'I was hypnotised for better orgasms'

Thursday, Feb 02, 2012
Her World
By Jessica

Problem: Suffers from vaginismus and wants better, pain-free sex
Solution: Hypnotherapy

When I first had sex years back, I was so tense it took 15 tries before he could enter.

Since then, I’ve always felt a sharp stab in my vagina during penetration.

I eventually realised my symptoms mirrored vaginismus, a condition in which vaginal muscles clench involuntarily due to fear.

Lately, the pain had become so bad even lubricant didn’t ease it. I’d read that hypnotherapy, a cross between hypnosis and psychotherapy, could help, though

I feared it’d leave me in a zombie-like daze. But I was desperate.

Hypnotherapist Katherine Wong quickly corrected me: I wouldn’t be in a trance but a state of deep relaxation.

Why did I need this? Apparently, my early experiences of sex had “conditioned” me into relating it to pain, making my muscles tense up.

Katherine would plant positive messages about sex in my mind when I was relaxed and mentally receptive. I would also have to reflect on those messages so they would be etched in my mind, a process called “self-hypnosis”.

For the session, I sat in a comfortable armchair, my eyes closed and the lights dimmed. I was asked to picture tranquil scenes, like walking through a garden, and I dimly heard her tell me to “practise” lulling my body into this relaxed state during sex.

She also told me to mentally “lock” all my bad sex experiences in a “filing cabinet” and walk away, and to “imagine how you want sex to be”.