A funny thing happened at the doctor's office. . .

[nachtjaeger]

So, today I went to a new doctor (a specialist in brain chemistry)to hopefully get my meds straightened out. Since the doctor is also a psychologist I was worried that certain questions would be asked- about, you know- sex, fetishes, etc. I walk into her office, and the first thing I see is a book, prominently displayed, titled QUICKSAND!
I kept my cool, and quickly saw that the subtitle is "HIV and AIDS in our lives." amazon link

For a second, I thought the next words I would hear would be "This is an intervention!" Had I been somehow "outed?" (Not that I keep it a particular secret, but I don't shout it from the rooftops either.)

To make a long story short, she thinks it's just chemical, no psychoanalysis needed, and that she can tweak my current meds to fix things.

[Nessie]

I've often wondered about telling a psychiatrist/psychologist/counselor about having a...a quicksand thing...

"I get really, really turned on by thinking about quicksand...sometimes all I have to do is whisper the word 'quicksand' and I get SO HOT!"

I wonder whatever they'd say? Would they think we needed to be cured? What if you asked a psychiatrist to get rid of your fetish for you? How, precisely, would he or she tackle the problem of eliminating a quicksand fetish from one's fantasies and erotic practices?

It's been a long time now since I've been medicated. I suffer from a low-grade lack of seritonin in the brain, and the condition is called "dysthymia". I had about six months of talk therapy and two years of pills.

I consulted the first doctor while I still thought I was "The Only One In The Whole Entire World Who Got Turned On By Quicksand". Even though I didn't think there was anyone else who had a quicksand thing, I can't remember even thinking that I needed to mention it. I was feeling so cruddy that any Quicksand Thing completely receded into insignificance alongside the overall cruddiness that was Life at the time. I didn't blame quicksand for it at all.

I still don't find that my fetish negatively affects my overall mood. Other things do affect it, stuff like job worries and money worries and family worries...my dog died and that depressed me for awhile...but...quicksand?

No. I just need a bog. So I go out and I get one. And I use it. Once the fetish been fed, it goes totally quiet, and I don't need to feed it with anything at all for awhile.

Perhaps I will have to consult a doctor for cruddiness again sometime, because I am pretty sure that I do suffer from a seritonin shortage and sometimes I think I should get those pills back. I could spend money on the pills again...if it'll improve things...but I can't justify spending money on investigating a fetish that, while unusual, seems to be doing no damage.

I've often wished, though, that somebody else would go try to get their quicksand thing cured so that they could tell me all about it. I'm really curious. I don't actually want mine cured...I am just madly curious about IF psychiatrists can cure a quicksand fetish, and HOW they would go about doing that...if, indeed, they even can.

Nessie

[PM2K]

To be honest... I too wondered what was "off" about me and this quicksand thing. But once I started poking around the internet... I quickly realized this quicksand fetish is in teh scheme of things pretty harmless and mundane compared to some fetishes out there.... yeesh!

Harmless annd mundane... that is strangely comforting... along with realizing there's lots of us out there.

[klib21]

I am perfectly fine with who I am and what I find sexually fascinating. It's just that it's not something I'd like to have to explain... to anyone I know.

[Chimerix]

Fetishes are considered disorders. And, yes, doctors of the head would prefer to cure you of them. Whether it is quicksand or not is irrelevant, current trends in psycho-thinking label fetishes as negative.

I remember something from a freshman psychology textbook discussing how difficult it is to cure fetishism, since the victims get such pleasure from their problem that they don't desire to be cured.

[Fred588]

I believe this is not quite true. It is considered a disorder OR "an enhancing element to a relationship..." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_fetishism). It is diagnosable as a disorder (paraphilia) if affects the person's life in a negative way.

Fetishes are considered disorders. And, yes, doctors of the head would prefer to cure you of them. Whether it is quicksand or not is irrelevant, current trends in psycho-thinking label fetishes as negative.

To further quote from the Wikipedia article cited above: "Psychologists and medical practitioners regard fetishism as normal variations of human sexuality[citation needed]. Even those orientations that are potential forms of fetishism are usually considered unobjectionable as long as all people involved feel comfortable."

I remember something from a freshman psychology textbook discussing how difficult it is to cure fetishism, since the victims get such pleasure from their problem that they don't desire to be cured.

[YerKiddin]

Cured?

It was massage school that really changed my life. Part of one of the weekly classes, we did the equivalent of group counseling. (The idea behind that being that if you don't deal with your mental baggage now, you'll wind up with its effects magnified by doing massage) I think, early on, I actually wanted to drown. Having discovered I floated by elbow depth, I was considering wearing weights to go play in the deep mud. It seemed to me, during the counselling sessions, that I really didn't accept or like myself, and that I needed to get over that.

The funny thing is that now, in times of stress, that draw comes back *bigtime*. I guess I know how I'll want to commit suicide, should things ever get to be too much for me. (Not that suicide has been even an occasional thought since I left the navy)

Am I "cured"? No. The first thing in our group sessions in school was to give up the idea of ever "fixing" yourself, but rather to get to know, accept, and love yourself as a human being. We were told that even that was going to be a journey, rather than a destination.

Mud is still a turn-on. The stickier the better! Tar has been a fun fantasy ever since visiting the La Breah tar pit museum in CA, but I have yet to get anywhere near it. I plan on having a good camera with me if/when I get to visit Pitch Lake in Tahiti, but even then I plan to do nothing more than wade through some ankle-deep stuff along the shore. (with a guide, and likely some helpers to make clean-up easier) I'm okay with all of that. I've told my wife, and while she doesn't share in any of the fantasy of it, she is happy to let me play, so long as I'm careful.

[tempman]

Fetishes are considered disorders. And, yes, doctors of the head would prefer to cure you of them. Whether it is quicksand or not is irrelevant, current trends in psycho-thinking label fetishes as negative.

I remember something from a freshman psychology textbook discussing how difficult it is to cure fetishism, since the victims get such pleasure from their problem that they don't desire to be cured.

I'm currently studying my Masters in Psychology and I've never come across that, sure there would be some doctors who class it negative. The bulk are good with it unless it interferes with other sociological aspects of the person. CIP I remember one time someone had a hand fetish and would get aroused just by shaking a woman's hand. That interfered negatively with his daily activities but ours doesn't. ... unless there was some beautiful woman sinking into sand and we just stood around to gawp instead of saving her .

[YerKiddin]

Fetishes are considered disorders. And, yes, doctors of the head would prefer to cure you of them. Whether it is quicksand or not is irrelevant, current trends in psycho-thinking label fetishes as negative.

I remember something from a freshman psychology textbook discussing how difficult it is to cure fetishism, since the victims get such pleasure from their problem that they don't desire to be cured.

I'm currently studying my Masters in Psychology and I've never come across that, sure there would be some doctors who class it negative. The bulk are good with it unless it interferes with other sociological aspects of the person. CIP I remember one time someone had a hand fetish and would get aroused just by shaking a woman's hand. That interfered negatively with his daily activities but ours doesn't. ... unless there was some beautiful woman sinking into sand and we just stood around to gawp instead of saving her .

I think more research is required! Why not get a grant, I'll be your test subject, and the grant can pay you to record your findings and pay a line of models to repeatedly get caught in different types of mud/clay/quicksand/etc. Heck, in support of this effort, I (and I'm sure others!) will be your test subject for free.

[nachtjaeger]

What I have is mild clinical depression, and a problem with my body producing WAY too much of those wonderful "fight or flight" stress hormones when it shouldn't. Being depressed is one thing, when there's a good reason (been there, done that) but when everything is fine, it really sucks. As does having enough adrenalin, etc. dumped into my bloodstream (for no reason) to spike my heart rate.

As to being "cured" of the whole quicksand thing, why? I have come to accept myself this way, as does my Lady Wife. Might as well try to cure me of being the Eternal Warrior. Yeah, that does lead to some "anger issues" whenever I see injustice, or innocents threatened. So long as I stay in control, not a problem to anybody.