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Possible Effects Of A Traumatic Brain Injury On A Person’s Sexuality
(05/04/2004) by Unknown
The person with a brain injury may be experiencing changes
in the way her or his body functions. For example, one might
have a loss of interest in sex or experience reduced sex
drive. Possibly one is experiencing a change in regard to
erections, problems with ejaculating, vaginal lubrication, or
orgasms. These changes might be directly related to the brain
injury, or could be a result of medication effects or
psychological reactions to the injury.
A person’s body image, self-confidence, and social abilities
can also be negatively effected by the brain injury. Maybe a
person was injured early in life, before she or he developed
adult socialization skills, or possibly the individual has lost
certain social abilities as a result of changes in thinking ability,
self-awareness, and emotional control as a result of the
injury.
A moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead
to troubling changes in a person’s behavior and personality. A
person may be self-centered and unconcerned about the
effects of her or his actions upon others. The individual may
exhibit hyposexuality, a reduction in sexual interest or desire.
Hyposexuality is a commonly seen consequence of TBI. Or,
the person with a TBI may show sexual disinhibition, making
indiscretions such as masturbating publicly, sexually grabbing
at others, or making indiscriminate sexual comments, jokes, or
gestures without appreciating the possible negative social
consequences of their actions. Impulsive and disinhibited
behavior of a sexual nature may be misinterpreted as
hypersexuality. Hypersexuality is a more rarely seen
condition, usually associated with bilateral temporal lobe
lesions. The person with moderate to severe TBI may make
certain characteristic social errors including the following:
- public/private errors where the person may act
in public in ways that are usually reserved for in
private;
- stranger/friend errors where the person may
act toward a stranger as one would
appropriately act toward a friend.
Social skills retraining can help the individual relearn proper
self-control and improve social competence. The person with
a mild TBI may more likely experience depression and loss of
self-confidence due to attention and concentration problems,
difficulties with interpersonal communication, and feeling like
"damaged goods."
The reactions of family, friends, and helping professionals and
others, can influence a person’s understanding of and
adjustment to these possible changes. Because sexuality is a
sensitive and complex topic, many people are not adequately
trained, informed, or comfortable with discussing sexuality
issues. Therefore, needed education may not be readily
available and basic sexual health concerns are not always
directly addressed. On the other hand, persons with a brain
injury are interested in and seek out information regarding the
impact of their injury on sexuality and relationships. Parents,
professionals, spouses and partners of persons with brain
injury also tend to welcome and benefit from sexually related
education. Providing sexuality related information and
resources to all persons involved can make a significant
positive impact on the personal, familial, and professional
well-being of these various individuals.
For more information
about sexuality and TBI see a book titled, Sexuality
and the Person with Traumatic Brain Injury: a Guide for Families, by Ernest R.
Griffith and Sally Lemberg, F. A. Davis Co., Philadelphia 1993.
Also see Sexuality and
Acquired Brain Injury in Children and Adolescents: A Guide for Health Professionals and
Families. This article appears in the following topics:
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