Postorgasmic illness syndrome
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| - | :''[[postorgasmic illness syndrome]], [[refractory period (sex)]]'' | + | '''Post Orgasmic Illness Syndrome''' (POIS) is a condition characterized by debilitating symptoms following [[orgasm]] that last for a few hours to several days. |
| - | '''''La petite mort''''', [[French language|French]] for "the little death", is a [[metaphor]] for [[orgasm]]. The term has generally been interpreted to describe the [[postorgasmic]] [[faint]]ing spells some lovers suffer from. Also it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm, or a short period of [[transcendence]], an [[expenditure]] or spending of [[life force]]. | + | |
| - | Speculations to its origin include current connotations of the phrase, including | + | ==See also== |
| - | to [[sleep]] | + | *[[Coital cephalalgia]] |
| - | * [[Greco-Roman]] belief that the oversecretion of [[bodily fluids]] would "dry out" one of the believed [[four humours]], leading to [[death]] | + | |
| - | * [[Islam]]'s reference to [[sleep]] | + | |
| - | More widely, it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm, or a short period of melancholy or transcendence, as a result of the expenditure of the "[[Energy (spirituality)|life force]]". [[Literary critic]] [[Roland Barthes]] spoke of ''la petite mort'' as the chief objective of reading [[literature]]. He metaphorically used the concept to describe the feeling one should get when experiencing any great literature. | ||
| - | A recent study of brain activation patterns using [[Positron Emission Tomography]] (PET) give some support to the experience of a small death: | ||
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| - | :''"To some degree, the present results seem to be in accordance with this notion, because female orgasm is associated with decreased blood flow in the orbitofrontal cortex, a part of the brain that is crucial for behavioural control."'' (Regional cerebral blood flow changes associated with clitorally induced orgasm in healthy women) | ||
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| - | The term 'la petite mort' or 'the small death' does not always apply to sexual experiences. It can also be used when some undesired thing has happened to a person and has affected them so much that 'a part of them dies inside'. A literary example of this is found in [[Thomas Hardy]]'s '[[Tess of the D'Urbervilles]]' when he uses the phrase to describe how Tess feels after she comes across a particularly gruesome omen and meeting with her own rapist. | ||
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| - | <blockquote> | ||
| - | "She felt the ''petite mort'' at this unexpectedly gruesome information, and left the solitary man behind her." ~ [[Tess of the D'Urbervilles]] by [[Thomas Hardy]] | ||
| - | </blockquote> | ||
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| - | 'La petite mort' has been referenced in other art forms as well. In 1993 [[Jake and Dinos Chapman]] created a piece called ''[[Little Death Machine (Castrated)]]''. The sculpture is part of an installation at the [[Tate Britain]] gallery in London, which explores some of the overtly sexual views of the [[Surrealism|Surrealist]] movement. Surrealists such as [[Salvador Dali]] explored the links between sex and death through their art. | ||
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| - | == In art == | ||
| - | *''[[Ecstasy of Saint Theresa]]'' (1647–1652) by [[Bernini]] | ||
| - | *''[[Beata Ludovica Albertoni|Death of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni]]'' (1671–74) by [[Bernini]] | ||
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| - | == Popular culture == | ||
| - | *[[Lemony Snicket]] lists "la petite morte" as an example of a French phrase in ''[[The Carnivorous Carnival]]''. | ||
| - | *[[Goldfrapp]] have a song called "Little Death" an unreleased song from there debut ''[[Felt Mountain]]''. | ||
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| - | == References == | ||
| - | 1. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 21, 1952, No. 2. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 34:353 | ||
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| - | == Further reading == | ||
| - | * Psychobiology of altered states of consciousness, Psychological Bulletin 2005, Vol. 131, No. 1, 98-127 | ||
| - | * Orgasmic aura originates from the right hemisphere, Neurology 2002;58:302-304 | ||
| - | == See also == | ||
| - | *[[Death, for the ancient Greeks, was "hollow and dark like woman".]] | ||
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Post Orgasmic Illness Syndrome (POIS) is a condition characterized by debilitating symptoms following orgasm that last for a few hours to several days.
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