Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHistoryCausesSignsEffectsCoping
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Table of Contents
History
Causes
Signs
Effects
Coping
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Sexual repression refers to when a person prevents themselves from feeling or experiencing theirnatural sexual urges and desires. Someone who is repressed sexually will often hold negative ideas toward sex, sometimes considering the act, and everything associated with it, wrong.
Here we take a deeper look into the history of sexual repression, its causes, and signs that may suggest a person is sexually repressed. We also examine how societal systems might contribute to this effect, as well as possible methods to overcome sexual repression.
History of Sexual Repression
Sigmund Freudwas one of the earliest thought leaders for sexual repression. He proposed that children as young as six and seven to 10- and 11-year-olds can develop a mental model that causes them to classify sex as disgusting, shameful, and immoral. These feelings may then be concretized in adulthood, causing poor adjustment to sexual feelings and situations.
Because of Freud’s work, it was theorized that many mental illnesses were a result of involuntary sexual repression.Although this thought is considered somewhat out of date, it has helped shape modernpsychological theoriesabout sexuality and sexual behaviors.
By drawing links between suppression and mental illness, the negative consequences of repression have received some attention.
Causes of Sexual Repression
Society’s Treatment of Sex
Sex has long been painted as an immoral subject. In societies and communities where it is considered a taboo topic to discuss, sex may only be spoken of in condemnation. This is sometimes the case within religions that restrict sexual expression.
In human beings, sexual interest may develop from a very young age. Similarly, repulsion to intimate encounters can also begin during adolescence or around the teenage years.
When a young person reaches puberty, their body goes through many changes that triggercuriosity about sex. If their environment treats sex as a taboo subject, they may not feel comfortable asking questions and begin to view sex and sexuality in a negative light. A persistent negative view may lead to sexual repression.
Past Traumatic Encounters
For people who’ve experiencedsexual trauma, engaging in sex acts or even thoughts of sex may trigger past traumatic experiences.To keep from being triggered, they might repress their thoughts and desires toward sex, shutting them off.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can contact theRAINN National Sexual Assault Hotlineat 1-800-656-4673 to receive confidential support from a trained staff member at a local RAINN affiliate.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can contact theRAINN National Sexual Assault Hotlineat 1-800-656-4673 to receive confidential support from a trained staff member at a local RAINN affiliate.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Signs of Sexual Repression
A person may be sexually repressed without even knowing it. Here are some behaviors that may signal sexual repression.
Discomfort With Sex
One marker of repression is unease around sexual matters. A person may find that they are embarrassed or unable to maintain their composure during talks around sex. A repressed person may alsofeel anxious before or during sexfor no identifiable reason.
Repression can take away the joy and pleasure commonly associated with sex. Instead, overwhelming grief may occur when a repressed person gives in to sex or thoughts of being intimate with other people. Tears, shame at submitting to desires, and self-repulsion are all traits associated with sexual repression.
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Difficulty Finding Pleasure in Sex
When a person considers sex inappropriate, it can be difficult to appreciate the act. Sexually repressed people will often endure, rather than enjoy intercourse with partners. This can lead to dissatisfaction andunhappiness between sexual partners. It can also form an unhealthy relationship with sex.
Discomfort With Nudity
While people may experience discomfort at looking at naked images for several reasons, this distress may be observed in sexually repressed individuals. Suppressed sexuality can cause a person to view the nude form as immoral or displeasing, also potentially spiking their own self-consciousness and general unhappiness with their appearance.
Consequences of Sexual Repression
Whenfeelings of shameand despair are attached to this natural bodily function, it can produce negative sexual, emotional, and even physical effects.
Conflicting Feelings Toward Sex
Repression can cause them to feel shame at the body’s acknowledgment of sexual stimulation. Thoughts of masturbation or engaging in the act can lead to considerable distress. This may spark conflicting feelings towardintimate sexual sessions.
Moral Confusion
Pain During Sex
Repression can cause both fear and tension during sex, which can lead to pain during intercourse. For example, for women, tension can manifest as vaginismus—a condition where the vaginal walls tighten in fear of penetration of any kind.
The fear and tension felt can be irrespective of the level of comfort with a sexual partner or the amount of ease during intercourse.
Sexual Performance Issues
Ideally, sex is a no-pressure exercise between willing partners. However, when repression-based guilt and shame rear their head, this can cause strain during intimate moments. Anxiety, embarrassment, or unhappiness at doing something that they consider “wrong” can affect a person’s performance and delight during sex.
Suppressed Sexual Orientation
Within certain religions or communities, the only acceptable form of intercourse is between two people of the opposite sex. Because of this, a person might learn to hate themselves and the feelings they hold for a person of the same gender.
Being unable to express a natural attraction to others can lead toquestions about sexuality. It can also cause disappointment during sexual encounters.
How to Cope With Sexual Repression
A person dealing with sexual repression can eventually find pleasure in sex. Here are a few strategies for coping with repression.
Recognize Repressed Traits
Developing a new attitude toward sex may require accepting previous ideas about sex as unhealthy and unrealistic. It calls for an understanding of how one’s environment can negatively shape the beliefs they hold.
By understanding and learning to accept the different ways that repression can develop, a person can avoid denying its effects. This can be an important first step toward creating healthier sexual beliefs,which can also contribute to ahealthier sex life.
Keep Communication Open
Because sexual repression compels strong discomfort around sex, ease is required to undo these feelings. Keeping a partner updated about one’s thoughts and feelings can encourage greater comfort around the subject of sex.
Seek Professional Help
Working with an expert can help with identifying what’s behind a person’s sexual repression, their triggers, and any other factors that encourage its continued effects. In addition to targeting repressed feelings, therapists can share effective strategies for getting comfortable with and enjoying intimate moments.
Sex therapycan assist individuals and couples as they navigate sexual difficulties. Through expert help, individuals and partners can learn to enjoy intimate moments.
Summary
Sex in all forms—solo or partnered—can be enjoyed as a pleasurable activity. Being raised in a repressed environment or holding repressive beliefs about this act can cause mixed feelings toward sexual behavior.
For anyone who views sex through a repressed lens, this might seem like the only possible way to approach intimate encounters. However, self-reflection,expert sex therapy, and open communication about previously taboo subjects can promote healthier attitudes toward sex.
What Does It Mean To Be Sex Positive?
6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cohn TJ, Love MM.Repression, sexual.Int Encyclop Human Sex. 2015. doi:10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs402Montejo AL.Sexuality and mental health: The need for mutual development and research.J Clin Med. 2019;8(11):1794. doi:10.3390/jcm8111794Plante TG.Clericalism contributes to religious, spiritual, and behavioral struggles among Catholic priests.Religions. 2020;11(5):217. doi:10.3390/rel11050217O’Driscoll C, Flanagan E.Sexual problems and post-traumatic stress disorder following sexual trauma: A meta-analytic review.Psychol Psychother Theory Res Pract. 2015;89(3):351-367. doi:10.1111/papt.12077McEvoy M, McElvaney R, Glover R.Understanding vaginismus: a biopsychosocial perspective.Sex Relation Ther. 2021. doi:10.1080/14681994.2021.2007233Potki R, Ziaei T, Faramarzi M, Moosazadeh M, Shahhosseini Z.Bio-psycho-social factors affecting sexual self-concept: A systematic review.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5172-5178. doi:10.19082/5172Additional ReadingStoléru S.Reading the Freudian theory of sexual drives from a functional neuroimaging perspective.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:157. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00157
6 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cohn TJ, Love MM.Repression, sexual.Int Encyclop Human Sex. 2015. doi:10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs402Montejo AL.Sexuality and mental health: The need for mutual development and research.J Clin Med. 2019;8(11):1794. doi:10.3390/jcm8111794Plante TG.Clericalism contributes to religious, spiritual, and behavioral struggles among Catholic priests.Religions. 2020;11(5):217. doi:10.3390/rel11050217O’Driscoll C, Flanagan E.Sexual problems and post-traumatic stress disorder following sexual trauma: A meta-analytic review.Psychol Psychother Theory Res Pract. 2015;89(3):351-367. doi:10.1111/papt.12077McEvoy M, McElvaney R, Glover R.Understanding vaginismus: a biopsychosocial perspective.Sex Relation Ther. 2021. doi:10.1080/14681994.2021.2007233Potki R, Ziaei T, Faramarzi M, Moosazadeh M, Shahhosseini Z.Bio-psycho-social factors affecting sexual self-concept: A systematic review.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5172-5178. doi:10.19082/5172Additional ReadingStoléru S.Reading the Freudian theory of sexual drives from a functional neuroimaging perspective.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:157. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00157
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Cohn TJ, Love MM.Repression, sexual.Int Encyclop Human Sex. 2015. doi:10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs402Montejo AL.Sexuality and mental health: The need for mutual development and research.J Clin Med. 2019;8(11):1794. doi:10.3390/jcm8111794Plante TG.Clericalism contributes to religious, spiritual, and behavioral struggles among Catholic priests.Religions. 2020;11(5):217. doi:10.3390/rel11050217O’Driscoll C, Flanagan E.Sexual problems and post-traumatic stress disorder following sexual trauma: A meta-analytic review.Psychol Psychother Theory Res Pract. 2015;89(3):351-367. doi:10.1111/papt.12077McEvoy M, McElvaney R, Glover R.Understanding vaginismus: a biopsychosocial perspective.Sex Relation Ther. 2021. doi:10.1080/14681994.2021.2007233Potki R, Ziaei T, Faramarzi M, Moosazadeh M, Shahhosseini Z.Bio-psycho-social factors affecting sexual self-concept: A systematic review.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5172-5178. doi:10.19082/5172
Cohn TJ, Love MM.Repression, sexual.Int Encyclop Human Sex. 2015. doi:10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs402
Montejo AL.Sexuality and mental health: The need for mutual development and research.J Clin Med. 2019;8(11):1794. doi:10.3390/jcm8111794
Plante TG.Clericalism contributes to religious, spiritual, and behavioral struggles among Catholic priests.Religions. 2020;11(5):217. doi:10.3390/rel11050217
O’Driscoll C, Flanagan E.Sexual problems and post-traumatic stress disorder following sexual trauma: A meta-analytic review.Psychol Psychother Theory Res Pract. 2015;89(3):351-367. doi:10.1111/papt.12077
McEvoy M, McElvaney R, Glover R.Understanding vaginismus: a biopsychosocial perspective.Sex Relation Ther. 2021. doi:10.1080/14681994.2021.2007233
Potki R, Ziaei T, Faramarzi M, Moosazadeh M, Shahhosseini Z.Bio-psycho-social factors affecting sexual self-concept: A systematic review.Electron Physician. 2017;9(9):5172-5178. doi:10.19082/5172
Stoléru S.Reading the Freudian theory of sexual drives from a functional neuroimaging perspective.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:157. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00157
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