Inadequate beliefs and attitudes regarding sexuality lead not only to the development of sexual disharmony in the couple, but in some cases contribute to the emergence of imaginary sexual disorders, that is, conviction in the presence of sexual dysfunction in the absence of such.

Men often, making excessively high demands on their own sexual sphere, mistakenly believe that an erection at will should arise in any situation at the very thought of intimacy; that sexual intercourse can be arbitrarily long until the complete satisfaction of the partner; that the repetition of sexual intercourse is possible within a short period of time, and, most importantly, all these abilities should be preserved until old age without a decline Such misconceptions can cause a conviction in sexual disorder where it is not really present.

In men, the following variants of imaginary sexual disorders are distinguished: 1) excessive demands on their own sexual abilities; 2) attributing to themselves imaginary flaws (for example, the conviction that they “exhausted” their nervous system with the former in their youth by masturbation); 3) inadequate personal response to the natural physiological fluctuations of sexuality (without taking into account their age, health, forced abstinence and other causes affecting the sexual sphere of men); 4) wrong behavior of one or both partners during intimacy due to incompatibility of the spouses’ acceptance ranges, defects in sexual intercourse, erotic indifference to the partner, her passivity during coitus or demonstration of hostility towards sexual contact with a man.

In women, imaginary sexual disorders are manifested by complaints about a decrease or an excessive increase in sexuality, the emergence of sensations that a woman considers pathological. There are four options for such disorders. One of them is the incorrect assessment by a woman of changes in her sexual manifestations without taking into account the age and constitutional norms of sexuality. Thus, complaints about the complete absence of orgasm in all forms of sexual activity (coitus, petting, masturbation, erotic dreams) at the onset of sexual activity are quite common and do not require special treatment. Another reason for doubt is the awakening or increase in sexual desire in menopause, mistakenly regarded by a woman as hypersexuality. The second variant of imaginary sexual disorders includes the woman’s lack of sexual discharge, if for some reason she or her partner refuses to stimulate erogenous zones that cause orgasm. The third option is due to an inadequate assessment by a woman of her sexuality due to ignorance or rejection of the optimal arousal options or misconceptions about what an orgasm should be, which can vary significantly in shape, depth and intensity of feelings. The last, fourth, option is associated with the lack of a permanent sexual partner for a woman or the wrong behavior of a man with intimacy, as well as his sexual disorders.

The end result of mistakes and misconceptions caused by sexological illiteracy are painful doubts about their erotic attractiveness for a partner and their own sexual possibilities, and at times even the time to take root confidence in the existence of serious sexual disorders. Factors predisposing to the emergence of imaginary sexual disorders, are a slight decrease in intelligence or the presence of anxiety-suspicious traits of character, which leads to the formation of distorted ideas about normal sex life. Imaginary sexual disorders do not belong to the pathology. They are special pre-disease states that, in the absence of timely psychotherapeutic correction, in some cases can lead to the emergence of psychogenic sexual dysfunctions.