Helping you put vaginismus in the past, for good
Many thanks to Victor Yrigoyen for the illustrations. Check out his website and Instagram. “For many, the psychological impact of vaginismus can be even more agonizing than the physical pain. The stigma of “virginity,” combined with the lacking mention of vaginismus in public dialogue, society’s insistence that “men need sex,” and the social pressure on women to have …
Vaginismus is usually defined as pain related to a psychological reaction in which the woman associates sexual activity with pain and fear. There’s a so-called phobia of any penetration or in some cases, anything going near the vagina. Just the thought of penetration, or any attempted penetration, gives involuntary muscle spasms around the vaginal opening. …
When I was in primary school, around 10 years old we started to do some sex education lessons… In the first of these they showed us a cartoon video, in the video it showed a diagram of female anatomy and then the insertion of a tampon and how this looks from the inside. I remember …
On a seemingly ordinary day I woke up in my Connecticut apartment to an extreme burning and pain in my female organs… It literally felt like someone was taking a knife and shoving it up and down — a hot, hot knife to be exact. Naturally, I panicked, texted my boss and told her I …
I struggled with vaginismus for as long as I can remember and did not find out about the existence of this condition until a couple of years ago. Growing up in a very religious and conservative family, I was never really encouraged to explore my body. I started worrying when I got my period and …
Vaginismus. Personally, I think it sounds like a magic spell from a movie when you first hear it… Yet for the most part, women going through it will tell you first-hand that vaginismus is more like a curse. Vaginismus refers to the spasm of your pelvic muscles during any kind of penetrative act. It cannot …
I remember the first time I tried to use a tampon at 14. I couldn’t get one into my vagina. After many attempts and finally being able to get a tampon ‘up there’ it felt as if my insides were on fire. Tampons 1, my vagina 0. I had friends who used tampons and none …
My own experience with vaginismus inspired me to write Debbie Does Dilators. – Savannah Magruder, Writer/Director, award-winning filmmaker Watch the film here! And below is Savannah’s personal story and inside scoop about the film… After several years of struggling with the condition – enduring excruciatingly painful sex, being patronized and misdiagnosed by dismissive doctors, and …
For as long as I could remember, I was always afraid of my vagina. I was scared to touch it, scared to look at it, scared and terrified of it. Looking back, I feel like this fear was my body telling me that something was wrong. I remember watching an episode of Tyra Banks talk …
“…you shouldn’t be scared to seek help. We all need a little help sometimes and finding support for vaginismus is a crucial step to overcoming it. Don’t worry about what people might think of you or what society is telling you. They don’t matter anyways. Instead, focus on you. Focus on relaxing and helping yourself …