Sex addiction
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Sex addiction. Is it a real thing? Does it actually exist? Is there any help for it?
Treatment for sex addiction is an important topic for many people seeking answers.
Sex addiction is real. people, can become so obsessed with sex that they lose total control of their behaviour.
Like any addiction, without expert help, it has the power to destroy lives.
Addiction is a serious illness not a lack of willpower.
Sex addiction
What is sex addiction?
It will harm your health, your wealth, relationships, work, studies and other aspects of your life.
If you or someone you know is struggling, seeking help for sex addiction can make a real difference.
Sometimes it is called compulsive sexual behaviour or problematic sexual behaviour.
Clinicians will often refer to it as hypersexuality or hypersexuality disorder.
An addiction to sex involves activities that can be common to normal sexual activity such as watching pornography, pleasuring yourself, group sex or all of these.
What makes it an addiction is where these thoughts are so consuming, other aspects of your life suffer as a result.
Sex addiction
Is sex addiction real?
Absolutely!
What makes it an addiction is the feeling you get when you indulge in your desires.
The craving for sex is exactly the same as the cravings you experience for alcohol and drugs.
The compulsion is so strong that you feel you have no option but to engage in sexual activity.
Unless you get into recovery, you will never feel satisfied. You will battle, daily, even hourly, to take control,but won't be able to.
You are on autopilot.
While you know what you are doing is wrong but you can not stop.
You are spending money you can't afford to spend. Relationships are being destroyed and you are missing deadlines at work.
None of these negative consequences will make any difference in altering your behaviour.
Recovery is nothing to do with willpower.
It has everything to do with science.
sex addiction
How common is sex addiction?
Research suggests that between 3 to 10% of the population experiences an addiction to sex.
It is more commonly found in men than in women.
Five times more males experience the problem than women.
While it usually begins at age 18 it can be, on average, 19 years before someone seeks help at the age of 37.
Just under 90% of those with sex addiction also have other problems including:
Depression
Anxiety disorders
Previous suicide attempts
Personality disorders
Other addictions
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Sex addiction
Is sex addiction a mental health issue?
The jury is still out on this one!
At this time, it is not considered to be a mental disorder.]
This is because the American Psychiatric Association feel there is a lack of evidence.
They were also concerned that calling it a disorder would dissuade people from getting help.
Whether or not it is a disorder doesn't detract from the problems it can cause.
Calling it a disorder could give people the impression that you can not get treatment for it: You can.
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How it makes you feel
When you have sex addiction, you know you have a problem and you want to stop. The problem is: You can't. The desire to engage in the behaviour is overwhelming and the rush you feel, when you do, is intoxicating.
You may feel, among other things:
Guilt
Sex addictiion
Sign and symptoms
There are no hard and fast criteria but there are traits that are commonly seen:
You are obsessed with sex.
Nearly all of your time is spent on your urges and engaging in sexual activities
Very frequent masturbation Multiple times a day, including at work/college and while out and about.
Frequently viewing pornography Internet porn, magazines, dark web.
Excessive time planning sexual activity
You spend a lot of time planning out how you will get your next sexual high
Using prostitutes Money you can ill afford (or borrowed) is used on prostitutes.
You might visit strip clubs.
Reckless sexual activity This might include using drugs to enhance sexual pleasure and/or dangerous sexual activity such as self strangulation to increase sexual pleasure.
Paraphilia: You might engage in sexual activity that causes someone else distress, sometimes injury or even death.
This could be watching others engaged in sexual activity, inflicting pain for sexual pleasure and paedophilia (sexual acts with children).
Sex addiction
What problems does sex addiction cause?
Aside from taking up a lot of your time, there are other issues:
Sexually transmitted and blood bourne illness: HIV, Hepatitis B+C, syphilis and gonorrhea
Drug use: Using drugs that are often associated with sex addiction can be very dangerous such as GHB/GBL, ketamine, cocaine, alcohol, etc
Deteriorating mental health: Sex addiction can lead to anxiety, depression and active thoughts of suicide.
Emotional costs: Shame, hopelessness and guilt
Sex addiction
What causes sex addiction?
At this time, the evidence is not clear and research is ongoing.
There are several factors believed to be involved:
Chemical imbalance: An excess of naturally occurring feelgood chemicals (dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin) . These chemicals are thought to lead to an increased desire for sexual encounters.
Illness/brain injury: Neurological conditions such as dementia and epilepsy as well as acquired brain injuries (such as from a car accident) can damage the prefrontal cortex. This can lead to hypersexuality.
Drug misuse: Amphetamine use and cocaine addiction can lead to very risky sexual behaviours.
Alcohol: can also be a major contributory factor.
Side effect of prescription medication: Levodopa, used in Parkinson's, is well known for causing hypersexuality.
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How is sex addiction diagnosed?
An experienced clinician will need to ask you questions on a number of areas in order to reach a diagnosis. These will include questions on:
Current health,
Medications
Family medical history,
Herbal remedies
Alcohol and drug use
Sexual thoughts
Behaviours and urges
Your level of control over sexual thoughts
Sometimes, hypersexuality is a symptom of something else.
You may be experiencing a manic episode (bipolar disorder) or have an excess of hormones in your body.
Severe anxiety can be a cause as can Tourette's syndrome and obsessive compulsive behaviours.
You might have an undiagnosed personality disorder.
Sex addiction
How can it be treated?
It is possible to get the condition under control.
Medication, psychotherapy and support groups, when combined, can be very powerful interventions.
Residential rehab provides the essential elements of treatment for sex addiction and a springboard to recovery.
Sex addiction
Medication for sex addiction
While there is no specifically licenced medication to treat sex addiction, those that act on your brains "behaviour and urges" hormones can be used to treat sex addiction.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's):These are generally considered to be the first line treatment for sex addiction
Anti-androgens:These are prescribed to men as they target on male sex hormones. They work by reducing obsessive ideas. Usually reserved for very extreme cases and where sexual behaviours are affecting others.
Naltrexone: Used to reduce the desire to drink alcohol and take drugs it can also be used to treat sex addiction
Mood stabilizers: When someone has an underlying disorder, such as bipolar disease, mood stabilisers can help to regulate behaviours and dampen sexual urges
Anti-anxiolitics: Where sexual activity is triggered by anxiety, medication to reduce the anxiety can be helpful. Buspirone is a good example of medication that can be very beneficial.
Antipsychotics: Some people experience very severe agitation or intrusive thoughts. Antipsychotic medication can reduce anxiety and help clear up thoughts.
Amphetamines: People with untreated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can experience severe symptoms of sex addiction. Medication , for the underlying condition, can alleviate sexual desires.
sex addiction
Psychotherapy for sex addiction
Psychotherapy isn't counselling.
It is a course of treatment with a high qualified professional who has years of training and has, themselves, undergone analysis in order to help people.
Through analysis you will be able to identify, then manage, factors that are causing you to fixate on sexual behaviours.
You can see a psychotherapist as an individual, as a couple or as a family.
Sex addiction
Psychological therapies
There are various psychological therapies that have been proven to be effective in the treatment of sex addiction:
Cognitive behavioural therapy: A shorter treatment plan that psychotherapy. This process focuses on replacing negative thoughts and actions with more positive coping mechanisms.
Commitment an acceptance therapy: Using a mixture of acceptance and mindfulness, this therapy aims to help people process the distress their urges cause and to change how their deal with their thoughts.
Motivational interviewing: Everyone has goals. things they want to do in life and everyone has a set of values. This type of therapy helps you to explore your urges in the context of your values and goals.
Support groups: Mostly modelled on a 12 step process these groups can be of immense value after rehab. You will be among people with shared experience all wanting to stay abstinent from harmful sexual urges.
Sex addiction
What about home treatment for sex addiction?
Depending on the severity of the problem, it may be possible to have treatment as an outpatient or even at home.
Speak with an experienced addictions clinician, without charge, for confidential and wholly impartial advice.
Therapy
All centers who provide treatment for addiction provide a fully immersive therapy programme, either along a 12 step approach or a SMART based recovery model. These run seven days a week and , those in treatment, are obliged to attend all sessions if physically well enough to do so. For new admissions, it can be 24-48 hours , on occasion, before someone is able to take part.
Sitting alongside this programme, many centers also offer adjunctive treatments and therapies such as:
Yoga
Mindfulness
Art therapy
Gentle exercise and group walks
Music therapy
Individual sessions (for those staying more than a week)
Clients, before leaving, are linked in with support groups in their local community, be they voluntary or statutory. A psychological tool kit is built up so that clients have a selection of techniques to employ.
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