From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Related e



Kunstformen der Natur (1904) by Ernst Haeckel
Kunstformen der Natur (1904) by Ernst Haeckel

Hypersexuality is a desire for human sexual behavior at levels high enough to be considered clinically significant.

Hypersexuality is characterized by an impairing need for frequent genital stimulation that, when achieved, does not result in long-term emotional or sexual satisfaction. This dissatisfaction is what is believed to encourage the heightened frequency of sexual stimulation, as well as additional physiological and neurological symptoms.

The concept of hypersexuality replaces the older concepts of nymphomania (or furor uterinus) and satyriasis. Nymphomania was believed to be a psychological disorder characterized by an overactive libido and an obsession with sex. In males the disorder was called satyriasis (for etymology of the words, see nymph and satyr). "Nymphomania" and "satyriasis" are no longer listed as specific disorders in the DSM-IV.

The threshold for what constitutes hypersexuality is subject to debate, and critics question whether a standardized diagnostic threshold even exists. Sex drive varies widely in humans, and what one person would consider a "normal" sex drive might be considered excessive by some and low by others. The consensus among those who consider this a disorder is that the threshold is met when the behavior causes distress or impaired social functioning.

Associated conditions

People who suffer from bipolar disorder may often display tremendous swings in sex drive depending on their mood. As currently defined in the DSM, hypersexuality is a criterion symptom of hypomania and mania in bipolar disorder and mania in schizoaffective disorder.

Several neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, various types of brain injury, Klüver-Bucy syndrome, Kleine-Levin syndrome, and many more neuro-degenerative diseases can cause hypersexual behavior. Importantly, at times, drugs could contribute to hypersexual behavior.


See also

Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Hypersexuality" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Personal tools