The Tyranny of Excitement: Sexual Addiction and Deadly Masochism
Abstract
In the panorama of contemporary sexual life, the search for lubricity, stimulating substances, and perpetuation of hedonistic experiences, in many cases, is not limited to the scope of a simple exercise of pleasure. It often results in rampant and compulsive sexuality. The aim of this article, dedicated to the psychoanalytic study of sexual addiction, is to examine the paradoxical aspects of preservation and destruction implicated in the occurrence of this psychopathological condition. From the metapsychological examination of the concepts of life-preserving masochism and deadly masochism (B. Rosenberg) and the presentation of three clinical vignettes, a double problem is evaluated: if, from one perspective, sexual addiction can be understood as a defensive strategy in the face of adverse psychic situations, on the other hand, blind adherence to one’s impulses would lead the sex-addict to a masochistic experience of a lethal nature, articulated to a morbid prolongation of sexual stimulation.
Keywords
Sexual addiction, Deadly masochism, Excitement, PsychoanalysisReferences
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Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Grant numbers E-26/202.405/2017 -
Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Grant numbers E-26/202.406/2017
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