When Svetlana sees the color green, she feels a salty taste in her mouth. Friday for her is orange, and the number “4” is rough. This is a special perception of the world, when certain states, phenomena and symbols are involuntarily endowed with additional qualities: color, shape, smell, texture, taste, is called synesthesia and is characteristic of 4% of the Earth's population.
The sexual varieties of synesthesia are the various combinations of sensations that a person experiences during sex and orgasm, with additional unrealistic sensations of shape, taste, color, sound ... It is tempting to assume that in sex the sensations of synesthesia are mixed into an amazing symphony.
Scientists from the medical schools of Harvard University (USA) and Hanover (Germany) decided to test this and conducted joint research on the effect of synesthesia on the intensity of sensations and emotions during sex.
Subjects - 19 people (17 women and 2 men) with various forms of sexual synesthesia and a control group of 36 ordinary people.
Researchers used standardized tests, questionnaires and scales to find out what subjects experience during sex, determine the depth of sexual trance during orgasm and overall satisfaction with sex.
The hypothesis of the researchers was confirmed: the orgasm of a synesthete causes a deeper trance compared to the orgasm of ordinary people. All synesthetes described their own feelings of "loss of reality" as deeper than ordinary people.
Not all subjects were able to distinguish the visual "co-perception" of each of the phases of intimate communication, however, the collective portrait of the sexual act of the synesthete turned out to be as follows:
- Sexual fantasies are associated with soft orange.
- Orange becomes brighter and more intense as arousal increases.
- Intercourse is seen as a series of multi-colored stripes, and as the orgasm approaches, the colors become more intense, and the stripes turn into a solid wall.
- At the moment of orgasm, a purple glow explodes on the wall of color.
- After orgasm, the color gradually fades through pinkish and yellow patches.
Contrary to scientists' assumptions, overall satisfaction with their own sex life in synesthetes was much lower than the average in the group of non-synesthetes. In questionnaires, many stated that they feel isolated in their own unusual sensations during sex.
"Lack of partner participation in their feelings, the inability to communicate and share them is the cause of frustration and dissatisfaction in people with sexual synesthesia," comments study co-author Jeanine Nelson.
Despite the clear focus on a certain part of the people, in our opinion, the study is of universal human significance. Because it clearly demonstrates that the determining factor of sexual satisfaction is not the depth of sexual trance, not the strength of orgasmic sensations, but the opportunity to share these sensations with a partner and the joy that the feeling of belonging and understanding brings.
Dr. Livinsky's comment
Livinsky Eduard Anatolyevich
Doctor of the highest category of psychoanalytic orientation, sexologist
Teacher at the International Institute of Depth Psychology
Author of books and numerous publications on psychoanalysis
Personal website http://www.livinskyi.kiev.ua
A person's sexual function is primarily a physiological function, but it has one important feature that makes it selective among all human physiological functions.
The bottom line is that this is the only paired function, that is, for its implementation, a sex partner is needed.
The conducted studies once again confirmed the importance of the paired nature of sexual function. Sex for yourself, even in a couple, eventually turns into a banal masturbation with the help of a partner or partner. This relieves physiological tension for a while, but causes the accumulation of mental discontent, and leads to disappointment in oneself. Good sex is the most accessible and reliable way to raise your low self-esteem due to failures.
Man is first of all a social being, and without social communication he is disappointed with life. The sexual function, along with other functions, also has a communicative component, even if it is communication at the level of the body, but it allows a person to feel commonality, unity, and not fragmentation and uselessness. Needing each other is one of the main conditions for a happy family life. Emotional colors are certainly important, but they bring pleasure only when they are shared by both partners. One of the definitions of happiness is: "Happiness is when you are understood", and sex in this case is no exception.
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