Unhealthy Discharge- Good Vs. Bad Orgasms

Free from her protective armoring, this creature can now achieve the elusive full-body orgasm.

There is little doubt that most human beings view the achievement of orgasm as the desired conclusion to any successful sex act. As such, we typically qualify encounters wherein both partners reach climax as “good sex,” or at least good-enough sex. Given that approximately 98% of males and females between the ages of 18-65 seem to agree that having a reasonable amount of good sex is conducive to maintaining proper mental hygiene, it is no wonder that orgasms are so important to us. Could it be, however, that there is such a thing as “bad orgasms,” i.e., orgasms that are actually detrimental to mental health, or at the very least not at all therapeutic? Well, according to Wilhelm Reich, the once highly controversial psychoanalyst (and self-proclaimed discoverer of orgone energy), the ability to have unhealthy orgasms is not just a sad reality, but one that is far too commonly experienced in average sex relations.

Psychoanalysis, beginning with Freud, had always identified a link between neuroses and sexual problems. Freud's concerns in this area were largely tied to the physical problems he witnessed in the sexual functioning of his patients, which included both the inability to achieve or maintain the required sexual apparatus (i.e., an erection for males and natural lubrication for females), and the inability of both genders to reach climax. If a patient presented with either of these clear-cut signs of impotence, it was usually considered a symptom of some underlying psychic disturbance (neurosis). Physical signs of impotence were expected to be found in neurotics and a lack of such symptoms was usually considered a positive indicator of mental health. Reich dared to venture beyond these relatively simplistic psychoanalytic notions in his explorations into the world of human sexuality. Inspired by years of clinical work, he noticed that many of his neurotic patients were perfectly able to complete the sex act in commonly prescribed ways (i.e., without displaying the aforementioned signs of physical impotence), but who were nonetheless hindered in their ability to experience what he thought were healthy orgasms.

Reich observed, for example, that many of his male patients, most of whom were physically quite virile, were still unable to derive satisfaction from their orgasms. Even so, most of these men tended to boast about their sexual conquests, such as being able to perform many times in one night, successfully bedding many partners, etc, etc. When he then began to analyze the fantasies these men displayed in association to their sexual forays, he found that they were often pathological in nature. The goal of the sex act for these men was often to prove their virility, to conquer or rape a woman, and/or to make up for a feeling of inferiority (Cattler, 29). In contrast, he found that his female patients were often reluctant to engage in sex, experienced tremendous anxiety and guilt about their sexuality, and those with masochistic tendencies exhibited rape fantasies (29). Essentially, Reich noticed that his patients attached all sorts of fucked up meanings to the sex act.

The neurotic fantasies attached to sex that Reich analyzed in his patients were found to be responsible for inhibiting their ability to achieve healthy orgasms. This makes complete sense when one considers the behavior of people who are now colloquially referred to as sex addicts. Ejaculation and orgasm for these folks is never met with real satisfaction. One might imagine this phenomenon as akin to the act of injecting heroin, which is often identified by users as being more pleasurable than their best orgasms and sexual experiences. The point is, neither the brief euphoria induced by the rapid intoxicating effects of junk, nor the neurotic ejaculations Reich describes are capable of leading to any kind of real satisfaction or release. In fact, he asserts that both acts can easily cause a deterioration in mental health.

A neurotic individual unknowingly boasting about his ability to have bad orgasms.

Unfortunately, for those individuals who habitually engage in what Reich considered neurotic sex, there is likely no quick fix to the problem. One would likely have to go through extensive therapy in order to dissolve a sufficient amount of “character armor” (neurotic fixations) before being able to achieve what Reich classified as healthy orgasms. The ability to achieve “full orgasm,” or what Reich called “orgiastic potency,” is achieved by attaining complete surrender to the flow of the sex act, without any inhibition. Neurotic people are unable to achieve this, and, according to Reich, most people never mature to the level necessary of achieving orgiastic potency. So how do we know if our orgasms are healthy or not? Again, common understandings of sexuality typically make no differentiation between healthy and unhealthy sexual release. Reich, however, described in some detail the difference between normal (unhealthy) and "full" (healthy) orgasms.

According to good old Wilhelm, there are four preconditions that must be met in order for two partners to achieve healthy orgasms together: (1) both partners must love each other and be able to express this love; (2) the individuals should ideally be free of neurotic character armor, which allows for involuntary muscular movements to occur before climax; (3) partners should engage in a style breathing that is deep, full, and pleasurable; and (4) shortly before orgasm, both parties should experience deep, delicious current-like sensations running up and down their bodies. It is notable that Reich’s fourth characteristic of the healthy orgasm appears similar to the so-called “full-body orgasm” often referred to by practitioners of tantric sex. Furthermore, his emphasis on deep breathing during coitus also bares a similarity to tantric-style intercourse, or at least to sex acts that incorporate meditative exercises. 

Could it be that Reich was advocating the practice of tantric sex over the usual hot-and-heavy monkey sex most of us are used to without ever realizing it? Perhaps he was aware of the connection but decided not to cite it for some reason. Either way, it is clear that he thought neurotics were unable to reach these levels of sexual contact and orgasm without having first rid themselves of a sufficient amount of character armor. (For an excellent introduction to Reich's therapeutic techniques and theories, please do yourself a favor and devour the first half of his book, "Character Analysis.") Until then, the orgasms of your average joe neurotic will be confined to the genital area, rendering Reich's recommended full-body orgasms nearly impossible to attain.

So what use can we make of Reich’s orgiastic potency theory? Was he onto something with these descriptions of "full orgasms" and in his advice for attaining them, or was he merely spewing copious amounts of useless jizzm into the world of ideas? Well, it does seem hard to argue with his contention that the quality of the relationship between sex partners (i.e., the ability to love and express love openly) is an extremely important precondition to enjoying a fully satisfying roll in the hay. Those who argue that emotional connection and openness is not required to experience mind-blowing sex are not necessarily wrong, and I think Reich would agree. He would, however, contend that this type of sex act is not charged with orgiastic potency and is therefore simply not able to produce the "full orgasms" he advocates for. Reich pointed out that partners have to be sufficiently comfortable with each other in order to facilitate the act of “letting go,” or surrender to the sexual experience. Maybe 'love' is not necessary for this to occur, but it seems clear that some type of strong emotional connection is essential to this process. 

Sex acts such as drunken one night stands, random trips to a brothel, and masturbating to furry BDSM porn are unlikely to culminate into a “full orgasm.” Even the female ejaculating porn stars that appear to be erupting in a frenzied moment of pure, unadulterated ecstasy might not be getting the release Reich talks about. As long as said porn star is attaching neurotic meanings to the sex act, which could stem from all sorts of early experiences (e.g., trauma of many varieties), her orgasms are destined to be of the less healthy variety. Just like the addict who adds a layer of scar tissue over the original wound with every fix, neurotically generated orgasms do not improve ones mental functioning. Both can easily lead to psychic pain rather than the intended pleasure initially sought through the act.

The inconvenient truth is that most of us are riddled with restrictive character armor and we cannot help but let this seep into our sex lives. Furthermore, most people are not even aware of or interested to learn about the more sophisticated aspects of sexuality that are ripe for experimentation; practices that just might be capable of transcending the typical monkey-sex paradigm of genital excitation and release. Reich suggested that our mental health is significantly improved by engaging in higher-order sexual practices that can potentially lead to “full orgasms.” He also believed that neurotic sex (the most common type) does absolutely nothing to improve our mental health, even when it is not overtly hurting us. Now granted, many of Reich’s ideas are a bit off the wall, but it couldn't hurt to experiment with his orgasm theories. At the very least, reading Reich should prompt us to more fully investigate the quality of our sex lives, and perhaps even encourage us to be more honest with ourselves about it.

References

Cattler, Michael. The Life and Work of Wilhelm Reich. Horizon Press, 1971.

Reich, Wilhelm. Character Analysis. http://wilhelmreichtrust.org/character_analysis.pdf

http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/reichlecture.html

~Wolf