Sex Addiction--is it for real?
 

I've seen this term bandied about, typically by hormone-crazed 19-21 yr-olds.

But is it a real "disorder"? Like on the same scale of say, alcoholism? Is it recognized by Those Who Officially Recognize These Things?

I would think that a person would not actually be addicted to sex, per se, but to using that as a substitute for something that is missing in their lives. With alcoholism, drug addiction, etc., it's a chemical...physical addictition. I guess this could be considered a mental addiction, but then I guess anything in the world could be slotted into the "sexual" part of that equation.

Is a mental dependency on a physical situation correctly identified as an addiction?

Is gambling addiction real? You're going to have a hard time finding a psychologist who says no.

Those "mental dependencies," at their core, are no less chemical, physical addictions than drug addiction and alcoholism. The difference is that the source of the chemicals is not from outside of ourselves but within ourselves, be it dopamine or something else.

Yes, there are people (adults) with real sexual addictions.

In the cases of adolescents, there are sometimes people who are hypersexual due to past sexual abuse trauma. This is why the rate of pregnant teenagers who are past sexual abuse (rape) victims is so high. They will go through periods of not wanting sex at all, to being very hypersexual.

Sex addiction is a very real addiction. Like Smeth said, people can get addicted to the chemicals their own brain provides, and yes, it is just as harmful as drug or alcohol addiction.

How can one tell it's an addiction rather than...I dunno, an excuse?

Is it something that is actually a legitimate (legitimized by NIHM, or whomever is responsilbe for that kind of thing) diagnosis by a mental health professional?

If they were to say, get an injection of the chemicals produced by the brain that they were addicted to, could that help them to stop that behavior? Are folks with this problem reduced to relying on just will power?

Here's the interesting question that is being bandied about:

If sex addiction is real and porn and/or the Adult Entertainment Industry can be seen as contributing to this addiction it creates an opening for those who would like to "control" our access to pornography.

Currently the First Amendment in the US Constitution protects pornography from "censorship". However, should porn become known as a contributing factor to and addiction it would allow law makers to move porn from a "free speech" issue to a "public health issue". This would allow them to control access to porn in much the same way as they control access to alcohol and drugs.

I am not advocating one way or the other on this... just letting you know what's happening in Washington.

Using my handy data entry program from the state, Oregon's Office of Mental Health and Addiction Services defines moderate addiction as "once daily", serious addiction as "two to three times daily", and chronic addiction as "several times daily." The most evident criteria for defining addiction are the answers to these questions: Does engaging in this activity interfere with normal life (attendance at work, school, etc)? Are you engaging in potentially damaging behaviors because of this activity?

Evaluation for addiction is largely self-reporting; even in a clinical setting the clinician must rely on the information given to them by the client, regardless of substance used.

I think we tend to downplay the damage true addiction causes, and yes, I believe it's totally possible to be addicted to things like pornography, cleaning, video games, sex, etc, and I do think those kinds of addictions can be just as devastating and harmful as addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Some people use drugs and alcohol to use "that as a substitute for something that is missing in their lives."

Some therapists see drug and alcohol abuse as a symptom to a larger issue, which can be anything from fear, self-esteem issues, resentments, abuse, the list goes on and on.

ultimately, it's the individual who determines if they are an addict or not.

I came in here to say what SecretMethod said, only my example was a shopping addiction.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sultana
How can one tell it's an addiction rather than...I dunno, an excuse?

I think only an specialist or the very same person can really tell. Some one who is not a sex addict doesn't have any dilema. They are having fun and don't feel guilty or just bad about it. On the other hand a sex addict can't stop it and feel they have a problem they don't really control.

Addiction doesn't necessarily come with no feelings of guilt. A lot of times addiction is accompanied by feelings of guilt but the need to engage in the addictive behavior overrides that. "Do it and it won't matter anyways."

Yes. YES. Very well put, Owl. I think Cyn has even said something like this in his journal... that basically, the addiction is so crafty that it convinces you of your NEED for such and such stimulation, regardless of any consequences or your own common sense.

I agree with Smeth that addiction is addiction, regardless of whether it's from an external or internal chemical substance. My mom's gambling addiction was just as hazardous to her and our family as a drug addiction would have been. I suppose she had less risk of "overdosing" than a drug addict would have, but sometimes I wonder. If someone gambles to the point of losing everything they have, and then they decide to commit suicide, is it really much different from dying of overdose?

Newbie to TF and a recovering sex/porn addict
 

Hi All:

I recently joined this forum, and I can assure you from personal experience that sexual addiction, or compulsive sexual activity if you prefer, is both real and potentially devastating. The professional mental health community may be divided in its opinion as to the reality of this problem, but I've had a monkey on my back since my teens, and it was never simply a case of me 'sewing my wild oats'.

Peace,

Eric

abaya, agreed. Addiction is crafty, because it is "cunning, baffling and powerful."

Even knowing what the outcome of a situation, the consequences it brings, the obsession of the addiction still hangs over my head, I still want and desire to get high.

There are some people who have many years of sobriety yet still wind up killing themselves because the addiction to drugs/alcohol/sex/objects/food usually is the symptom of a bigger problem. It is one of the reasons that the 12 step programs tout progress not perfection, but the desire to "go back out" pulls hard and many years. I have met many people who with 10-20 years of sobriety go back for more "alcohol and drug research."

I can say that no one can understand addiction like another addict. I personally thought it was "all in someone's head" and they should just get over it, until I sat in the seat and said, "Hello my name is Cynthetiq and I am an alcoholic and addict..." It was at that point that I finally and truly understood.

Nymphomania and satyriasis were defined as mental disorders in the DSM up to DSM-IIIR, but were dropped for DSM-IV. There are several conditions that lead to a desire for sexual stimulation with little or no pleasure or alleviation of this arousal, but "Those Who Officially Recognize These Things" no longer recognize these sexual disorders as real. That's not to say that it can't be an addiction, it most certainly can become the object or addiction or obsession, just that it isn't a distinctly recognized mental disorder anymore.

I could say I'm addicted to sex, but since I don't get it often I have no basis for saying that I am addicted.

If I was getting it three times a day and still felt it wasn't enough then yeah I'd say I'm addicted. But being that I barely get it even three times a week as it is, I'd say I'm sexually frustrated more than anything else.

The DSM isn't above being politically correct.