Sex Addiction – What Is It?
Sex addiction refers to sexual behavior that has become compulsive – no longer just for the sake of pleasure itself. Sex therapist like to debate if sex addiction is real. I believe when there are serious negative repercussions that disrupt a person’s relationships and work – addiction is present. Sex addiction is not really about sex. Addiction is about emptiness.
What does Sex Addiction Look Like?
While sex addiction often involves sexual contact with one or several people, people might be considered addicted because of the extreme use of pornography, internet channels like chat rooms, or sexting with strangers. For example, if a man starts to view pornography for hours a day, he might get a high. He might believe that porn truly represents the way real people make love. His expectations soar. He might lose interest in his wife whom he had previously found sexually alluring. His quest for sexual excitement makes work and family seem dull by comparison. The question is – what was happening inside him that needed to get high? I want to be clear that sexual addiction is not the partner’s fault. Healing it may take the partner’s intervention and interaction, however.
To be clear, sex addiction is not exclusively a man’s problem. A small percentage of women also experience sexually compulsive behavior. Women typically experience sex addiction a bit differently than men, so for this post, we’ll focus only on men.
Five Behaviors of Sex Addiction:
Warning Behaviors
- Loss of interest in current sexual partner. When a male suddenly stops wanting sex, it can deeply disturb the relationship. Certainly each partner has differing levels of desire, and the struggle to align those can be difficult. But a complete withdrawal from the sexual relationship for an extended period can be a warning sign that his sexual energy is going in a different direction.
