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Introduction Sexual difficulty has various effects on patients suffering from this condition that can impact on interpersonal and marital relationships. Sexual function may be adversely affected by stress of any kind and emotional disorders. There have been limited studies focusing on the mental health of those suffering from this problem. Aim To determine the relationship between sexual difficulties and mental health in female patients seeking help in psychiatric clinics. Methods The study was based on the case–control design methodology in which the case group consisted of 165 outpatients of two psychiatric clinics, who were diagnosed with different mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, phobia, aggression, and somatic complaints (33 subjects for each type of disorder). The 33 subjects in the control group were chosen among the patients’ relatives and visitors who had no history of either seeking psychiatric help or taking psychiatric drugs. The subjects of both case and control groups were selected based on a convenience sampling method. Moreover, the data were collected based on two techniques of “interview” and “questionnaire;” the latter was of three different subcategories, each dealt with demographic characteristics, sexual difficulties, and a Symptom Check-List-90-Revised. Main Outcome Measure Assessing female sexual difficulties associated with mental health and differences between women with and without psychiatric problems. Results The obtained results indicated that there was a significant difference between the prevalence of sexual difficulties (e.g., sexual desire and orgasm disorders) in the case group and that of the control group. It was also revealed that there was a significant difference between the depressed, aggressive, as well as those with somatic complaints, and their control group counterparts. Conclusions In Iran, sexual difficulties seem to be more frequent in those seeking psychiatric help in clinics than in those within the normal population.

Objectives. Regarding the importance of sexual desire in adolescence period and public and parental concerns about it and considering the lack of studies on sexual knowledge especially in adolescents in Iran, this study was conducted to evaluate the sexual issues in high school girls and boys. Patients and Methods. The cross-sectional study was performed on 2700 high school students. Students were selected through a multi-staged randomized sampling method in Tabriz and by the convenience method in Ardabil and Urmia. Data collection tool was a questionnaire including knowledge questions and measured by a three-point scale. Data were statistically analyzed with SPSS version 11.5 software. Results. 11.8% of the students had a low sexual knowledge, 46.7% had average and 41.5% had a high one. There was no significant difference between male and female students' general sexual knowledge. The highest knowledge was about being aware of the religious rules concerning sex. Conclusion. Adolescents should be trained and acquire information about the different aspects of sexual issues. Female adolescents especially need to be educated about puberty physiology, fertility physiology and STDs.

Pain is common in patients with multiple sclerosis. This study evaluated self-hypnosis for pain control in that population. A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients, who were assigned to either a control group or to a self-hypnosis group, in which patients performed self-hypnosis at least 10 times a day. All patients were trained to score the perceived pain twice daily on a numerical rating scale and also reported the quality of pain with the McGill Pain questionnaire. Repeated-measures analysis showed a significant difference between the groups; pain was lower in the self-hypnosis group but was not maintained after 4 weeks. Self-hypnosis could effectively decrease the intensity and could modify quality of pain in female patients with multiple sclerosis.