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Vaginism

What is Vaginism?

Vaginism (also known as Vaginismus) is a condition in which an attempt to insert something into a woman's vagina causes the muscles surrounding the vagina to tighten, and to clamp shut, making penetration painful or impossible.

Vaginism can affect sexual intercourse as well as gynaecological examinations and even the use of tampons.

Vaginism is involuntary, and can be compared to any other reflex action where the body closes up as a reflex, like when the eye blinks if something approaches it.

In vaginism, although the closing of the vagina is involuntary, it is often due to a learned response to pain, that is to say, the woman expects pain, or remembers previous painful experiences, or simply imagines that penetration will be painful, and the vaginism reflex occurs. Vaginism can be helped very successfully.

Woman with vaginism can get caught in a 'catch 22' situation. They subconsciously expect, or fear pain, and the muscles tighten up. If penetration is then attempted, it can be painful simply because the muscles are tight. What happens then, is that the pain then subconsciously re-inforces the fear, tells the subconscious that it was right to fear the pain, and it can cause an even stronger response the next time.

Primary Vaginism

Primary vaginism is the name given to the condition when the woman has never been able to have sexual intercourse.

Primary vaginism is often discovered in the teenage years, when the girl tries to use tampons, or goes for an internal examination and finds it to be extremely uncomfortable. This fear of pain then causes an anxiety which will bring with it the conditioned reflex response of closing upwhenever the woman then subsequently attempt intercourse.

Secondary Vaginism

Secondary vaginism is the name given to the condition where the woman has been able to achieve penetration in the past, but develops vaginism after some time.

Treatment for vaginism is often easier for women with secondary vaginismus than it is for women with primary vaginism, simply because the woman is aware that penetration without pain is possible.

Looking for Help with Vaginism?

It's important to remember, that if you suffer from Vaginism, then help is available.

The LifeShaping Process

The LifeShaping Process is a superb online (web based) series of sessions created by professional therapists for you to use at home. Online sessions are very popular these days, because you can fit them around your life far more easily than travelling to a therapist for a face-to-face session.

You can get access to the full LifeShaping Process, plus access to all the online help, resources, updates and support for a full year, for less than £1 per week!!

See how the LifeShaping Process could help you overcome vaginism...

Are You Affected by Vaginism?

Tell Us Your Story - If you are suffering from ther effects of Vaginism, be sure to share your story with us.

Looking for help with a problem?... Do get in touch... We're here to help...

If you're looking for help with an anxiety based problem, then we'll do what we can to help you.

There are lots of different ways we may be able to help you to feel better... we'd love to meet you for a chat at one of our practices, or, if you're not near us, there's the LifeShaping Process which is a superb, web based process that you can use at home!

If you're unsure where to start, or would just like to get in touch, just use the contact form below to tell us a bit about yourself, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.