Sex phobia is also known as erotophobia, and it is a complex disorder with a wide variety of symptoms. This term is used when the person experiences extreme and limiting anxiety about relationships. Despite what is reported in movies and series, the origin of the problem does not have to be traumatic. Most of those who suffer from it have developed it gradually, without a definitive triggering episode. At first, almost always in adolescence, the affected person has lived through unpleasant situations – negative experiences, rigid and puritanical education … – that lead him to associate sex with certain sensations such as disgust or anxiety. Later, he gets used to inhibiting his intimate life and that makes him become more and more afraid of the subject. This problem is much more common than we think. In fact, experts like Dr. Helen Kaplan believe that many people who believe they have a lack of erotic desire have actually developed a phobia of sex. A book that can help you understand this disorder is Desire , by Sylvia de Béjar.
Different types of sex phobia
As we have already commented, the symptoms or the type of anxiety that people with sex phobia experience are very varied, and some specific types can be distinguished such as gymnophobia or fear of nudity, genophobia (fear of intercourse relationships) , filemaphobia (fear of kisses), hafephobia (fear of being touched), fear of intimacy, fear of vulnerability, phallophobia (fear of the penis), gynephobia (fear of women), etc.
The importance of going to the specialist
Sex life is a very important part that affects our physical and mental health, as well as an essential dimension of life as a couple. For this reason, as with other disorders, it is very important to go to a specialist to find the origin of this irrational fear and help those who suffer from sex phobia to successfully overcome the problem.
