Anorgasmia is a medical term that refers to a woman’s inability or difficulty with orgasms, even if they’re sufficiently stimulated. If you feel like you can’t orgasm or orgasm regularly, despite engaging in regular sexual intercourse and feeling sexually stimulated, you may be suffering from anorgasmia.
Before we proceed with this article, it’s worth pointing that orgasms aren’t necessary for a fulfilling sexual experience. If you’re happy with your sexual life, you don’t need to worry about anorgasmia. However, if you genuinely want orgasms, but can’t access them despite your best attempts, then it’s worth considering if you have anorgasmia.
It’s also worth mentioning that different women experience orgasms through different means. Some experience it through penetrative sex, while others experience it through direct or indirect clitoral stimulation. The frequency of your orgasms also changes with age, medications, and other factors. If you have trouble orgasming, you can try using sex toys to stimulate your clitoris.
Having said that, let’s learn more about anorgasmia.
Symptoms of Anorgasmia
Orgasms are marked by intense physical pressure and muscular contraction of the pelvic region, leading to an intense release of energy. Different women experience orgasms in different ways — and your sensations may be different, less or more intense, than those of others. Those differences are perfectly natural and nothing to worry about.
However, you should be concerned if you can’t have orgasms at all or if you experience long delays between orgasms. The following are the broad categories of orgasms.
- Lifelong: You’ve had anorgasmia all your life, i.e., you’ve never orgasmed.
- Acquired: The frequency of orgasms has declined over time.
- Situational: You can only orgasm in extremely specific situations. Some women can only orgasm with specific partners, or in specific places, or using specific sex toys.
- Generalized: The persistent anorgasmia makes you incapable of orgasming in any situation.
Causes of Anorgasmia
Physical Causes of Anorgasmia
- Underlying medical conditioning and diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.
- Gynecological problems, such as cancer treatment or a hysterectomy.
- Over-the-counter medications that inhibit orgasms, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants, and antihistamines.
- Excessive alcohol consumption and smoking.
- Age-related anatomical, hormonal, circulatory, or nervous changes in your body.
- The onset of menopause.
Psychological Causes of Anorgasmia
- Underlying mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.
- Embarrassment with sex and nudity.
- Self-consciousness about your body.
- Guilt associations with sex and sexuality.
- Firmly-rooted religious beliefs.
- History of sexual or emotional abuse.
- Other stress-related factors.
Other Causes of Anorgasmia
You may also experience anorgasmia if you’re dissatisfied with your relationship and aren’t involved in any other relationships. Issues like infidelity, poor communication, lack of trust, unresolved conflicts, abuse, and domestic violence affect your ability to orgasm, leading to anorgasmia.
Diagnosis of Anorgasmia
You should consult a gynecologist or doctor if you haven’t been able to orgasm satisfactorily for several months, despite ample sexual stimulation or efforts on your part. During the medical examination, you should give straightforward answers to all of the doctors’ questions, no matter how embarrassing they might seem. The doctor will also ask you about your sexual history, medical history, and current relationship to determine if they can diagnose the root cause of your anorgasmia.
After the examination, the doctor may recommend some physical tests, so they can identify potential physical or anatomical causes of anorgasmia. The doctor will look for underlying medical problems and carefully inspect your genital regions to determine if any structural issues lead to anorgasmia. The doctor may recommend hormone therapies or other medical treatments to address anatomical or physical issues.
Treatment of Anorgasmia
Understand your Body
Women often experience anorgasmia due to an insufficient understanding of their sexual preferences and bodily needs. If you’ve always relied on penetrative sex with a partner, you can switch things up and try exploring your body solo. You can explore all your erogenous zones, i.e., the non-sexual parts of your body that provide sexual stimulation. Different people have different erogenous zones, such as the inner thighs, armpits, nipples, etc. You can explore your body to see how you like being touched.
Direct Clitoral Stimulation
Sometimes, even women who have penetrative sex with partners experience anorgasmia. That’s because penetrative sex is rarely sufficient for orgasms. Most women can’t orgasm without direct or indirect clitoral stimulation, which you can do with your fingers or a sex toy. If you choose to use vibrators, you must use high-quality and safe vibrators that massage your clitoris. Biird’s Namii is an excellent example of an indirect clitoral stimulator — it delivers sonic pulses into your clitoris to stimulate the entire clitoral structure, producing almost-instant orgasms. Clitoral suction devices also increase blood circulation, producing stronger orgasms than traditional sex.
Sex Therapy & Counseling
You can also contact a sex therapist or counselor, individually or with your partner. Sex therapists specialize in sexual concerns and sex education. Besides helping you understand your body better, they also help with your communication skills and behavior. Therapy can help you and your partner gain better mindfulness of each other’s bodies, resulting in better orgasms.
Hormonal Therapy
Women often experience anorgasmia after menopause or due to hormonal changes that limit estrogen production. However, estrogen therapy can restore your body’s healthy estrogen levels to improve your orgasms. Estrogen therapy comes in various forms, including pills, patches, and vaginal creams.
Medical Treatments
If you have some underlying conditions resulting in anorgasmia, as determined during the diagnosis, you’ll need to seek treatment for the root cause. However, in this case, the treatment plan depends on your underlying conditions, the doctor’s diagnosis, and recommended treatments. You might want to check out our articles about Vaginismus and clitoral atrophy.
Conclusion
Orgasms aren’t essential for sexual fulfillment. But if you’re frustrated with your inability to orgasm frequently or at all, it’s worth determining if you have anorgasmia. Women may experience the symptoms of anorgasmia for various reasons, including underlying medical conditions, hormonal imbalances, psychological issues, and relationship issues. Before you consult a doctor, you should try exploring your body with sex toys and vibrators to see if that works. If nothing seems to work, you can contact experts for help.
