Some pros and cons about whether sex can be an addiction
It’s a very serious addiction, says Paula Hall, who runs a group therapy course for “sex addicts” in Warwickshire, and it’s believed about one in 20 people suffer from it.
Although not a chemical addiction like alcohol or heroin, it’s a “process addiction” like gambling, she says, with a biochemical element linked to the release of dopamine in the brain.
“It’s a compulsive need to seek out and follow a certain type of sexual behaviour. That behaviour varies but it’s basically an anaesthetising behaviour, something you are doing in order to avoid dealing with something else.
“It’s a coping mechanism and it’s totally and entirely out of control. You are continuing to pursue it in spite of the consequences, like losing your job, your status, your wife and your health.”
Addicts are usually men and they are of any age, she says, and from any background. The behaviour ranges from viewing online porn for a few hours a day, which is usually a starting point and then escalates, to visiting prostitutes at every opportunity.
“It’s a way of escaping from low self-esteem, feelings of anger and insecurity. It’s not really about sex. It’s driven by shame.
“You feel about yourself and one way to stop feeling bad about yourself is to do something nice, but afterwards you feel even worse about yourself.”
But others say
But Phillip Hodson, fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, says the term “addiction” is not appropriate for this behaviour, which would be better described as obsessive, compulsive or even greedy.
Some very successful men have a habit of thinking they can get away with anything, especially behaviour they view as exciting, he says.
“Sexual addiction is a relatively recent American, jargonized category of personality behaviour.
“It uses a medical model – ‘I’m an addict, I’ve got an illness and need a 12-step programme.’ But I don’t buy into it.”
Heroin withdrawal induces physical pain
There’s a difference in responding to your own adrenaline rush – which some people may receive from a passion for golf or Celine Dion – and craving a substance your body is addicted to