Can the lack of sex cause psychological problems?

[Zechnophobe]

Yes. See Maslow's Heirarchy of needs:

The problems aren't inherently serious (though it does qualify as a basic physiological need) but lack of sex can predispose one to higher levels of stress, neuroticism, and depression.



-m

Didn't Maslowe just make that whole pyramid to convince his wife it was important that she cook, clean, and put out for him? I'm pretty sure it was confirmed by Snopes.

 

[Doclector]

I wouldn't think lack of sex as such could do such a thing, but certainly a lack of human care for oneself.

 

[martin's a madman]

All down to the individual. I imagine that if it was seriosuly detrimental to mental health then being a celibate priest would probably be banned.

Haha, funny you should mention that, considering the many sex related scandals rocking the Vatican.

No child's behind left!

 

[Gralian]

No, I don't think sex has much to do with it. It's the companionship part.

I'm with Julian on this. It's not down to a lack of sex. After all, if you were really desperate, there's always masturbation. Not the same thing, but it's still a 'release'.

However, people do require companionship. Even the loneliest of hermits could seek companionship in something like a pet dog for instance. If you fail to build any meaningful relationships (romantic or otherwise) it can lead to long term problems such as depression and anxiety. You may start to feel you're 'not good enough' for other people, or that you're 'not interesting' enough for people to want to spend time with you. Another way for this to develop is to become deeply misanthropic and transform that loneliness into hatred, which makes dealing with people very difficult.

There are a fair number of asexuals out there who aren't interested in sex, period, yet they're still perfectly normal human beings. Many of them can go their whole lives a virgin, but it doesn't mean they're psychologically damaged or unwell in any way. However, i think what a lot of them still do that is overlooked is find companionship and love, but not sex and lust - if you can see what i'm getting at here.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Yes. See Maslow's Heirarchy of needs:

The problems aren't inherently serious (though it does qualify as a basic physiological need) but lack of sex can predispose one to higher levels of stress, neuroticism, and depression.



-m

Didn't Maslowe just make that whole pyramid to convince his wife it was important that she cook, clean, and put out for him? I'm pretty sure it was confirmed by Snopes.

wouldn't surprise me, but it's still relevent and useful for classifying human need and desire.

The point I was trying to make was that sex is a basic physiologcal drive in animals. It is one of the most fundamental ones.

Failure to satisfy that need does have pshycological effects, and those effects are pretty well documented.

Lack of sex isn't going to kill you, or make you go crazy, but it does make it more likely that a given person will suffer depression, be more neurotic, and experience higher levels of stress.

These are psycological problems, thus, per the title of the thread, yes, lack of sex can cause psychological problems.

-m

Edit: Also: ITT, a fundamental misunderstanding of "psychological problems" the relevence of antecdotal evidence, and basic science.

*sigh*

 

[xDarc]

Without sex, one is suppressing a primal natural urge. It can't be mentally healthy, no.

 

[omega 616]

No, I don't think sex has much to do with it. It's the companionship part.

People crave attention and companionship. Everyone does. Not sex, but a loving relationship with someone. If you don't get that, often times, they'll think something's wrong with them or that they're not good enough for someone else and it does cause problems.

So saying sex is what causes the problems is untrue. The people who go out and fuck someone new every week aren't helping themselves in this issue either. There's one extreme to the other and neither are good.

I willingly spend all my spare time alone, if it wasn't for the government I would spend alot more time alone (there making me do some volenteer work).

People just frutrate me, making massive deals out of tiny things (somebody called me a dick and now I am so angry), being in the way or just walking way to slowly (some people are in a rush, get out of the way) or being stupid (I saw a guy wearing shorts in -15 degrees C!).

When I am alone I can do what I like, watch what I like on TV, play any game I want, don't have to listen to there hum drum lives etc etc etc.

On topic. 21 year old virgin and I am not suffering from any mental issues etc so nope, it doesn't effect you.

Maybe if you have had it before and really liked it, then maybe but I can't see it.

 

[Terminal Blue]

You come across this kind of thinking a lot, and I reckon it's down to a fairly major misunderstanding of Freudian psychoanalysis.

Lack of sex in and of itself will generally not do you any harm. What can cause psychological problems is repressing your sexuality. While the two might go hand in hand they're very different things. A person can lack sex or even lack desire for sex and still be psychologically healthy, it's only when someone desires sex and represses that desire that it can begin to make itself known in other ways, which are sometimes destructive enough to qualify as mental illness.

This was basically Freud's take on hysteria. 19th century women's sexuality had been pretty much forced out of existence and they had no socially acceptable avenue to express their desires, so it kept bleeding out through a wide range of other symptoms.

I guess it can also cause social problems which might theoretically lead to deeper mental problems down the line, for example if someone is ridiculed for not having sex and feels miserable or becomes overly focused on it as a point of achievement, but these things won't automatically translate into mental illness. There's a difference between 'being upset' or 'being miserable' for legitimate reasons and having a psychological problem.

Modern pop culture generally reduces a lot of very complicated psychoanalytic work to 'sex good, no sex bad'. That's not really very useful, especially as it puts a lot of pressure on people to have an active sex life. Sex can actually be one of the most psychologically unhealthy things around, it all depends on context.

 

[Burck]

If by sex, you mean anything ending in orgasm, I'd say a definite maybe, leaning on the side of yes. Suppressed urges certainly can't be good for the mind (so I speculate). Looking at the post above me, I'd agree that suppressing any part of one's self (including sexuality) can lead to complications in the subject's mental cognition of themselves and others.


However, a lack of sex with a partner is NOT detrimental. So long as the person feels loved (deeply), they can get by alright with just masturbation.

Having that kind of bond satisfies the need for intimacy that is too often tied exclusively to sex.

 

[tehfeen83]

I haven't had a go of a pair of boobs in about four months and I'm OK I think. Another four months though and things might be different.

 

[thiosk]

Based on the amount of people on this forum who never get any and decide to become asexual rather than desperate, I'd say yes.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha

You are correct sir. I've never seen so many self-righteous non-sexuals collected in one area before.

 

[Burck]

I haven't had a go of a pair of boobs in about four months and I'm OK I think. Another four months though and things might be different.

I'd wager that its the sense of intimacy that you and others would come to miss. You can get as much boobs as you want on the internet, but you can only touch and be touched by someone who is actually there, whether said touching is sexual or not, passionate or companionate.

 

[YouBecame]

Uhh I don't know. I've not had any for a good few months and I just get grouchy . Not psychological problems but certainly puts me on a downer!

 

[Krylock]

Can the lack of sex cause psychological problems?

Ha, no.

 

[ScarlettRage]

It calms me down, so i'm going to have to say yes...
but hey, My partner doesn't mind

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

I wouldn't think so. A common example would be the narrator from John Irving's "A Prayer from Owen Meany." The man is a 40-year old virgin who is completely sane. Also, there are the "asexual" individuals, some of whom do not have any sexual desire whatsoever. I personally have no desire to have sex or even date. I think it mainly depends on how your mind is wired, either you need/want sex or you don't. If you don't, that does not mean something is wrong with you.