Nymphomaniacs: real or imagined?

Traditionally, many people have believed in the concept of nymphomania as a real disease. It is considered to be a pathological sexual inclination among females to constantly make sexual contact with different partners. The condition is aggravated in most cases, and leads to almost an uncontrollable desire to have sexual contact with any person, regardless of his emotional connect with the nymphomaniac, or his age or physical appearance.

Various sexologists are of the opinion that nymphomaniacs are real, and they suffer from a real pathological problem that is complicated and needs to be addressed seriously. However, new research increasingly indicates that nymphomania may not be a correct description, and in fact it is more of an imagined phenomenon than a reality. Nymphomania, the erstwhile psychological disorder among women, that was marked by an excessive libido and a sexual obsession, is not being accepted now as a specific disorder by the American Psychological Association.

The concept of nymphomania is being increasingly replaced with a new and more scientifically accepted concept of hyper sexuality. Hyper sexuality is considered as a strong inclination to engage in sexual activity, which is more than normal clinical levels of acceptance. Again, even with hyper sexuality the debate rages on as to what is the correct threshold level where a normal behavior is differentiated from a clinical condition. Sexual drive varies widely among different people, and what may be a hyper sexual activity for some, may be a normal condition in the view of some others.

There are certain diseases and neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative diseases that can contribute to hyper sexual behavior. There are also certain drugs and medications that may induce hyper sexual activity. Therefore, what may be perceived as nymphomania by many, may actually be a condition of hyper sexuality that may need to be clinically addressed.