By Douglas Weiss, Ph.D. As the Executive Director at Heart to Heart Counseling Center for more than 20 years, Dr. Doug Weiss has had the opportunity to see many men and women walk in freedom from their sexual addiction. http://www.drdougweiss.com/
Q: What is Sex Addiction?
A: Sex addiction is a method of medicating feelings and/or coping with stress to the degree that one’s sexual behavior becomes the major coping mechanism in their life. The individual often cannot stop the sexual behavior for any great length of time by themselves. The sex addict spends a lot of time in the pursuit of his or her sexual behaviors/fantasies or they have a binge of sexual behaviors.
Q: Why do people become sexually addicted?
A: This is different for every sex addict but generally speaking there are biological, psychological, and spiritual reasons. The following is a short explanation. The biological addict is someone who has conditioned their body to receive endorphins and enkephlines (brain chemicals) primarily through reinforcing a fantasy state with the ejaculation that sends these chemicals to the brain. Psychologically, the need to medicate or escape physical, emotional or sexual abuse can demand a substance and the early addict finds the sex medicine usually before alcohol or drugs. Spiritually, a person is filling up the God hole in them with their sexual addiction. The addiction is their spirituality; it comforts them, celebrates them and is always available and present. Then there is the sex addict who can a mix of two or even three of the above reasons. This is why a specialist in sex addiction is the best route for recovery from sex addiction.
Q: What’s the difference between sex addiction and high sex drive?
A: I have heard this question on almost every national talk show or radio show I have been on over the years. A person with a high sex drive is satisfied with sex. It’s not about a fix for something; when their partner says “NO” it doesn’t make them go off the handle thinking their partner is totally rejecting them and have to leave the house or act out in some other way. If you can relate to the latter, chances are there may be an addiction issue
Q: Can you be addicted to masturbation?
A: Yes. This is by far the most common sex addiction that I have treated in working with sex addiction. This usually is the first sexual behavior many of us will have on a repeated basis. This is usually where the sexual compulsion starts and this behavior, regardless of other acquired behaviors, usually stays active. This behavior usually starts early in adolescence while the brain is still developing