Somnophilia

Somnophilia(fromLatin"somnus" = sleep and from Greek "-philia" = love), also known as sleeping princess syndrome and sleeping beauty syndrome is a paraphilia ofmarauding/predatory type in which an individual becomes sexually aroused by someone who is unconcious.

According to John Money, somnophilia may progress to necrophilia, the desire to have sexual relations with a dead body. He characterized it as a form of "stealth and stealing paraphilias" including Kleptophilia. Abuse may follow from the condition including use of force and capture.The individual on whom the sex act is committed by the somnophiliac is generally a stranger not formerly closely acquainted with the one committing the sexual act.The somnophiliac may also tend to create an unconscious state in the victim by drugging them, or may engage in sex with someone who is crapulous or asleep.The perpetrator actually gets attracted to the idea of a sexual participant who is incapable of resisting their advances.

The Sleeping Beauty syndrome was already described in 1972 by the psychologists Victor Calef and Edward Weinshel. The term is sometimes used synonymously with Somnophilia, but usually refers to the arousal depending on, or being elevated by, the waking up of the sleeping during the sexual intimacy.

Understanding Somnophilia and the Sleeping Beauty syndrome depict that there are people having a particular pattern of arousal related to sleeping and defenceless women. Sexual intimacy with the sleeping individuals is generally a punishable act regardless of any kind ofclarification, but there is a clinical relevance both for treatment and risk assessment about the motivation of the offender.

Between pornography and Somnophilia there is a common the fact that they demand nothing by the consumer. A Somnophiliac is one who is a passive spectator who does nothing and therefore claims of not getting blamed because of anything. The Somnophiliac usually asserts like the paedophile that the attraction is absolutely due to pure admiration instead of any intention of dirty sex. The Sleeping Beauty syndrome, is actually on the surprise that the sleeping individual will experience when she awakens. The offender hopes that she will either react by becoming sexually aroused or by becoming scared, or both.

TREATMENT

If somnophilia begins to interfere with an individual’s daily life or causes any legal trouble, treatment should be followed by immediately. The most prevalent types of treatment for somnophilia include hypnosis, behaviour therapy, psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy and certain medications.There are therapeutical approaches including the following therapies- cognitive behavioural therapy, orgasmic reconditioning, individual expressive-supportive psychotherapy and group therapy.

Medications for treating this particular syndrome are never the primary form of treatment, some somnophiliacs are prescribed antidepressants, long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormones (GnRH, i.e., medical castration), antiandrogens, phenothiazine and mood stabilizers.