity to the skin. It fills us with energy and complements us as an attractive or sensual being by knowing and exploring our intimacy. As you can see sex has no points against it, but can you imagine something so sensational becoming a daily problem?
Compulsive sexual behaviors are part of mental health disorders. One of the best known is Nymphomania.Have you heard about it before? If not, then read on so you can know everything about nymphomania and how to detect it.
- You may be interested in: “What do erotic dreams mean: 4 psychological interpretations”.
What is Nymphomania?
It is necessary to clarify first of all that the term “Nymphomania” is no longer in use for diagnosis according to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in Spanish). Instead, the term ‘Hypersexuality’ or ‘Sex Addiction’ was coined. This term was also used as a replacement for “Satiriasis” (Male Sex Disorder).
Now, let’s define what is the formerly called Nymphomania. It is a subcategory of impulse control disorders, in which people feel an unrestrained and exaggerated desire to satisfy their sexual needs on a continuous basis. This condition can be triggered either by sexual desire or by the need to satisfy an emotional demand.
Prior to the DSM-5, the expression Nymphomania was only used to refer to female hypersexuality, since in the studies carried out, as well as in the cases diagnosed, the majority of the population was female.
Is hypersexuality an addiction?
We find then in the DSM-5 the Hypersexuality as a synonym of Sex Addictiondue to its characteristics of increased and continuous sexual frequency, as well as the excessive and uncontrollable desire to seek pleasure in sexual activities. But, can we classify it as an addiction?
Addictions are generally established as the compulsive search for satisfying stimuli for the person, which provide a sense of relief to a previous emotional discomfort. This is caused by a behavioral disorder or a neuronal alteration.
However, a 2014 study conducted at the University of Cambridge has labeled hypersexuality more roughly an obsessive-compulsive disorder, because there is not enough evidence to call it an addiction. Instead, there are conditions, habits or predispositions that lead to the sexual disorder.
Compulsive sexual behavior
This is another term with which we can find Hypersexuality within the DSM-5 since it does not have its own classification. It should be clarified in this section that not all sexual behaviors are inappropriate and very meticulous care should be taken when diagnosing because some specific symptoms that have nothing to do with a behavioral or neurological disorder can be confused or globalized.
Nymphomania has several origins, which can be biological.The brain’s dopaminergic activity is altered or overexcited, leading people to seek sensations that release dopamine, becoming dependent on it. This leads people to seek sensations that release dopamine, becoming dependent on this and do you know what is the ideal activity for this? That’s right, sex.
It can also derive as an extra symptomatology of another mental disorder, such as Borderline Disorder, autism or bipolar disorder. By the consumption of substances and drugs opposed to dopamine. Or by brain lesions in the frontal-temporal regions that control sexual impulses.
Symptomatology of Nymphomania
The best way to detect Nymphomania is to know its clinical symptomatology.Therefore, pay attention to the following.
1. Insatiable sexual desire
It is the first indication of the appearance of this sexual compulsion. This refers to the constant and uncontrollable cravings to have sex several times a day, at any time of the day and no matter where the person is. Either with one or several people. They even derive in excessive masturbation to satisfy themselves on their own, which can even hurt the vaginal area.
2. High libido levels
Continuous cravings for sexual activity are products of a woman’s high libido. Libido is defined as a person’s sexual desire, believed to be a primitive behavior of satisfaction and reproduction. For psychoanalysis it represents the basis of the drive of life, that is, what causes us pleasure.
However, when there are too high levels of libido, it becomes a disorder that affects the person and their sexual partners as they are unable to achieve sexual satisfaction through orgasm and will always be looking for more.
3. Excessive pornography
People who suffer from hypersexuality tend to watch porn in excessive amounts, not only at home, but also at work, in class or anywhere regardless of whether it is public or private. Since they see it as a way to experience new things at any time, at least in their mind.
4. Compulsion
The desperate quest to please their sexual appetite leads women suffering from nymphomania to engage in sexual intercourse almost anywhere, under any circumstances and at any time. This can lead to risky behaviors and dangers to their physical and emotional integrity. This is because in such situations they tend not to reason, they just let themselves be compulsively driven by their desires.
It is for the same reason that hypersexuality is closely linked to the symptomatology of borderline personality disorder and manic episodes of bipolar disorder.
4. Triggering of paraphilias
It is necessary to emphasize that these sexual compulsions are completely out of the control of the person who suffers from it, it is almost as if he/she was a prey and puppet of his/her sexual desire and did everything that this one asks him/her. This is why it is very easy for hypersexuality to give way to sexual paraphilias and maladaptive behaviors, such as harassment and infidelity. For, it is a new experience that can give them the pleasure they crave.
5. Free choice
Nymphomaniac women do not distinguish whether they have sex with a man or a woman, for them it does not have the slightest importance, since what they are looking for is to please their libido. What is more, nymphomaniac women seek precisely to experiment with different people because they feel that one person does not satisfy them enough.
6. Difficulty for satisfaction
This difficulty for satisfaction is not only because they sleep with only one person, but also because they are unable to achieve an orgasm during the sexual act. This fills them with frustration and instead of a decrease in libido occurring, it is only motivation to go in search of more. However, this becomes a vicious cycle with the same unsatisfactory ending.
7. Aggravation of negative symptoms
Women with nymphomania not only suffer from a sexual dissatisfaction of their own, but also have recurring negative feelings. Such as loneliness, sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, constant stress and even insecurity and depression. For they also seek affection through sex, but since they have no control over the latter, it is impossible to get the former.
8. Interpersonal emotional problems
The problem of getting affection is due to the fact that they are not good at creating significant or long-lasting interpersonal bonds, whether friendships, work colleagues or resenting family relationships, since they only seek to maintain sexual relations. This prevents them from maintaining a deeper contact with any person.
9. Problems in their routine
Another factor is that this compulsion for sex affects other spheres of your life, such as academic, work, family or interpersonal. In addition to having difficulty creating and maintaining any type of bond with people, they have difficulty concentrating, developing and performing in common activities, have low performance and tend to be careless with their responsibilities.
10. Inability to give up
As already mentioned, people suffering from hypersexuality have no control over their sexual desires and behaviors. Therefore, they also find it difficult to give them up, no matter how much it affects the other areas of their life development or how dangerous it is for their integrity.
Although many female nymphomaniacs try to control their urges, without proper guidance and treatment they easily relapse.
Treatment for this disorder
Compulsive sexual behaviors can be treated and controlled, It is a long and challenging process, but it is the best way to cope..
1. Psychological treatment
The primary treatment for compulsive sexual behaviors is psychological intervention, to discover the origin of the disorder, address the compulsion, achieve control of sexual impulses and finally achieve social adaptation.
The most recommended therapy for these cases is cognitive behavioral therapy, since it can provide the necessary tools to change the person’s belief system, which affects their behaviors, thoughts and emotions through other socially acceptable activities to achieve personal gratification.
2. Psychiatric assistance
This treatment is mostly indicated for people who present hypersexuality as part of the symptomatology of other disorders. Which needs a more rigid revision and follow-up. It is complemented with psychotherapy.
3. Psychiatric drugs
The medication recommended for these cases are those that regulate mood, so that they reduce brain dopaminergic activity and there is no constant need to go in search of satisfying activities. This is indicated almost exclusively when hypersexuality derives from another disorder.
4. Other therapies
There are other therapies such as support groups, couples interventions or mindfulness programs. These can help the person to regain control of their life, to see that they are not alone, that they can share their problems and that they can feel more self-confident.
To confront nymphomania or confront someone who suffers from hypersexuality, it is necessary to have empathy, to let them know that they have a problem that affects them notoriously and that they can have a way out to recover their normal life.