1. All who like to tickle are sadists.
This is one I get hung up on because all of the people who have tickled me in the past and even referred to it as "torture", whether I would be out of breath, sweating profusely or I would start coughing, they would let up and ask me if I was alright. If they were truly sadists, they wouldn't have let up at all.
2. All who love being tickled are masochists.
That is another one that has played with my head since it's often referred to as "torture". Torture is supposed to hurt, right? Well, unless there is something wrong with my sense of touch, tickling is not painful to me.
3. Ticklers can't restrain themselves from tickling anyone and everyone from complete strangers to those who can't defend themselves. They have no self control.
If that was the case 99.9999% of this board, myself included, would have a criminal rap sheet a mile long or would already be headed to prison.
4. All ticklers believe in nonconsensual tickling. Their fondest desire is to kidnap your daughter, tie her down and tickler her senseless.
See explanation #3. By the way, I take great issue with that.
5. People who love tickling are social outcasts and loners who have no life.
I am a loner and most likely am viewed as a social outcast, but that's not because of tickling. It couldn't be because no one around me or in my area knows about it. I am a loner because I am shy and have social anxiety issues. But that is just speaking for me and I am only one person. The only way to prove whether or not that theory holds any water would be to conduct a survey and then research it to find out if it's due to their tickle fetish or if it is due to another factor (i.e. being social inept, etc.).
6. People into tickling can't be trusted.
Can't be trusted with what? Not to lie? Not to steal? Be restricted to only working in certain jobs/professions where we would have no interaction with the public? What can't we be trusted with?
7. Ticklers are sexual predators of children.
False. Because I don't, and the person who is making such a claim would need to have evidence to prove that tickling is the cause of their pedophilia or pedophilia is the result from having a tickle fetish.
By the way, I take great issue with that statement.
8. People into tickling can't get off except through tickling.
Well, they don't call it a fetish without a reason. Normally a fetish is a focal point of arousal for those who have it. But to say they can't get off any other way? Maybe for some, but not everybody. They would need to have empircal and peer reviewed evidence in order to prove this without a shadow of a doubt.
9. Men into tickling are sissies.
I don't know if this is true or not, and quite frankly I don't care how others see it because I am comfortable with who I am.
10. All people into tickling need psychological help. Gee thee to a shrink.
According to Wikipedia, the only time counseling would be necessary would be if the person suffers distress over it (i.e. not able to function on a daily basis where it interferes with their activities of daily living, occupationally, vocationally, etc). This can be found under Modern theory and treatment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_fetishism#Psychological_origins_and_development
Modern theory and treatment
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. Only if the diagnostic criteria presented in detail below are met is the medical diagnosis of fetishism justified. The leading criterion is that a fetishist is ill only if he or she suffers from the addiction, not simply because of the addiction itself.
Diagnosis
According to the ICD-10-GM, version 2005, fetishism is the use of inanimate objects as a stimulus to achieve sexual arousal and satisfaction; in most cases said object is required for sexual gratification. The corresponding ICD code for fetishism is F65.0. The diagnostic criteria for fetishism are as follows:
Unusual sexual fantasies, drives or behavior occur over a time span of at least six months. Sometimes unusual sexual fantasies occur and vanish by themselves; in this case any medical treatment is not necessary.
The affected person, their object or another person experience impairment or distress in multiple functional areas. Functional area refers to different aspects of life such as private social contacts, job, etc. It is sufficient for the diagnosis if one of the participants is being hurt or mistreated in any other way.
It must be noted that a correct diagnosis in terms of the ICD manual stipulates hierarchical proceeding. That is, first the criteria for F65 must be fulfilled, then those for F65.0. As criteria are not repeated in substages this can be mistakable to laymen or medics that have not been educated in the use of this manual. Furthermore, it must be noted that according to the ICD, an addiction to specific parts or features of the human body and even "inanimate" parts of corpses, under no circumstances are fetishism, even though some of them may be forms of paraphilia.
According to the DSM-IV-TR, fetishism is the use of nonliving objects as a stimulus to achieve sexual arousal or satisfaction. (This only applies if the objects are not specifically designed for sexual stimulation (e.g., a vibrator).) The corresponding DSM-code for fetishism is 302.81; the diagnostic criteria are basically the same as those of the ICD. In the DSM manual, all diagnostic criteria are given in the corresponding section of the text book, i. e., here no hierarchical processing is needed.
Both definitions are the result of lengthy discussions and multiple revisions. Still today, arguments go on whether a specific diagnosis fetishism is needed at all or if paraphilia as such is sufficient. Some[who?] demand that the diagnosis be abolished completely to no longer stigmatize fetishists, e. g. project ReviseF65. Others[who?] demand that it be specified even more to prevent scientists from confusing it with the popular use of the term fetishism. And other researchers[who?] argue that it should be expanded to cover other sexual orientations, such as an addiction to words or fire. Most physicians[who?] would not say that a man who finds a woman attractive because she is dressed in high heels, lacy stockings or a corset has an abnormal fetish.
Treatment
There are three possible treatments for fetishism: cognitive behavior therapy and psychoanalysis or simply a behavior supervision on proportional timing while not practicing any sexual activity for not activating the fetish it can be more or less giving up smoking .
Cognitive behavior therapy
Cognitive behavior therapy seeks to change a person's behavior without analyzing how and why it has shown up. Rather than focusing on the origins of fetishes, cognitive behavior therapy is built on the empirical study of interventions that alleviate the distress associated with them.
Cognitive behavior therapy primarily focuses on helping patients tune in to automatic thoughts that affect patients' mood and behavior. As patients become more aware of their automatic thoughts, they learn to alter irrational thoughts and resolve contradictions that lead to distress. A common goal of cognitive therapy in the treatment of fetishes is helping the patient realize the irrationality of identifying with a disliked fetish, a form of cognitive globalization that often leads to self-judgment.
The following is not cognitive behavior therapy and should not be confused with it: One therapeutic technique is aversive conditioning, which entails presenting patients with a displeasing stimulus with the fetish as soon as sexual arousal starts. Another therapeutic technique is called thought stopping, in which the therapist asks the patient to think of the fetish and suddenly cries out "stop!". The patient will be irritated, their line of thought broken. After analyzing the effects of the sudden break together, the therapist will teach the patient to use this technique by him or herself to interrupt thoughts about the fetish and thus avoid the undesired behavior.
Medication
Various pharmaceutical drugs are available that inhibit the production of sex steroids, especially male testosterone and female estrogen. By cutting down the level of sex steroids, sexual desire is diminished. Thus, in theory, a person might gain the ability to control their fetish and reasonably process their own thoughts without being distracted by sexual arousal. Also, the application may give the person relief in everyday life, enabling them to ignore the fetish and get back to daily routine. Other research has assumed that fetishes may be like obsessive-compulsive disorders, and has looked into the use of psychiatric drugs (serotonin reuptake inhibitors and dopamine blockers) for controlling paraphilias that interfere with a person's ability to function.
Although ongoing research has shown positive results in single case studies with some drugs, e. g. with topiramate, there is not yet any medicament that tackles fetishism itself. Because of that, physical treatment is only suitable to support one of the psychological methods.
