"Seventeen to thirty seven million Americans struggle with sexual addictions" (Hagedorn & Juhnke, 2005, p. 66). These numbers are superior than the amount of Americans who are addicted to gambling or have eating disorders. Sexual addiction is consistently associated with negative judgment because its patterns often involve betrayal, illuminate previously hidden sexual behaviors and threaten patterns with abandonment (Levine, 2010). Levine (2010) stated, "The clinical perception of sexual addiction is based on behaviors that are destructive to somebody such as to the individual themselves, the spouse, lover, family, employer, or society" (p. 263). The term sexual addiction has limitations and it can imply that sexual stimulation acts like a …show more content…
Sex addiction has two correlated diagnoses, Internet addictive disorder and hypersexual disorder. Hypersexuality is when a "high" is experienced with any sexual activity while lacking any genuine emotional connection. Hypersexuality can occur with a wide range of sexual behaviors, including cybersex addiction. Cybersex addiction includes the excessive use of Internet pornography, chat rooms and paid online sex. Internet addiction disorder has standard addiction criteria such as tolerance, withdrawal, and relapse, and may occur with any kind of compulsive Internet use, and is not limited to cybersex (Carnes, O 'Connor, & Rosenberg, …show more content…
Carnes, O 'Connor, & Rosenberg (2014) stated that sex addicts are commonly not good at sex and function poorly in the bedroom. They often sexual difficulties with intimate partners and experience premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, anorgasmia, and sexual anorexia (Carnes, O 'Connor, & Rosenberg, 2014). Treating sex addiction may worsen the marriage or relationship. Recovery from sex addiction places new demands on committed relationships. Carnes, O 'Connor, & Rosenberg (2014) stated, "Significant others of sex addicts may suffer from sexual anorexia, sexual aversions, and/or sexual dysfunctions, explaining why partners have found it acceptable to live with the frequent lack of sexual intimacy" (p. 85). Due to these occurrences, couple and family therapy is typically necessary to encourage healthy relationships and satisfying sexual experiences during
Patrick Carnes’ book offers a real life look at the problem of sexual addiction. He used
There are many different definitions in which people provide regarding addiction. May (1988) describes that addiction “is a state of compulsion, obsession, or preoccupation that enslaves a person’s will and desire” (p. 14). Individuals who suffer from addiction provide their time and energy toward other things that are not healthy and safe. The book
The experiment was based on 1319 responses to an online questionnaire. People were asked how much they used the internet and for what purposes. The respondents were aged 16 to 51, with an average age of 21. The authors found that a small number of users had developed a compulsive internet habit, replacing real life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. They classed 18 respondents, 1.2% of the total as Internet addicts. This group spent more time on sex, gambling and online community websites. "This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction."
Sex is a beautiful thing that happens between two people, but sometimes sex can become addictive, and like with any other addiction, it can ruin lives. Patricia is in her mid-thirties, and to those who know her, she is a soccer mom with a successful career. But after her marriage ended due to her husband’s affair, Patricia became insecure, and started exploring dating sites on the internet – soon, Patricia was going on dates, sex dates - and in an interview with the Philadelphia Weekly, she admits that she is addicted to sex, and there is a problem. The American Psychiatric Association and Diagnostic (APAD) and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) don’t recognize the abuse of sex as an addiction. Although not recognize as an addiction, the abuse of sex has the same qualities as drug addiction and should be recognized as a medical condition.
Substance disorders affects all social, educational, cultural, and age groups. Substance abuse research often focusses on the abuser and the family as a whole but not how it affects their spouse. United States misuse is linked to approximately 590,000 deaths and is responsible for injury or illness to almost 40 million individuals every year. (Cox, R., Ketner, J. & Blow, A. 2013). The consequences resulted from this disorder, are not only related to the substance abusers, but also have a great influence on their behavior and other layers of their life, especially their wives (Salehyan, Bigdeli, & Hashemian 2011). When the husband or boyfriend has an addiction the wife takes on responsibilities of her spouse which causes an increase in stress. Marriage is generally described as a protective factor against substance use. The concept of codependency was developed to explain what happens to the spouse of a substance abuser.
Hyper Sexual addiction is a disorder that can be defined as a person having a habitually elevated sex drive, fantasies, and urges. Nevertheless, compared to other sexual addictions, this could be known as one of the most riskiest and dangerous addiction. Hyper Sexual Addiction has become more prevalent because of the infidelities amongst some celebrities and political figures. Sexual addiction has always existed, but because of technology and social media, people have become more aware of it. People who suffer from this disorder are like drug addicts that crave drugs; they think they can stop, but the urges are constantly there. According to An Elements Behavioral Health article (2016), for the sex addict, sexual activity provides an intense,
The repeated use of drugs often causes both physical and psychological dependence, as mentioned in an article by the Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (“Drug Dependence”). In order for an individual to truly be set free from their addiction, seeking treatment is necessary. Rehab centers are a great place with scientifically proven methods to cure those addicted to drugs. It is important to try to end drug use in our country, rather than allowing it to continue longer than it already has. While funding for rehabilitation facilities could become an issue, drug users may continue their addiction without proper treatment, and therefore those arrested for drug use should be sent to a rehabilitation center instead of prison.
Willoughby, B. J., & Vitas, J. (2012). Sexual desire discrepancy: The effect of individual differences in desired and actual sexual frequency on dating couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(2), 477-86. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9766-9
While alleged sex addictions have existed for many years, they have only recently been accepted as valid excuses for sexual deviancy. Attitudes toward sex addiction in the past offer a stark contrast to how it is viewed today, as the constantly medicalizing society insists on putting everything under the technical microscope. Sex addiction is commonly associated with a person’s inability to control his sexual behavior, implying an abnormally high sex drive and obsession with sex which have negative effects on his personal life (MedicineNet 2007, 1). Rather than breaking down the science behind the disorder, a customary practice in today’s medicalized society, older attitudes towards sex addiction placed it under the same light as alcoholism, where a lack of control and unwillin...
The ranges of sexually addictive behaviors are various. Sexual addictive behaviors include, but are not limited to compulsive masturbation, multiple affairs, unsafe sex, sexual anorexia, multiple or anonymous partners, pornography viewing, phone or cybersex, voyeurism, and exhibitionism (National, Sex). Despite the differences in the acting out behaviors, sexual addictions all have the same common denominator in their origins and aspects in relation to their developments. Thus, the underlying causes are the same.
Addiction, a compulsive psychological need for a habit-forming substance according to an online dictionary (p). In this instance, the substance is sex or masturbation. A sex addict needs progressively more and more explicit pornographic material in order to become aroused. Their behavior becomes centered on different sexual experiences and the desire to attain them. The person cannot control their sexual appetites resulting in severe consequences for themselves and others. Sex addiction is a lifelong problem that needs to be contained in order to avoid continued complications. Shame, secretiveness, and abusiveness in a person accompany the addiction. Treatment is available in different forms; however, because this subject is relatively new a cure is not known. An important question is arising around this subject is whether or not sex addiction results from nature or nurture.
A vast amount of men and women suffer from some type of sexual dysfunction. Researchers have identified a number of factors that may contribute to or perpetuate sexual dysfunction, including, but not limited to, performance anxiety. Performance anxiety is defined as an obsession about the adequate pleasing of one’s partner during the act of sexual intercourse. Rather than focusing on the pleasurable benefits that one can receive from intercourse, the individual experiencing performance anxiety is focused on how well he or she is performing (McCabe, 2005). Oftentimes, someone who suffers from a sexual dysfunction experiences increased performance anxiety because he or she feels that the dysfunction inhibits performance, thus they think the sex is not satisfactory for their partner.
...uch a key impact, it is important that when an issue does arise to take action. All of the sexual dysfunctions can be treated by going through sex therapy. This is where they can talk out their issues that could be causing the sexual dysfunctions and also it can give them ideas and tips to use to enhance the sexual relationship. (Nevid & Ruthus, 2005).
Sexual addictions of any kind can continue to progress in stages that may include child pornography, violence and pain, prostitution, rape and even serial killing. The overexposure of sexual imagery is creating a tolerance not only to the images presented but also to the crimes that go along the continuous craving for more and more extreme pornographic material to satisfy a sexual need. The key here is that people are after more and more sex, not a sexual relationship. The relationship part is gone and sadly, people just want to live the moment, satisfy a sexual need and walk away without any regard to the damage they might cause.
There are five types of internet addiction. The first is Net-Gaming. People with this addiction participate in online games, Multi User Dungeon Games (MUDs), will visit virtual casinos, and my become obsessed with e-auctions and online trading and shopping. Another type of internet addiction is Cyber-Relational Addiction. People with this tend to make chat room relationships more important than their relationships with family or friends. They may even try to meet someone personally after meeting him or her online. The third type of internet addiction is Information Overload. People become obsessed with tracking down certain information and organizing it.