Describe hypoactive sexual desire. Provide an explanation of its causes and two treatment strategies
What will be an ideal response?
Responses should consider:
Hypoactive sexual desire is a persistently low level or lack of sexual fantasies or desire for sexual activity. It's also known as inhibited sexual desire. This applies to individuals or couples who do not think about sex very much, who do not feel desirous of sexual activities very often, and who find this to be a problem in their lives and relationships.
- Causes
- For low desire that is primary, global, and total, underlying causes such as hormonal imbalances or neurological pathology must be considered.
- For desire difficulties that are secondary, situational, and partial, nonphysical factors such as psychological, relationship, or cultural must be considered.
- Among the most commonly suggested nonphysical causes are anxiety over relationship and other sexual issues, depression, fear (of pregnancy, STIs, or pain), and past sexual victimization.
- Treatment Strategies
- One treatment strategy is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is designed to:
1. assist an individual or couple in identifying and exploring irrational, fault, and self-defeating beliefs and attitudes that underlie sexual difficulties
2. develop strategies to discard those ineffective cognitions and replace them with new, more accurate, and more constructive thought processes
3. gradually eliminate undesirable behaviors that were based on the old ways of thinking and replace them with new and effective actions stemming from the new belief systems
- Another treatment strategy is sensate focus, as it can reduce anxiety about intercourse and fears about performance, and may reawaken sensuality for the couple and spark new feelings.
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What will be an ideal response?
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