Is Your Partner Having Fear Of Sex – Erotophobia? Facts To Know

Erotophobia is the fear of sex. It is an abnormal fear towards sexual feelings and expressing it in physical form. It is the irrational fear of anything intimate and sexual and its activities.

It is usually seen that there are many kinds of phobias associated with it. People suffering have varied symptoms, all related to physical activities between two individuals.

It makes you avoid romantic relationships, marriages, and any other form of intimate relationship. It is curable but takes ample amount of time.

Phobias related to Erotophobia are:

1. Fear of vulnerability

People suffering from this mostly have a thought that if they show their true self, they won't be liked by people. Fear of such cader will make you lose close people and it will be hard to make a bond with anyone. It will affect your relationships, which may be sexual or asexual in nature. It is related to fear of abandonment or fear of engulfment. It is one of the most common fear of all.

2. Fear of abandonment

It is very complex phenomenon of human psychology. It is a borderline personality disorder. People with such fear tend to display varied thought patterns and compulsive behaviours. This destroys the relationships with people, close and distant ones. This ultimately leads to much feared abandonment. It can be dreadful and devastating. This is a part of erotophobia and in this, people just let go of people and make themselves abandoned. They don't just allow any individual to be with them.

3. Fear of intimacy

Fear of intimacy is the act of fearing intimacy with any individuals. They are not necessarily afraid of sexual contact with another person, but they are more concerned of not having any feelings or emotional closeness that might get into the picture while having sexual contact with anyone.

4. Gymnophobia

It is the fear of nudity. In this, people are of two types, either they don't like the fact of people being naked around them or they just don't like being naked. This indicates there are fear of body image issues, fear of feelings of inadequacy, although it may also occur alone. This doesn't mean they don't enjoy sex. They are just too insecure about their body image.

5. Philemaphobia

This is the fear of kissing. You might have been shocked for a second reading this, but it is an actual phobia. It is usually concerned to physical concerns like having foul breath or fear from germs.

6. Haphephobia

It is the fear of being touched. This is a big problem when you want to have sexual intimacy and when you want to get into an intimate relationship. If you walk beside a person having haphephobia, they will feel the pain inside and the fear. It is treatable but often takes time to get rid of this fear.

7. Paraphobia

This is the fear of sexual perversion and is a very complicated type of fear. People in this could be perverted themselves or could be the fear of others being perverted in nature. It definitely doesn't mean you can't have sex. People in such fear, set up ground rules and take time to acknowledge their partner. There are also people who feel sexual intimacy is perverted and they don't indulge in having sex.

8. Genophobia

It is the fear of sexual intercourse. You can be affectionate towards another individual and can also be in a solid relationship. The only thing that irks in this set up is that you and your partner can't have sex. You both kiss, cuddle and do everything else other than an intercourse. You just avoid the intercourse part.

Erotophobia is curable but it eventually takes a lot of time and patience for the person having it. If you feel you are suffering from one of the above fears, do not worry, just consult someone who can help you out and just be patient in the process to heal yourself from such fear.

The causes of erotophobia can be a lot of things. Erotophobia can result directly from trauma such as witnessing or being a sexual victim of a sexually traumatic event. Religious views can be a reason too at times along with the cultural ideologies. People who are taught that sex is sacred often suffer from repressed sexuality and thus it leads to erotophobia. At times, it is caused by performance anxiety wherein the person feels he or she lacks the ability to please the partner. Some believe sex hurts.

Treatments of erotophobia that are widely used are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Hypnotherapy, Group Therapy, Psychotherapy, Energy Psychology, Cognitive Therapy, Medication, Meditation, In Vivo Exposure and Habit Strategies To Relax.

If you feel your partner or your near ones are suffering from erotophobia, help them out by seeking consultation for them and be there with them supporting and encouraging them to cheer up and be patient while the treatment continues. Erotophobia is curable.