“YES” on sex addiction

Sex addiction is alive and well. It may not cross your mind that often or jump out at you, but this sickness is literally everywhere.

There are numerous terms for this specific addiction, such as “sexual dependency”, “sexual compulsivity”, and “hypersexuality”. Sounds more like someone who just really likes sex, right? The truth is that it’s something much stronger than just an urge.

“Sex addiction” is not listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but “hypersexuality disorder” is being considered for the next addition.

Studies of sex addiction have not been around long enough to officially deem it as a true addiction. Sexologists do not collectively accept the existence of this condition, and its origin and legitimacy are constantly being questioned.

According to BBC News, after more recent discoveries much like the “Tiger Woods scandal”, sexologists and psychologists are both taking a closer look at the disease.

But what causes all of this?

Some say it originates in childhood due to some sort of sexual encounter. Child molestation is a commonly recognized problem in today’s society and something so traumatic can easily influence someone’s unconscious urge for sexual pleasure. Who is more vulnerable and innocent than children? In relation, “child molesters represent the largest group of sexually addicted offenders, 71% of them being sex addicts,” Robert Weiss, Executive Director at the Sexual Recovery Institute, said.

Some say the cause is from all the pornography that’s so easily accessible through the Internet. A study done by Stanford University and published in the Washington Times in 2000 said, “sex is the number one topic searched on the Internet.” Now, that was ten years ago and the Internet was substantially evolved since then. Can you imagine the sites that are accessible today? It’s no wonder why there are so many perverts and addicts out there.

An important fact to understand is that women are just as likely to become addicted to sex as men are. This is especially true for women in a society where sex is often treated as a service. Our culture discourages women from being aggressive and direct in the appearance of their sexual needs, thus encouraging a less direct and potentially seductive or controlling style. Some women go beyond these culturally approved behaviors and use sex compulsively as a means of gaining power and love.

Still not convinced? Still don’t believe that sex addiction is real? Recall Tiger Woods’ sexual escapade with nearly 10 women in late 2009. In his self-ridiculing announcement that he made to a nation wide audience a few weeks ago, Tiger Woods never used the words sex addiction, an article from the New York Times said, but the things he said and the promises he made sounded a whole lot like a 12-step-program. He admitted to attending a 45-day rehabilitation program, and yet he still did not verbally say he was a sex addict. Is he ashamed of his addiction or is it merely an excuse?

If you know anyone who might have a sex addiction or an addiction to pornography please confront him or her about it. This sort of thing is not something to ignore or brush off.