Ask anyone what it would be like to be sexually aroused 24/7 and to be capable of having 50 orgasms in a row, and they'd prolly be all, Woo hoo. That'd be amazeballs! Bring it ON! But the truth is, it's pure hell. And one poor woman who actually had this condition, called Persistent Gential Arousal Disorder, was so miserable that she tragically committed suicide right after telling the press about her problem.

Sixteen years ago, Gretchen Molannen was living a normal life. But then the healthy young woman suddenly came down with the affliction of being sexually aroused. All. The. Time. Gretchen, who had to masturbate for long stretches to alleviate her discomfort, and who once orgasmed 50 times in a row ("I thought I was going to die"), couldn't work or live a normal life anymore. And she found the condition so awful and so shameful that she tried suicide three times before finally killing herself.

The really sad part is that she'd just told her story to a local newspaper and other women had come forward asking to talk to Gretchen about their own disorder.

Doctors were not able to pinpoint what might have sparked the affliction and nothing, including ice packs, had been able to alleviate it. Being in a state of arousal is generally considered a nice sensation, but too much of a good thing can turn it into a nightmare. Gretchen told The Tampa Bay Times:

I can't even stop to get a drink of water. And you're in so much pain. You're soaking in sweat. Every inch of your body hurts.

And, sadly, Gretchen dropped hints that about what she might do:

This isn’t living. I think about suicide all the time. It doesn’t mean I want to do it ... I don’t want to do that. I want to enjoy life. I used to love life ... I had a great life and I could have a wonderful life, but this has destroyed it.

It's horrific that Gretchen wasn't able to get any more help with this issue. I wonder if there was any doctor, anywhere, who could have helped. Better to have NO sexual arousal than have it all the time. What a terrible thing to endure. At least Gretchen didn't continue to hide her condition in shame, and maybe other women will benefit from that.

Had you ever heard of Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder?


Image via Tampa Bay Times