The term “sexual addiction” is used to describe the behavior of a person who has an unusually strong sexual urge or an obsession with sex. Thoughts about sex always dominate the person’s thinking, making it difficult for him to concentrate on work, and engage in healthy personal relationships.
Sex addicts also love to take serious risks. Neglecting the negative consequences,
the person engages in differnt forms of sexual activities. In addition to
damaging the addict’s relationships, a sex addict also puts the person at risk
for emotional and physical injury.
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There are some peculiar traits that a sex addicts show in general. These behaviors are very important to diagnose a person with sexual addiction. The main symptoms and behaviors of a sex addict include :
- Compulsive masturbation / Addiction to masturbation : The person finds it very hard to miss masturbation a single day. Sometimes the person even masturbates several times in a single day.
- Having multiple affairs (extra-marital affairs) : A sexual addict has a very strong urge for sex. Along with such a strong sex drive, the person also tries to have multiple partners for sex. He finds it difficult to be satisfied with a single partners.
- Multiple or anonymous sexual partners and/or one-night stands : A person with sexual addiction seldom develop any emotional bond with his sex partner. He is always looking for a new sex partner which leads him to be a victim of several one night stands and multiple partners.
- Consistent use of pornography : This is also one of the important traits of a sexual addicts. They tend to be very fond of exploring pronographic material.
- Unsafe sex : As mentioned earlier sexual addicts love to play it unsafe and neglect the negative consequences that they may face later.
- Phone or computer sex (cyber sex) : Apart from pornography, sexual addicts often engage themselves in cyber and phone sex.
- Prostitution or use of prostitutes : In the search for a new sex partner and due to a never satisfying sexual drive, sexual addicts often have multiple sexual relations with prostitutes and call girls.
- Exhibitionism : This means that such people find it very interesting to “show off” in public.
- Obsessive dating through personal ads : This is also a common trait in sexual addicts.
- Voyeurism (watching others) and/or stalking : Sexual addicts tend to be very keen watchers. They keep staring at theopposite sex which becomes very uncomfortable for the other person.
- Sexual harassment : Cases of sexual harassment at home or in office are most often caused by sexual addicts.
- Molestation/rape : Sexual addicts sometimes cross all the limits of society and they indulge in rape and molestation without thinking about the consequences.
Generally, a person with a sex addiction gains little satisfaction from the sexual activity and forms no emotional bond with his or her sex partners. In addition, the problem of sex addiction often leads to feelings of guilt and shame. A sex addict also feels a lack of control over the behavior, despite negative consequences
How is sexual addiction treated?
Most sex addicts live in denial of their addiction, and treating an addiction is dependent on the person accepting and admitting that he or she has a problem. In many cases, it takes a significant event — such as the loss of a job, the break-up of a marriage, an arrest, or health crisis — to force the addict to admit to his or her problem.
Treatment of sexual addiction focuses on controlling the addictive behavior and helping the person develop a healthy sexuality. Treatment includes education about healthy sexuality, individual counseling, and marital and/or family therapy. Support groups and 12 step recovery programs for people with sexual addictions (like Sex Addicts Anonymous) also are available. In some cases, medications used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder may be used to curb the compulsive nature of the sex addiction. Ayurveda and Unani system of medicne has some very good medicnes for the treatment of sex addiction.
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