One man’s sex life is the definition of colorful.
The married 31-year-old — known only as ‘Mr R.’ — went to doctors complaining that whenever he orgasmed he suddenly saw the world in hues of pink.
He added that objects also appeared sharper and brighter, and that it always looked like early morning — even if he was orgasming late at night.
Doctors in Iran carried out a battery of tests before diagnosing the man with synesthesia, a rare condition where senses cross-over with each other.
The married 31-year-old — known only as ‘Mr R.’ — told doctors that whenever he orgasms he suddenly sees the world in hues of pink (stock image)
In other cases, it can lead to someone “tasting colors” or “feeling sounds”.
Revealing the bizarre case in the journal Psychiatry, the doctors wrote: ‘He stated that during his orgasms, he experienced visual equity changes whenever his eyes were open, and he saw objects sharper and brighter than usual.
‘He described these changes as “high contrast vision with dominant pink color everywhere”, and said that the environment became brighter as if it was early morning even if the environment was dark.’
The patient, who was also a medical doctor, initially tried to treat his condition using the anti-depressant Sertraline.
But after three months, he sought help at a nearby hospital — where doctors suggested he had the rare neurological condition.
At this point, the patient also revealed he had suffered from altered perceptions in childhood due to chest pain caused by a faulty heart valve.
He said that during these pain episodes, he would feel ‘white’ — a sensation that he said was never brought up by other feelings. This stopped before adulthood, however, after the heart valve issue was resolved.
The patient was discharged and offered no further treatment, with the individual reporting no erectile dysfunction and saying they were happy with their sex life.
Synesthesia is caused by nerves excited by a certain activity accidentally activated other un-related nerves, triggering a ‘mixed up’ sensation for people.
It was not clear why an orgasm might lead to synesthesia, but the flood of feel-good hormones released and surge of brain activity during the act could raise the likelihood of multiple nerves being excited.
It is often linked to the brain’s development, with the organ said to have developed in a way during childhood that is different from ‘neurotypical’ people.
Many live normal and full lives with the condition, with some even saying it gives them a richer experience of the world.
In other cases, individuals have reported experiencing different colors during each stage of sex. They reported seeing orange at the start of sex, yellow during sex and then pink during the climax phase.
Other types include seeing a specific color when hearing a car horn, or saying they can taste words when they hear them.
Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky and Lorde are all said to have the condition.
There is no specific treatment for the condition, with doctors saying this is not needed as the condition is not an illness.
Estimates suggest that up to two percent of the population experiences a level of synesthesia during sex, according to Psychology Today.
The researchers, from the University of Mashhad, wrote in their case report from 2022: ‘The present report demonstrates coexistence of a rare form of synesthesia as orgasm to color with specific pain to color synesthesia.
‘In contrast to previous reports, our case demonstrated color orgasm as a type of synesthesia that might not negatively affect sex life in men.’
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