Psychology of sex - Total No. of Records in System :: 2032

INTRODUCTIONexact and intelligent knowledge of the patient's abnormalcondition isnecessary in order to restore the normal condition.We cannot bring him to the position where wedesire him to be unless we know where he at present is.Moreover, in psychic health, to an even greater extentthan in physical health, the range of what may be considerednormal variation is very wide. And further, inorder to ascertain what preciselyis the norm for any givenindividual in this matter, we must know exactly what is hisinnate psychosexual constitution, for otherwise we maybe putting him on a path which, though normal forothers, is really abnormal for him.It is on these grounds that much facile and conventionaladvice given to psychosexual patients is misplacedand even mischievous. This holds good, for instance, ofthe advice so often given to sexually abnormal persons tomarry. Certainly in some cases such advice may be excellent.But it cannot be safely given except with fullnessof knowledge and with precise reference to the conditionsof the individual case. This warning holds good, indeed,of all advice in the psychosexual sphere. Sex penetratesthe whole person; a man's sexual constitution is a part ofhis general constitution. There is considerable truth inthe dictum: 'A man is what his sex is/ No useful advicecan be given concerning the guidanceand control of thesexual life unless this is borne in mind. A man may,indeed, be mistaken concerning his own sexual nature. Hemay be merely passing through a youthful and temporaryabnormal stage, to reach eventually a more normal andpermanent condition. Or he may, by some undue reaction,have mistaken a subordinate impulse of his naturefor the predominant impulse, since we are all made up ofvarious impulses, and the sexually normal man is often aman who holds in control some abnormal impulse. Yet in[3]