What is lasciviousness Lasciviousness is a term used to describe the state in which a person is unable to control their sexual desire. It is an uncontrolled livid, so it is impossible not to associate sexual images or concepts with the environment, including people with whom one interacts at some point.
When it comes to sex, there are no limits for the person with lasciviousness, so many of its manifestations revolve around lust and carnal desire. Consequently, there is a constant inclination of their conversation topics or focuses towards this type of topics and/or issues in their actions and conversations.
Let’s learn more about this term in the next sections, since it is a pathology with multiple features to understand in order to recognize it, since, meanwhile, lasciviousness can refer not only to sex, but also to other elements.
The term lasciviousness
It comes from the Latin lasciviousness, and, in the description of the RAE dictionary, it consists of the excessive tendency to carnal satisfaction. In some contexts, this term is used to describe a very high sexual desire that one person feels towards another. However, the most typical thing is to associate it with a lack of control of desire.
A person with lust can easily become obsessed with sex, which can negatively compromise their relationships. This term is frequently used in religious contexts, since lasciviousness is recognized as a mortal sin for the soul of those who allow their sexual desire to rise in such a way in their life.
Lust can be differentiated from lasciviousness, by understanding that lust does not indicate an excessive desire, but rather a passionate one, the opposite of lasciviousness, where the threshold of desire is crossed in a notable way.
The lasciviousness in religion
In religions such as Catholicism and Christianity, lasciviousness is considered a sin, since this impulse usually breaks out with the principles of chastity among people who fail to channel their desires.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Judaism and other religions will show a similar vision, because as it is a behavior motivated by carnal desires, lasciviousness is connoted as a primitive and regressive state for the love of God.
It is for this reason that many seemingly harmless behaviors can be stigmatized in religions like these. For example, dancing can be considered an act that promotes or facilitates lasciviousness, and, in this sense, is often rebuked by some of the aforementioned religions.
We want both men and women to be able to respond to their conscience and not to their carnal desires. Lasciviousness condemns the conscience through thoughts based on the desires of the flesh. Therefore, all those who are covered by desire will be considered disobedient to God.
Let us remember that sexuality, which we could say was created by God, was created with the purpose of procreating society. This brand of lust, which is also excessive, breaks with the principles dictated by God to his children, which allows us to understand why lasciviousness, as a state of desire, must be repudiated in a variety of religions.
Lasciviousness from a psychological view
In psychology, lasciviousness can appear as a consequence of other underlying behavioral disorders. In turn, hypersexuality is differentiated from lasciviousness given that the former can culminate in the practice of sexual relations, while lasciviousness cannot.
There is no certain knowledge of the causes of lasciviousness., as it can be in the case of hypersexuality, whose origin, according to hypothesis, can be mediated by agents present in the patient’s life history, specifically, eventualities such as sexual abuse or traumas caused in childhood.
It has been complex for psychology to understand sex addiction and all the pathologies that lead to similar behaviors.
One of the most common traits in people addicted to sex is addiction to drugs and alcohol. respectively, since it is known that these two elements make the patient more susceptible to obsessive (addictive) behaviors, so their sexuality could bifurcate in such a way that it causes lasciviousness.
In any case, behavioral sciences do not show, at the moment, a clear outline of lasciviousness and its possible causes, presenting us with a picture with few domains about its cause, and, in this sense, about its possible treatments.
Many of these pathologies are treated with psychological support as they do not have as essential a neurological component as it could be in the case of schizophrenia or Parkinson’s itself. Although this does not guarantee an exhaustive correction of the behavior, it could help the patient become aware of their situation.
Lewdness does not only refer to sex
We can agree that lasciviousness is almost universally associated with sex, which is not bad at all. However, it is necessary to understand that lasciviousness can speak about other obsessions that have gone too far. For example, a person may show obsessions with material items, habits, foods, colors, etc.
It must be a disorder mainly associated with sex addiction, although it could occur in relation to other objects or activities. There is no term “sexual lasciviousness” per se, although it is more likely to hear material lasciviousness, just to mention one example.
Lasciviousness: excessive obsession with sex
Let us agree that lasciviousness is one of the different disorders in which the threshold of satisfaction has been completely neutralized, evoking truly problematic behaviors for people and their interpersonal relationships. People with this condition have difficulty establishing long-term romantic relationships due to their excesses.
There is no specific treatment since its causes and specific symptoms are unknown. Therefore, its approach does not go beyond general psychological treatments in order to offer support to patients.
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References: What is lasciviousness?
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