First and foremost, last year we had to do a flyer on the subject of our choice. Thus, as the three of us are interested in clinical health psychology, we have chosen to work on vaginismus. Maëlie’s research project deals with this theme and Camille and Juliane wanted to know more about it. Despite the links between vaginismus and our studies in clinical psychology, this is a topic that is not currently addressed in class.
Indeed, vaginismus is a little-known subject that is still not enough talked about. Just like other issues related to sexuality, it is taboo. But nowadays women’s voices are freeing up, and speaking about sexuality with friends or even family members is more and more common. This change is largely due to social networks, on which there are many testimonies about this topic.
To introduce the subject, we explained on the flyer that vaginismus is a vaginal reflex of contraction that may happen during an attempt at vaginal penetration and even if the woman expresses a desire for penetration and when there is no anatomical disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Vaginismus is much more common than we think as 5 to 17% of women suffer from it (Melnik et al., 2012).
Of course, vaginismus might be caused by several factors such as : sexual abuse, a negative body image, a lack of knowledge about sexuality and anatomy, difficulties in expressing emotions (also known as alexithymia by psychologists), and the fear of sexual failure and pain (Reissing et al., 2013). The last one might be considered as a consequence of vaginismus but also a cause after the first vaginismus experience. Moreover, vaginismus can be part of a vicious circle as it might generate pain and thus lead to a fear of pain and anxiety about sexual relationships or penetration (Reissing, 2009).
Obviously, this flyer was made for women. But more specifically, for those who might suffer from vaginismus or who know someone concerned by this issue. We thought that this brochure might be exposed in the waiting room of a gynecologist, a midwife, a doctor, or even a psychologist. We tried to adapt the content to the non-expert population. But obviously, this task was quite difficult, mainly because our explanations must not be a source of guilt or anxiety for those women ; but also because we had to make sure to use non-medical or psychological words.
This flyer was made in order to inform women concerned by vaginismus, to help them talk to each other or contact their doctor and gynecologist. We think it’s important because vaginismus is not very well known. Maybe some women have symptoms of it without knowing that what they suffer from is vaginismus, and it can be a suffering cause. Also, we wanted them to know that some solutions exist. For instance, we proposed a breathing and pelvic exercise which is a quick solution that they can practice by themselves. Even though it might not definitely cure vaginismus it may ease the pain. Vaginismus is treatable by the use of dilators and lubricants for example, with pelvic reeducation, by sexual and emotional education (like talking to your gynecologist), with psychotherapy (in order to work on anxiety), with hypnotherapy, with pharmacological treatment (as botulinum toxin) (Pacik, 2014).
To conclude, we think that our flyer can help women to understand vaginismus and ease the discussion about it. Moreover, the breathing and rotation of the pelvis’ exercise can be a useful tool for women before meeting a professional. Finally, we are convinced that facilitating discussions about difficult issues, like vaginismus, is one of the psychologists’ tasks. If you are interested in seeing our flyer, let us know. We would love to send it to you.
Words we have learned :
- vaginismus : vaginisme
- a negative body image : une image du corps négative
- a lack of knowledge : un manque de connaissances
- gynecologist : gynécologue
- pelvic reeducation : rééducation pelvienne
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
Melnik, T., Hawton, K., & McGuire, H. (2012). Interventions for vaginismus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001760.pub2
Pacik, P.-T. (2014). Understanding and treating vaginismus : A multimodal approach. International Urogynecology Journal, 25(12), 1613‑1620. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-014-2421-y
Reissing, E.-D., Binik, Y.-M., Khalif, S., Cohen, D., & Amsel, R. (2003). Etiological Correlates of Vaginismus : Sexual and Physical Abuse, Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Self-Schema, and Relationship Adjustment. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 29(1), 47 59. https://doi.org/10.1080/713847095
Reissing, E.-D. (2009). Vaginismus : Evaluation and Management. In A. T. Goldstein, C. F. Pukall, & I. Goldstein (Éds.), Female Sexual Pain Disorders (1re éd., p. 229‑234). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444308136.ch35