The Role of Performance Anxiety in the Development and Maintenance of Sexual Dysfunction in Men and Women
International Journal of Stress Management 2005, Vol. 12, No.4, 379-388
The author Marita McCabe wrote this article to discuss a current study that focused on the association of the attitudes towards sex regarding relationship quality performance anxiety, stress and sexual dysfunction (McCabe 2005 pg. 379). The results of the study demonstrated related types of sexual dysfunction amongst a group of men and women. The article starts off explaining the sexual response cycles by breaking it down into four stages. The four stages are desire, arousal, orgasm and resolution (McCabe pg.380). McCabe stated that most sexual dysfunctions occur within the first three stages of the sexual response cycle. Performance anxiety occurs in both men and women that causes obsessive concerns about their sexual performance and can lead to becoming the main reasons for sexual disorders and/or dysfunction (McCabe pg. 380; Masters & Johnson 1970). The goal of the Journal article is to determine the...
First, it is important to distinguish the difference between sexuality and sensuality. When some people think of sexuality, the brain automatically thinks orgasms and penetration. But, when we think about sensuality, all of the senses become engaged. Touch, taste, smell, and feel can all become a form of foreplay. When you take foreplay or sensuality out of the equation, “couples have no way of intimately connecting unless they have sex” (Markman et al., 2010, p.272). This can introduce pressure to the sexual relationship which will also allow room for anxiety. “Numerous studies suggest that anxiety is the key inhibiting factor to arousal” (Markman et al., 2010, p. 277). There are two types of anxiety - performance anxiety and conflict. When a person is focusing soley on his or her performance, Markman et al., (2010) suggests that it puts “emotional distance between you and your partner. This kind of detachment can lead to the most common sexual problems that people experience” (p. 277). A few of these problems are difficulty having an orgasm, lack of erection or arousal, and pre-ejaculation. Conflict is the other source for anxiety. When a couple is arguing all the time and having trouble getting along, the desire for intimacy is lost. “It is important that you agree to keep problems and disagreements off-limits when you are being sensual or making love” (Markman et al., 2010, p. 278). If your partner has a complete lack of interest in sex, it can be a side effect of a hidden issue. It can be a stressful time at work, he or she could be depressed, drinking, or suffering from another type of illness that affect one’s sex drive. Try to figure out if it is health related, and if it is not, then look more at the
“...We’re walking around with a complete health care system inside our own body.” Keesling does a pretty good job of emphasizing the this idea throughout the entire article. I must admit that from personal experience I do indeed agree with Keesling in that sex is great for the mind and body, as well as the fact that it could even be used as therapy for menstrual problems. She also makes a point of stating that “...sex also creates an emotional and physical bond that is essential...”. I agree, because it is also my experience and belief that although sex is not the entire relationship, it surely makes up about 80% of it, and if there is an inability to be open about one’s sexual life with thier partner, then one will never be able to attain a health tight bond with their other half.
Over the last century, the life expectancy of the elderly has increased. This means that the largest growing population right now, in the United States, is persons over the age of 65 (Sex Tips for Older Adults, 2000). With this in mind, it would be helpful to talk about the personal aspects or as I like to call it, "sex lives" of the elderly. When people in our society think of the elderly, they almost never think of this population having sex or good sex for that matter. But they do! Unfortunately, the elderly encounter problems with sex as they become older and that is what I will be discussing along with way of coping with sexual dysfunction.
Our text describes pedophilia as a person who “gains sexual gratification by watching, touching, or engaging in sexual acts with prepubescent children, usually 13 years old or younger” (Comer, 2013, p. 411). The movie, The Woodsman describes the story of a convicted sex offender recently released from prison. Walter, depicted by Kevin Bacon shed some insight into the motivations and thought processes that a sex offender, specifically a pedophile might have.
Yet medical writers voiced more than a certain anxiety as to how to regulate marital pleasure, especially for the female partner. The conjugal "genital act" may have been the best medicine in preventing hysteria and maintaining general health, but only when dispensed in exactly the right dosage. Too much or too little could also unleash fatal female instincts, making marriage not the cure to a woman 's debauchery, past or future, but rather the gateway. Thus, while for men marriage itself seemed to offer enough of a cure for unregulated passion, for women another layer of surveillance was needed: enter the husband, dispenser and moderator of pleasure and passion. '” (Mesch
Sex is a beautiful thing that happens between two people, but sometimes sex can become addictive, and like with any other addiction, it can ruin lives. Patricia is in her mid-thirties, and to those who know her, she is a soccer mom with a successful career. But after her marriage ended due to her husband’s affair, Patricia became insecure, and started exploring dating sites on the internet – soon, Patricia was going on dates, sex dates - and in an interview with the Philadelphia Weekly, she admits that she is addicted to sex, and there is a problem. The American Psychiatric Association and Diagnostic (APAD) and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) don’t recognize the abuse of sex as an addiction. Although not recognize as an addiction, the abuse of sex has the same qualities as drug addiction and should be recognized as a medical condition.
Along with being the most widespread mental health disorder, women are more likely to be affected by most anxiety disorders than men. Anxiety disorders are often characterized by feelings of worry, uncertainty, anxiety, or fear, which can be so intense, it can interfere with a person’s daily activities. Therefore, it is likely for a person struggling with an anxiety disorder will find themselves unemployed, financially dependent on others and even have poor quality social relationships as well. As an anxiety disorder may affect other functional impairments, it is also important to be aware of its development considering an anxiety response affects various populations and individuals differently.
Hyper Sexual addiction is a disorder that can be defined as a person having a habitually elevated sex drive, fantasies, and urges. Nevertheless, compared to other sexual addictions, this could be known as one of the most riskiest and dangerous addiction. Hyper Sexual Addiction has become more prevalent because of the infidelities amongst some celebrities and political figures. Sexual addiction has always existed, but because of technology and social media, people have become more aware of it. People who suffer from this disorder are like drug addicts that crave drugs; they think they can stop, but the urges are constantly there. According to An Elements Behavioral Health article (2016), for the sex addict, sexual activity provides an intense,
Sassler, S, F Addo, and D Lichter. "The Tempo of Sexual Activity and Later Relationship Quality." Journal of Marriage & Family 74.4 (2012): 708-725.
Anxiety played an important role in the psychoanalytic theory, and, as a result, psychoanalytic interpretation is important to understand anxiety disorders. In the psychoanalytic interpretation, anxiety is defined an intense sensation of endangerment and an unconscious mechanism produced by unconscious conflicts. According to Wolman and Stricker (1994), it can be understood as a symptom that is the cause and effect of itself and a product of past experience, psychological mechanisms, and psychic contents like persecutory anxiety or separation anxiety. For Freud, nervous anxiety was produced by sexual frustration and repressed sexual drives, or libido. In his theory, sexual frustration creates a biochemical imbalance that results in anxiety. However, this idea does not have support on the empirical basis because there is not a biochemical process that correlates with Freud’s theory. In addition, on the psychological basis, sexually abstinent people do not always experience extreme anxiety (Wolman...
This essay will discuss the ways sexuality is gendered and their impacts towards both men and women by exploring the contemporary heterosexual scripts from a sociological perspective on three main aspects; i.e. sex drive, desire and power. It studies how men are deemed to have a higher sexual edge than women, who acts as the relationship gatekeepers. This essay analyses the theory that women predictably pursuits love and relationships while men are more sexually controlled by lusts and cravings. Sexual dominance and passiveness is another traditional script inspected in this essay, focusing on how men are always expected to be the prevailing initiator thus devouring more power in relationships while women stays being the weaker, submissive receivers.
Men and women are sexual beings. Even though they both have different genitalia they both are going through the same four stages of the sexual response cycle. When there is a break in the cycle because of a sexual dysfunction, it is important to seek out help instead of ignoring it because it can potentially lead to the relationship falling apart.
Sexual fitness is defined as a threshold a person reaches after they have applied consistent effort, practice, and determination. The endeavor to reach a state of sexual mastery requires psychological motivation, education, and implementation of specific physical skills. An athlete becomes proficient at his/her sport by engaging in physical and mental pract...
Arousal Disorder is the inability to become physically aroused or excited during sexual activity. Sexual arousal disorders were known as frigidity in women and impotence in men. “Occasional impotence occurs in approximately 50 percent of American adult men, and chronic impotence affects about 1 in 8 American men, with the chances increasing as a person ages.” High blood pressure, smoking and liver disease are a few causes of Arousal disorder. Self-stimulation and the Masters and Johnson treatment strategies are used to treat problems associated with orgasm and sexual arousal disorders. Studies show that 70% of men with low testosterone have erectile dysfunction and 63% say that...
Sex has been a taboo subject for many generations in nearly every culture present in the world. Many seem to rely on the traditional idea that one should abstain from sex until marriage, while others evolved and began to exercise the idea of sexual freedom and are not held down by any certain beliefs or traditions. Leslie Bell takes an in-depth look into this complex situation by taking into account various psychoanalytical theories and first-hand experiences in order to make sense of this complicated subject. One can argue that sex becomes a much more complicated rather than a pleasurable experience for women due to the confusing standards that society has put in place, their upbringing from childhood to adulthood, and their overwhelming desire