Neuropsychological Disorder: Sexual Dysfunction - Coursework Example

Sexual Dysfunction Introduction Sexual dysfunction is a psychological disorder which results in the inability to experience sexual arousal and satisfaction. The person suffering this disorder may have physical problems too but most commonly the presence of psychological problems is observed. There are a few common forms of dysfunctions which are classified traditionally as impotence and frigidity. These dysfunctions usually reflect the anxiety of an individual or negative feeling about the sexual actions or the partner. Other negative feelings or emotional distresses which are not related to the sexual relationship can also result in the inability of sexual functions. Sex therapies are designed for individuals who suffer from this order. These therapies help them to overcome the dysfunction by relaxing their sexual roles and anxiety. The success of these therapies is dependent upon the patients and the type of dysfunction. At times the dysfunction may also be due to a physical condition. If this is the case, then the disorder must undergo medical treatment. Some of the physical causes of this dysfunction are neurological disorders or alcoholism. Some sexual dysfunctions may be secondary to psychological problems and personality disorders and for these specific psychotherapies are required. The two most common sexual dysfunction forms are impotence and frigidity. Impotence is the disorder in men where they are unable to achieve penile erection while frigidity is the disorder in women where they are unable to achieve orgasm or arousal during the sexual act. These terms are traditionally developed and have no relation to the scientific terms but have remained to be used in common language (Barlow, 2014). Professional psychologists have recognized sexual dysfunctions as hyposexuality (arousal achieved but with great difficulty), anorgasmia (women face a recurrent inability of achieving orgasm), vaginismus (vaginal muscles of women contract during sexual acts which makes coitus impossible), dyspareunia (women face pain during sexual intercourse), erectile impotence (men cannot sustain erection), ejaculatory impotence (inability of man to achieve orgasm during intercourse while orgasm can be achieved through other methods), and premature ejaculation (men ejaculates immediately entering the vagina or before that). There are many causes of sexual dysfunctions in individuals. Some of these causes may be related to psychological disorders while some physical causes. Psychological disorders may include personal problems, emotional distress, anxiety which often come from depression, fear of sexual acts, sexual trauma, negative sexual experiences, sexual disorders, etc. Anxiety disorders are a most common type of problem to people suffering sexual dysfunction. People who may not have psychiatric problems but ordinary anxiety problems may face erectile dysfunctions which are clinically diagnosable. An example of such disorder is panic disorder which causes men to avoid intercourse and women to suffer from pain during sexual intercourse (Baker, 2002). Some general physical factors which can often lead to sexual dysfunctions are excessive use of alcohol, narcotics, nicotine, antihistamines, stimulants, and other psychotherapeutic drugs. Women are generally more sensitive towards physiological changes than men. They suffer sexual dysfunctions along with any kind of physiological change that directly impacts the reproductive system. These physiological changes may be pregnancy, menopause, premenstrual syndrome, and others. Some kinds of physical injuries such as back injuries may also tend to impact the sexual activity. Other physical problems such as nerve damage, blood supply problems, and enlarged prostate gland may impact the sexual dysfunctions. Some diseases including diabetic neuropathy, tumors, and multiple sclerosis may also impact sexual activity. Failure of organ systems like heart, lungs, or kidneys, hormonal deficiencies, and endocrine disorders may also result in sexual dysfunctions (McVary, 2010). For heterosexual relationships, the main reason why there would be a decline in the sexual activity is because of erectile dysfunction faced by the male partner. This is a distressing situation for the male as it causes a poor body image and results in lower desire for these type of men. In women, aging is a factor which may disrupt the sexual activity as the vagina narrows becoming atrophied. If a female has not been frequently participating sexual activity, then she may have problems in immediately getting easy with it and it may also cause her pain or injury. Thus this leads to the sexual dysfunction in women. Female sexual dysfunction has been a topic for research critically and many theories have emerged from psychological and medical perspectives. The psychological theories that have looked at sexual dysfunction are self-perception theory, insufficient justification hypothesis, and overjustification hypothesis. The self-perception theory refers to the feelings and attributions that females make about their attitudes and behaviors by observing their own external behaviors. Insufficient justification hypothesis is based on the theory of cognitive dissonance which focuses on the inconsistency among two cognitions. According to this theory, cognition will be altered to reduce stress and restore consistency. Overjustification hypothesis is when a person’s intrinsic interest decreases because he is rewarded for the performance of an activity which was intrinsically rewarding. A woman perceives her own behavior in many ways and this is very importance in sexual dysfunction theories. Some women may perceive sex as a chore, while some perceive it as a pleasurable experience. Some women may consider themselves to be sexually inadequate and may feel under confident about their body which keeps them uncomfortable to engage in sexual activity. Women may develop many psychological perceptions which impact their sexual activity. These perceptions are influenced by several factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, educational background, financial status, culture, sexual orientation, and inferiority complex. Cultural differences may seem to be an important factor which influences a woman’s perceptions of menopause. For example, African American women are optimistic about menopause while Caucasian women are mostly anxious. Sexual dysfunction in menopausal women can become more difficult because there are many changes that are taking place physiologically and psychologically. Females usually have a complex sexual response system which is complicated and difficult to understand even today. The most common reason of sexual dysfunction in menopausal women is lack of sexual desire and libido; both of these are associated with the hormonal physiology. The serum estrogens decline causes changes in sexual functioning. During the menopausal transition, there are several hormonal changes that women go through which impact their sexual responses. When the woman is going through the menopausal transition, there are dramatic changes observed in the sexual activity and functioning. Most women find that they are unable to achieve orgasm during this transition, while some find no pleasure in sexual activity during this face, and some may also find difficulties in lubrication. There is a disagreement in the fact that whether these sexual dysfunctions are because of the aging or menopause transition. But most studies have concluded that these sexual dysfunctions and lack of desire is usually due to menopausal transition (Kandeel, 2013). Another cause of sexual dysfunctions in women is aging. The menopause transition is another factor which is correlated to aging but aging itself has represented a very powerful and strong impact on sexual dysfunction and function. These are related usually with areas of sexual desire, interest in sexual activity, orgasm frequency, etc. However, it is important to understand and locate the prior series of sexual functioning to predict the physiological changes that have affected the sexual desire. Sexual confidence can increase with age but sexual desire usually decreases. Moreover, if a person has been in a healthy sexual relationship and feels comfortable with his partner, and gains sexual satisfaction; it is more likely that this increases the quality of life. In such cases, aging or menopausal would probably not affect the sexual desire. There are certain hormones and glands in the person’s body which affect the function of sexual activity as the age increases. Testosterones and dihydrotesosterone are important in sexual responses and functions in women and men. The levels of these androgens decrease as the age decreases for example the levels of testosterones in women decreases by half as they reach the age of 60. Sexual desire can be related to three components which are drive, values and beliefs, and motivation. The women who are above 60 usually has a faded drive due to which the initial step for sexual desire is eliminated (Powell, 1984). The treatment of sexual dysfunction in men and women can be different. The main cause of sexual dysfunction in men is anxiety thus the best treatment for men is psychotherapy. Anxiety may develop from a bad incident in the past or the lack of experience. Situation anxiety may soon develop into a fear of sexual activity and functioning resulting in avoidance. As much as avoidance takes place, the anxiety levels increase and cause desensitization of the penis. Thus men need to be given sessions where they can deal with their anxiety and sexual dysfunctions. Counseling sessions should also be given to men who are not happy with their marriage as it causes erectile dysfunction in some cases. Marriage counseling may improve the condition and perception of men towards their sexual partner. Many lifestyle changes may also be effective for men who want to treat their sexual dysfunctions. These changes may include quitting smoking, discontinuing drugs and alcohol. These changes help men with their erectile dysfunctions along with some medications such as Viagra which help them with their erectile dysfunction. These medicines have helped several men and work on almost all. However, they might not work on some men because of their medical or chronic history. Another kind of medicine is injected directly into the penis to stimulate an erection. Through this method, men can deal with their sexual dysfunction (Davis, 2005). Females face sexual dysfunctions more critically and their treatment may be complicated. Many of the medications that can be used are still under investigation and not approved. The medical device which is approved for women is a vacuum device which is used for orgasm and arousal difficulties. Women may commonly feel pain during the intercourse, for which there are certain prescribed painkillers and desensitizing agents. Lubricants are prescribed to women and in some cases even a hormone therapy. For other women, psychological counseling is advised as many of the problems related to sexual dysfunctions are psychological. Women highly need motivational sessions and therapies which increase their confidence, their self-analysis skills, and their satisfaction with their partner. Hormone replacement therapy is a therapy through which women’s sexual satisfaction can be improved. Estrogens play a major role in maintaining vaginal structure of women which functions the sexual activity. They also maintain the moisture level and pH level of the vagina which help in keeping the tissues protected and lubricated. Estrogen deficiency can lead to symptoms for menopausal and dryness of vagina which results in pain during sexual intercourse. The women with lower levels of estrogen often face sexual dysfunctions. Depression is a psychological disorder which has been spread to every area of life. It affects eating habits as well as social interactions. It has also been concluded that depression directly affects the sex life as low self-esteem, lack of energy, and guilt can lower the sexual desire. Conflicting emotions, shame, and guilt about one’s own body in cases of females cause sexual dysfunctions. These may be due to childhood experiences such as rape, sexual abuse, or bad sexual experiences. In vaginismus, intercourse becomes impossible as muscles in lower vagina contract tight disallowing intercourse. This can be reversed with various techniques at different stages (Balon, 2011). Women often need intimacy for sexual response and desire. This is also the different between male and female responses. It is commonly agreed upon that couples who do not have a good relationship with each other, find it difficult to achieve sexual arousal and overall a good sex life. Women feel sexual desire and arousal when they feel confident, attractive, loved, and cared by her partner. The psychological causes for sexual dysfunctions can be different in men and women. Rarely a couple may share arousal or sexual desire at the same time. In such cases, compromise and negotiation is usually necessary. A man has a faster cycle for arousal than a woman which is why mutual arousal is often very difficult to achieve. Couples must communicate and form a healthy relationship to ensure that sexual dysfunctions are avoided. The couple has to take care of each other’s desires and keep experimenting what is exciting like different varieties. These factors do not only improve the sexual performance but also makes it enjoyable for the couple which would prevent them from sexual dysfunctions. These communication and healthy relationship building would also tend to improve the conditions of women suffering sexual dysfunctions. The clinical study about sexual problems has been recently developed. The clinical approach is related psychopathology and is associated with a pessimistic approach for chances of improvement. Sexual problems have been considered as symptoms of deeper depression and thus a psychopathological approach had been developed in order to diagnose it. Traditionally, there was no difference considered between problems of sexual function and sexual dysfunctions. Psychotherapists had worked greatly towards these difficulties but soon the two terms impotence and frigidity were introduced (McVary, 2010). It was important to move from psychopathology to learning if reasons and results were to be achieved. Initially, the treatment was made only on couples and partners weren’t focused on individually. Initial researchers saw sex as a joint act and all the sexual problems were specified when sexual communication took place between two people. Co-therapy was proposed which provided the couples with a pair of therapists as it was believed that an individual male therapist could not comprehend the female sexual problems. The basic treatment program would usually consist of two weeks of intense therapy to develop sexual communication between couples. The program allowed the couples to discuss and share their experiences so that the difficulties could be pointed out and treated specifically. The sexual problems were eventually defined and dysfunctions were said to have been experienced by many people. Several types of dysfunctions were observed and introduced which were primarily present in males and females. Many other systematic approaches to the treatment of sexual dysfunctions were applied ever since then and now the field of sexual dysfunction is surrounded by research work, experiments, and various theoretical explanations (Barlow, 2014). Thus, sexual dysfunction is the impairment in usual sexual activity which refers to the inability to achieve orgasm or sustain erection, painful intercourse, repulsion of sexual activity, and exaggerated sexual interest or lack of desire. The diagnosis of sexual dysfunction and symptoms associated must be those that hinder the normal sexual functioning of the individual. There are many types of sexual dysfunctions for which different types of treatments are used and applied. The problems mostly are psychological rather physical and thus they are best treated by psychopathic therapies and sessions to motivate sexual desire. Men and women respond differently to these problems and the treatments provided to them are different in accordance to the critical aspect of their problem. Hence, sexual dysfunction can be common in many people mostly due to past experiences or stressful situations; but it can be treated positively. References Baker, C. (2002). Psychological Perspectives on Sexual Problems: New Directions in Theory and Practice. NY: Taylor & Francis Balon, R. (2011). Sexual Dysfunction: Beyond the Brain-Body Connection. London: Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers Barlow, D. (2014). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. London: Cengage Learning Davis, S. (2005). Women’s Sexual Function and Dysfunction: Study, Diagnosis, and Treatment. London: CRC Press Kandeel, F. (2013). Male Sexual Dysfunction: Pathophysiology and Treatment. London: CRC Press McVary, K. (2010). Contemporary Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction: A Clinical Guide. London: Springer Powell, D. (1984). Alcoholism and Sexual Dysfunction: Issues in Clinical Management. NJ: Psychology Press Read More