By  Dr Liliya Korallo on April 20 2023

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Psychosexual Disorder

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If you experience difficulty in getting sexually aroused or sexual satisfaction, you may be suffering from a psychosexual disorder. In such disorders, people find sexual dysfunction in their relationships. This dysfunction can be psychical, mental, or a combination of both. In essence, physical and mental types are physiological and psychological. 

These issues go unnoticed at best since the sufferers do not like to disclose them. Often considered taboo, people avoid opening up about sexual disorders that may make them a point of laughter or bullying, among others. Also, these disorders vary in intensity, severity, and duration. Some may end in a while. Some cases take longer to heal. 

According to several studies, roughly 54% of men and 35% of women suffer from psychosexual disorders. Undergoing these disorders is mentally and physically demanding and is a constant source of anxiety, depression, and stress, especially in a relationship. 

Sexual disorders consist of three main categories:

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1. Sexual dysfunction 

2. Paraphilia (abnormal sexual activity)

3. Gender identity disorder 

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Even with a high ratio of these disorders among men and women, they often endure in silence. However, proper counseling at the perfect time is necessary for a cure. Many relationships end drastically due to these disorders. Hence, it is imperative to consult therapists at the earliest. 

 

What are the Causes and Symptoms of Psychosexual Disorder? 

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Psychosexual disorder is a growing issue among men and women. Though individually, it is disturbing, it has severe consequences during a relationship. Every disorder has several causes and symptoms that drive its intensity. 

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Causes of Psychosexual Disorder

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Almost all the causes you will hear about this disorder relate to mindset and thoughts. A primary driving force of every psychological disorder is nervousness, stress, anxiety, fear, troubled thoughts, and any previous trauma that has left scarring images on your mind. Once your mind is clouded with negative thoughts, it moves down to everything you do in your daily life, including sex. Your sex drive gets disrupted by negativity around you. 

However, other reasons also follow, such as religious perceptions that some things during sex are sinful and regretful. Conflicts of family values, although they play a minor role here, improper sex education is a serious issue that needs importance. 

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Symptoms of Psychosexual Disorder

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To understand the symptoms, we move to the introduction, where we highlighted three categories in this order. These include sexual dysfunction, paraphilia, and gender identity disorder. 

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Sexual Dysfunction 

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Sexual dysfunction refers to improper sexual activities that show imbalance. These include lack of sexual desire, lack of enjoyment or pleasure during sex, premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and painful sex.

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Paraphilia 

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Paraphilia refers to an abnormality in sexual behavior alongside sexual attraction to do nasty things. This includes fetishism, exhibitionism, sadism, and voyeurism. 

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Gender Identity Disorder 

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Gender identity disorder is a variation between a person’s biological identity and the sexual identity in their mind. This caused them difficulty adjusting to everyday life and their desire to alter their sexual orientation. 

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Common Issues Around Psychosexual Disorders

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Psychosexual disorders are harder to elaborate on and explain to others due to the word ‘sex.’ In many communities, discussing sexual issues and sexual life openly is taboo and can be considered a poor omen among most. Families often prohibit children from discussing sexual issues or degrade them upon hearing them. It is taboo to speak about sexual difficulties. These issues are often linked with the elements of shame and embarrassment, which do not allow people to express themselves. With mental issues involved, not speaking and opening up about these issues leaves a lasting impact on minds and physically in a relationship. 

Another common perception among everyone is to term psychosexual disorders something relating to the physical inability of a person. The truth is almost the reverse of this mindset. Once you discover that there is no apparent cause of medical unfitness, it is all about thoughts and psychological reasons that cause dysfunction in sexual activities. 

Psychosexual issues are essential to discuss and matter a lot. It is not always about a person not enjoying his sexual life but the repercussions such an act can have on them after a while. A person not enjoying his sexual life can undergo physical unrest and result in physical harm to themselves and also to others, especially in a relationship. And as explained earlier, not entertaining these issues well leads to depression, anxiety, stress, fear, and other negative thoughts. 

 

Treatment for Psychosexual Disorders in London

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Every psychological issue a person faces requires talkative sessions to unleash the negativity. With counseling sessions, our psychosexual therapist allows patients to express their feelings and issues about them. Also, in psychosexual disorders, being in a relationship brings other issues. Thus, therapy sessions can also include your partner to uncover what the other person is suffering from and their behavior traits. This is a vital part of solving such issues in a relationship. The primary purpose of psychosexual therapy in London is to determine the issues a person is suffering from and the nature of the history of these issues. 

Once identifying the root cause of the problem is, a personalized treatment plan is formulated for the patient. At first, it can include psychotherapy to deal with mental issues such as stress and pain. Also, cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, can be introduced to deal with behavioral issues. CBT is a great way to treat patients to enable them to react differently to specific issues and problems they have been doing. 

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FAQs

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​What are the types of psychosexual disorders?

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There are three types of psychosexual disorders:

• Sexual Dysfunction 

Sexual dysfunction refers to improper sexual activities that show imbalance. These include lack of sexual desire, lack of enjoyment or pleasure during sex, premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and painful sex.

• Paraphilia 

Paraphilia refers to an abnormality in sexual behavior alongside sexual attraction to do improper things. This includes fetishism, exhibitionism, sadism, and voyeurism. 

• Gender Identity Disorder 

Gender identity disorder is a variation between a person’s biological identity and the sexual identity in their mind. This caused them difficulty adjusting to everyday life and their desire to alter their sexual orientation.

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​​Where should I consult for psychosexual treatment?

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It is imperative to look for a certified therapist. Also, you must consult a therapist that is a member of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) or the Institute of Psychosexual Medicine.