# Is Nymphomania recognized as a legit condition again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057 "2012-09-27T20:18:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/1 "2012-09-27T20:18:37Z")
Nymphomania fell out of favor with doctors in the Politically Correct 80’s. Swearing that there was no such thing. There was always a debate whether it was a mental or physical condition. I’ve read about Vivian Leigh. Jokes aside. She lead a sad life picking up some really rough guys night after night. She really couldn’t satisfy that itch. There’s a new term out now. Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) . Sure sounds like the same thing to me. Only now it seems to be seen as a physical condition. > **[Persistent genital arousal disorder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistent_genital_arousal_disorder)** > > Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD), originally called persistent sexual arousal syndrome (PSAS), is spontaneous, persistent, unwanted and uncontrollable genital arousal in the absence of sexual stimulation or sexual desire, and is typically not relieved by orgasm. Instead, multiple orgasms over hours or days may be required for relief. > PGAD occurs in people of both sexes. It has been compared to priapism in male and female genitalia. PGAD is rare and is not well understood. The literatur... Odd how the term nymphomania isn’t mentioned (except in the Wiki article). But isn’t PGAD just a politically correct term for the same thing? Kim Ramsey claims a 100 orgasms a day. > [@](#): > > She first had problems with continuous orgasms after having sex with a new boyfriend in 2008. “I had constant orgasms for four days. I thought I was going mad. It also happened with a new partner and I even tried sitting on frozen peas," she told The Sun. > > PGAD is a rare disorder, but some women with the condition have divulged what life is like dealing with hundreds of orgasms each day. > **[There Is Such Thing As Too Many Orgasms](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kim-ramsey-100-orgasms-a-day_n_1833015)** > > There Is Such Thing As Too Many Orgasms > [@](#): > > Being more sexually-charged than her husband has had an emotional impact on Rachel, too, who initially struggled when her husband refused sex. > > ‘At first I took it so horribly,’ she admitted. 'When you know that there’s a way to relieve it, and you don’t have access to that way… I just let my emotions get the better of me. > > ‘Sometimes I was in tears, I was like, “You don’t really want me,” and stuff like that. It was really hard to deal with.’ > **['I climax every 30 seconds': Woman's rare disorder sees her experience...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2209574/100-orgasms-day-Womans-rare-disorder-sees-climax-hours-day.html)** > > Rachel, from Atlanta, Georgia, suffers from persistent sexual arousal syndrome, which means she climaxes hundreds of times a day. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/2 "2012-09-27T20:23:09Z")
> [@](#): > > ‘At first I took it so horribly,’ she admitted. 'When you know that there’s a way to relieve it, and you don’t have access to that way… I just let my emotions get the better of me. What horrible accident befell the use of this woman’s hands? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/3 "2012-09-27T20:46:19Z")
And if so, where can I find cases? 😃 I am pretty sure that the condition where women experience continual orgasms does not bear much relation to the popular notion of nymphomania. As I understand it, women with this condition quickly come to strongly dislike having so many orgasms, and do what they can to avoid it. It does not lead them to seek out sex. The other case you describe may be a different matter. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/4 "2012-09-30T06:47:16Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What horrible accident befell the use of this woman’s hands? The fact that she would have rubbed her genitals raw by that time. Plus, as stated, multiple orgasms over long periods don’t feel nearly as good as you’d think. And, to answer the OP, the concept exists in the same way you can be addicted to anything else pleasurable. It’s defined as when your want for sex overrides your actual needs, like food and shelter. It’s when your inability to control your desire for sex causes problems. It fits the general definition of a mental disorder. People have claimed it doesn’t exist, as it was previously used to mean people with a high sex drive who had no problems dealing with society. ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/5 "2012-09-30T06:53:38Z")
The ten years before menopause I was off the charts and even went to a doctor about it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/6 "2012-09-30T06:58:03Z")
The condition described in the OP sounds more like the equivalent of satyriasis than of nymphomania. Satyriasis is the male condition of having a hard-on which won’t come down (in some cases caused by misuse of drugs - legal or illegal), or getting aroused too easily. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/7 "2012-10-01T13:59:48Z")
**Nava** , it sounds like you might be describing [priapism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapism)rather than [satyriasis,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyriasis)which is listed in Wikipedia under “hypersexuality.” ETA: Lucklily, I never been the victim of either. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/8 "2012-10-01T14:32:20Z")
The physical condition described really doesn’t sound like nymphomania. However, it is probably what is referred to as sexual addiction now. The problem with nymphomania is that it was sexist. It comes from a time when women were not supposed to be that sexually aware. The same condition was winked at in males. Sexual addiction can occur with males or females. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/9 "2012-10-02T10:35:41Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > **Nava** , it sounds like you might be describing [priapism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapism)rather than [satyriasis,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyriasis)which is listed in Wikipedia under “hypersexuality.” > > ETA: Lucklily, I never been the victim of either. Yeah, I do tend to flip them. Neither one is particularly funny to have, from what I hear and despite what writers of porn novels seem to think. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-nymphomania-recognized-as-a-legit-condition-again/636057/10 "2012-10-02T10:42:35Z")
Compulsive engaging in sex is a common symptom of mania, as a symptom of, say, bipolar disease.