Sexopathology is a field of clinical medicine that studies sexual disorders and develops methods for their diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Sexual disorders are extremely diverse in their manifestations and causes. In addition to the primary disorders of sexual functions, these disorders are often one of the manifestations of a wide range of diseases – urological, endocrine, neurological or mental.
Sexual dysfunction is a typical manifestation of depression. Sexual disorders in depression are characterized by a decrease in sexual desire and potency, a decrease in sexual intercourse, loss of orgasm. The sexual intercourse itself is often accompanied by an unpleasant emotional coloring and aggravates depressive experiences. In women, there are violations of the menstrual cycle until the complete disappearance of menstruation. Men are characterized by weakening of erection, slowing down of ejaculation up to anejaculation. Sexual dysfunction in depressions is completely reversible and, with proper treatment, they usually recover in parallel with the improvement of the condition.
In manic states, characterized as opposed to depression, heightened mood, there is an increase in sexual desire, which is often accompanied by absurd sexual actions. Increased sexuality in patients with mania leads, for example, to casual sexual relations, the desire to strip in the presence of strangers, openly masturbate. Patients with mania, as a rule, are not critical of their condition and go to a doctor only at the insistence of their relatives.
In schizophrenia, sexual disorders are very diverse and depend on the characteristics of the manifestations of the disease. Frequent are complaints of patients on a decrease in sexual desire and sexual weakness. In other patients, on the contrary, there is increased sexual desire, often with impulsive actions of a sexual nature. Sexual experiences in patients with schizophrenia are often one of the topics of delirium and determine behavior disorders. Patients with schizophrenia usually hide their sexual experiences from others and can share them only in a confidential conversation with a doctor.
Sexual disorders are also characteristic of neurotic disorders. In this case, sexual disorders often act as a factor contributing to the formation of neurosis, and the growing neurotic disorders aggravate the pathology of sexual functions. A pathological vicious circle is formed. A necessary component of treatment in such cases is psychotherapy.
The treatment of sexual disorders in patients with mental disorders is not an easy task and requires the joint action of a psychiatrist, sexologist and psychotherapist.