Sex Addiction

Sex Addiction

What is Sex Addiction?

Sex addiction, or sexual compulsivity, is a disorder characterized by an individual not being able to control his or her sexual impulses. Relationships, work, and personal life are compromised by an individual’s obsession with sexual desires. Three to six percent of adults are estimated to be dealing with this disorder.

Despite popular belief, sex addiction is not about the pleasure one receives from engaging in sexual behavior, but rather, it is used as a mechanism for desensitizing emotional pain. Feelings of loneliness, boredom, low self-esteem, and inadequacy are dulled by those afflicted by sexual compulsivity by routinely abusing sexual behaviors.

Who Suffers From Sex Addiction?

Although sexual compulsivity can affect anyone, it usually transpires in individuals with already existing disorders.These often include alcohol or drug addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder, and eating disorders. Typically those suffering from sex addiction have abuse in their background, either of an emotional or sexual nature.

What Are The Symptoms of Sex Addiction?

Sex addiction has very identifiable patterns. Those that engage in phone sex services, watch an obsessive amount of pornography, and excessively masturbate are key signs of the disorder. The addiction tends to lead to more dangerous behavior including unsafe sex, multiple partners, and extra-marital affairs. The thrill of the addiction can often cause individuals to engage in seriously reckless sexual behavior.

How Do You Treat Sexual Addiction?

At Renaissance Malibu, sex addiction is monitored and treated with as much attention and respect as any other addiction or disorder. Individual therapy and treatment groups are used to help treat the feelings of loneliness, depression, and low self-esteem that are associated with sex addiction. Along with intensive therapy, individuals are encouraged to seek 12-step programs and possibly medication. It is warned that the way to heal sexual addiction is not abstinence, but rather a treatment that encourages sufferers to control their behavior and associate positive feelings with sex and relationships.

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