Human sexuality is very varied, there being multiple stimuli that may seem sexually appealing to different people. From the most traditional sexual relations to the use of specific clothing, fantasies and role plays or BDSM practices, all of them are practicable and can produce different degrees of pleasure for those who perform them.
However, there are also practices that cause pain or discomfort to the person or that can become compulsive, limiting the functionality of the person who carries them out, and in some cases they could even lead to a crime, such as when they are carried out. carry out non-consensual practices (not necessarily including intercourse) or with people or entities without the capacity to consent (such as children, animals and corpses).
We are talking about paraphilias. Among them there are some that are really dangerous, illegal and criminal, while others, although they do not cause suffering to others and do not incur a crime, can cause discomfort to those who suffer from it due to the consideration that what they are sexually attracted to or due to extreme fixation. with said stimulation. One of the latter is urophilia which we are going to talk about throughout this article.
Urophilia is one of the many paraphilic disorders that exist, alterations formerly called disorders of sexual inclination or the choice of the object of desire that are characterized by the presence of sexual fantasies and/or sexual behaviors that have unusual objects of desire as protagonists, generally non-consenting living beings or those without the capacity to consent or the fact of providing or receiving pain. and humiliation.
To be considered as such These fantasies must be continued and exist for at least six months and generate suffering, discomfort or functional limitations to the person who suffers from them or to their sexual partners. Likewise, the object of desire is usually very restricted, sometimes being the only thing that generates some type of sexual stimulation for the subject or a requirement to achieve orgasm or sexual arousal.
In the case at hand, that of urophilia, we are dealing with a paraphilia in which the object of desire or the motivator of sexual fantasy and activation is urine or the act of urinating Touching, seeing, hearing or smelling someone urinating or the liquid itself is rewarding for these individuals (urolangia). Generally, subjects with hemophilia are attracted to the idea of urinating on their partner or having their partner urinate on them (the subject himself may have a passive or active role in urination). The idea of ingesting the fluid (urophagia) may also be exciting.
Although not socially accepted, sexual practices linked to urophilia do not usually cause great danger for the people who make them. However, we must nevertheless take into account the existence of a certain danger in this type of practices with regard to the spread of bacterial infections.
Although urophilia is not very common as a paraphilia, it is taken into account as an alteration or disorder. Specifically, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders includes urophilia within the classification of “other specific paraphilic disorders.”
Differentiation with eschatological practices
Given this definition of urophilia, it is likely that many people may consider that the fact of maintaining sexual practices in which urinating on another person or playing with urine therefore implies an alteration or psychopathology. But it is necessary to clarify that this is not the case.
This clarification is very necessary, given that there are sexual practices such as eschatological ones that Although they are not socially well seen or accepted, they do not imply pathology As with other unusual sexual practices, what is known as golden shower is nothing more than a way to obtain sexual gratification through a specific experience or simply to experiment.
In other words, the fact of being aroused in a context involving urine does not imply the presence of urophilia as a paraphilia. We will only consider that we are facing a pathology when this practice is the only means to obtain sexual gratification limit the life of the subject and/or generate discomfort and suffering.
Causes
The causes that generate urophilia are unknown, although There are various interpretations about it As with other paraphilias, it is considered that urophilia may have its origin in learning through conditioning, with sexual arousal having been casually associated with the act of urinating and this association having subsequently been strengthened with practices such as masturbation.
This explanation may make some sense especially if we take into account that the genital and urinary tracts are very close in women while in men both semen and urine pass through the urethra, Sexual arousal may be associated with the sensations produced when urinating
Another possible explanation has to do with the association made of urine as an element of power. In nature, urine is used in a large number of animals as an element that allows them to indicate ownership of a territory. Sexual arousal in the face of urophilic practices could be linked to this fact, being a game of power or submission. In this sense, there are authors who link urophilia with sadomasochism.
Treatment of this paraphilia
When we are talking about urophilia properly speaking, that is, the situation in which sexual arousal is restricted to these practices and its performance generates discomfort, suffering or limitations to oneself or others, psychological intervention may be necessary
The first thing would be to find out the level of impact it has on the person involved, what aspects it limits and what thoughts or feelings the object of desire generates. It is necessary to assess where its origin may be and what meaning urine has for the subject in sexual connection.
In addition, it will be necessary to work as far as possible on possible relationship and sexual problems that may exist comorbidly or that may be related to the genesis of paraphilia. The development of positive bonds will be worked on and the analysis and modification of fantasies can be sought: recovering the subject’s fantasies and assessing which part of them they find exciting, as well as the reason for this. Once this aspect is located, the subject is instructed to introduce alterations in said fantasies at the time of masturbating.
Another technique that can be used is masturbatory reconditioning, in which the patient is instructed to masturbate on multiple occasions and after that (especially in the refractory period) describe the elements that generate sexual desire. It would be sought in this case make urine not associated with sexual arousal
But these two examples are techniques that would only make sense if urophilia causes suffering in the patient or limits him or his partner. In this last sense, it may also be more than advisable to go to couples and sexual therapy in order to find a solution. Likewise, it is possible that a person discovers that they simply like practices such as golden showers and for some reason or due to social pressure become blocked or inhibited, and can work on cognitive restructuring so as not to see themselves as disturbed or strange.
