Index
WHAT IS GENOPHOBIA?
Also known as coitophobia , it is the fear of any type of relationship and sexual act ( whether with a man or a woman ) , experiencing repulsion towards the simple fact of thinking about it.
Like other phobias, this one can be caused by a traumatic childhood event: a rape, abuse or having witnessed a sexual act that was unpleasant on television or in real life.
It is also known by the name of erotophobia, it is defined as the persistent, abnormal and irrational fear of sex or everything related to this topic. The word erotophobia has its origin from ” Eros “, the Greek god of love, and ” phobia ” which means fear.
EROTOPHOBIA OR SEX PHOBIA
It not only covers the act of having sex, but also situations such as sexual talk and explicit content such as pornography.
Since these people try to run away from any confrontation they might have with sexuality , their knowledge of it is quite scarce and they tend to react very negatively when someone brings this topic of conversation to the table.
As might be expected, not all cases of this disorder are the same; There are people who can tolerate talking about sex or even seeing some explicit content, but when it comes time for intimacy, they don’t get carried away and end up feeling uncomfortable.
For this reason they do not usually have sex, since they end up overwhelmed by fear and feelings of guilt.
Another problem with this disorder is that, as those affected prefer to avoid any sexual issue, they are usually not well informed about contraceptive methods and, therefore, make less use of them.
This makes them more vulnerable to disease, which could cause even greater fear in them and create a vicious cycle.
THE CAUSES OF THIS DISORDER CAN BE VARIED DEPENDING ON EACH CASE
The most common would be that the person has been the victim of some sexual abuse or that since childhood he has had a terrible sexual education.
In these cases, sexual love could be presented as something negative and that only brings problems, so they usually feel guilt before, during or after the sexual act, they can even have a love phobia .
The vaginismus can also be a reason why women could suffer from genofobia because experiencing severe pain every time you have sex .
This can cause an incredible fear of intercourse over time. Other people feel mistrust when having sexual intercourse because they fear catching an STD ( Sexually Transmitted Disease ), which makes it difficult for intercourse to be possible.
The contradiction of this phobia is that the person wishes to consummate the sexual act, but is too afraid of it to carry it out.
SYMPTOMS OF GENOPHOBIA
Just talking or thinking about sexual intercourse can trigger a series of characteristic signs in this phobia.
People with this fear comment that the first thing they feel is an increase in their heart rate , followed by extreme sweating, dryness in the oral cavity, stomach pain and, in the case of being in the middle of the sexual act, the inability to finish it.
These symptoms are almost always accompanied by panic attacks that disable the person from any activity they are doing at the time.
To avoid these symptoms, some people decide to be asexual, thus reducing their interest and attraction to a minimum for any activity related to sex.
TREATMENT TO OVERCOME GENOPHOBIA
This phobia is more common than it seems. Many couples even seek help to save their relationship, since either of them is terrified of the sexual act .
This greatly complicates the love bond, since it can reach the extreme of tired people feeling anxiety every time in a conversation they deviate towards a sexual topic.
The first thing would be to seek professional help ( from a sexologist or a therapist ). Describing the symptoms to the specialist, he will diagnose in the best possible way by analyzing the case.
With regard to women, the diagnosis is often related to vaginismus , that severe pain at the time of penetration caused by involuntary contractions of the vaginal walls, mixed with the symptoms of phobia.
In men the diagnosis is limited only to genophobia.
In both cases, weekly sessions are started gradually bringing the person closer to their phobia and discovering the cause.
Also addressing the issue of body perception and how the patient feels with his body, from there you can go back in the past of the person to determine if there was a traumatic event.
If the specialist considers it prudent, the person should take antidepressant medications ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ) and anxiolytics to combat the symptoms.
If the patient’s phobia is severe, few but long sessions will allow a significant advance to eradicate the fear.
Alexa Clark specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has experience in listening and welcoming in Individual Therapy and Couples Therapy. It meets demands such as generalized anxiety, professional, love and family conflicts, stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, grief, and adolescents from 15 years of age. Over the years, She felt the need to conduct the psychotherapy sessions with subtlety since She understands that the psychologist acts as a facilitator of self-understanding and self-acceptance, valuing each person's respect, uniqueness, and acceptance.
