Is vaginismus a mental disorder or a gynological disorder?

Question

I know what is most likely vaginismus is causing my pain. I was molested as a kid, raped twice as a teenager, and hubby's super low sex drive has destroyed my sexual confidence I had so much of when we first got together. Is this a mental illness or a gynological disorder?

Answer

Depends on what's causing it. But the treatment is a combination between a therapist and a physical therapist that specializes in women's pelvic floor muscles.

With vaginismus you need to retrain you pelvic floor muscles and this is done with physical therapy, it doesn't go away on its own, just like any other injury that a regular physical therapist would treat. But you also need to identify the cause, otherwise it keeps coming back. A therapist will help you identify the cause and treat it, if he or she thinks you need to go to the doctor because the cause might be physical, they will let you know.

If you want to go to a gynecologist first, try to look for one that specialized in women's sexual dysfunctions. In my experience, if they don't, they just think you are overreacting. I was told to just relax and have a glass of wine by a female gynecologist 😒.

Hope this helps.

Answer

I have vaginismus and I really don't think it's mental for me. I just seem to tense up the moment hubby tries to enter, because it's so painful. I try to relax so he can atleast go in a little but my God it's so painful
I am not sure how in the world I am going to conceive 😑

Answer

I think it's mainly mental as a lot of people have got over it from becoming more confident etc but if you go to ur sexual health centre then they will give you some top tips to overcome it :)

Answer

It can be either or both.

Sometimes, there are psychological causes - fear, past abuse, low self worth, etc.  But sometimes there are physical causes - scar tissue, hypertonic pelvic floor, vaginal cysts, anatomical deffects, or neuromuscular disorders.

Though, of course physical causes often lead to emotional causes, and emotional causes often lead to physical changes.  So, both!

Answer

It's something that is best treated by a therapist/ psychologist.
I know because I both have it and have mostly overcome it.
I also study psychology and sexuality. 
It does manifest physically however, so it's not something you make up in your mind... Your muscles really are contracting and you are experiencing pain. Working with a therapist that truly understands this disorder might greatly help you. I wish you the best. There's hope in overcoming it :)

Answer

(I'm a nurse with vaginismus) Stress exacerbates most disorders.. and vaginismus is definitely one of them. It is not recognized as a mental disorder, but every form of vaginismus can benefit from having therapy.. 
I mean.. this disorder disrupts our lives in every way and isolates us.. that alone is enough.
But for those who have been raped, almost raped, sexual abused, scared of being abused, sexually harassed, terrified of being pregnant, a traumatic pregnancy, a spontaneous or elected abortion, raised to believe sex is bad, ungodly, or the path to damnation (strict religious or parenting)... the beliefs, pain, and fear can all trigger your vaginismus as a protective measure (it's called guarding).
It was crazy sounding to me.. until I went to therapy finally to talk to someone and the therapist brought up PTSD. As a nurse.. I read anything and everything on the subject (mostly to deny I have it😅) but that is why I learned about guarding and I am grateful. Your body protects itself like armour if it senses any kind of threat and wants to protect itself.
Abdominal guarding is more known for penetrating wounds like a knife to try and create a thick barrier of tense muscles to prevent as much damage as possible, but its also found a lot in apendicitis or pancreatitis when an injured and sore organ sees a threat or fears being irritated(accidentally hitting your stomach on a table or during the doctors exam) you clench up.. (think about it, anything scary your body gets tensed up and braces itself [scary movies, when your nervous, car accidents] )
Now apply it to your vaginismus when it clenches:
Anytime there is an associated fear of sex, going on dates, watching romantic movies, being in an elevator with a man/woman by myself, getting your period, going to church, thinking of the event, going to a papsmear, liking someone, trying to have sex, getting turned on, the date of an anniversary... etc. 
They all switch on your guarding to protect yourself because your body continues to associate whatever is happening to you to the traumatic experience and thinks it's helping you, when it's not. 
Guarding is a symptom of sympathetic overload.. it means your body activated it's stress response, but never felt it ever got safe and continued to protect itself by staying in stress response (fight, flight, and fawn).
There is proof women get over vaginismus just by getting their stress response back to resting like it's meant to without doing anything else, but some women need adjunct therapies to fully be able to be free of vaginismus (dialators, talk thereapy/CBT, myofascial release, desensitization therapy, etc. Etc.). 
I hope this helps

Answer

It's mental. It's in the DSM5 which is what psychologists use to diagnose people.

Is vaginismus a mental disorder or a gynological disorder?

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