You’ve most likely seen sexual addiction depicted in television shows and movies. The addict’s behavior usually garners a chuckle or two and then the character overcomes his or her predicament and all is well. However, like any other addiction, sexual addiction is no laughing matter. Sex addiction, or “sexual compulsion,” refers to an unusually intense sex drive and uncontrollable sexual behavior. The addict becomes overly obsessed with sex, so much so that it negatively impacts other areas of their life including work, relationships, and mental and physical health.

Sexual addiction is generally regarded in one of two ways—the first theory is that it is addiction, like that of drugs or alcohol, where a state of euphoria or a “high” is experienced; the other is that it is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder. However it is defined, sex addiction is considered a progressive illness, meaning that the addictive behavior intensifies the longer it goes untreated. Experts believe an estimated three to six percent of Americans are battling some form of sexual compulsion.

Signs and symptoms of a sexual addict may start innocently enough with excessive masturbation, obsessive use of pornography, or partaking in sex phone services. As the disorder develops, the severity of the symptoms increases. Addicts may compulsively date, engage in unsafe sex, and may have multiple or extra-marital affairs. These acts may not only harm the individual’s health, but can negatively impact their relationships with loved ones.

In the most severe cases, a sex addict will engage in illegal acts such as voyeurism, prostitution, molestation, or even rape. Although not all sex addicts become sex offenders and vice versa, it is estimated that 55 percent of convicted sex offenders have a sexual addiction. Interestingly, a person with sexual addiction generally doesn’t receive pleasure or satisfaction from the sexual act. Instead, they often use sex as an escape from other problems such as stress, depression, or anxiety. Many sex addicts have experienced some form of sexual or verbal abuse in their lives that has contributed to their compulsion.

Even though research on sexual addiction is growing, there are skeptics who claim the condition is not a “real” addiction. Many critics believe sexual compulsion is a narcissistic act and a byproduct of society—nothing more. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has yet to include the diagnosis in its compendium of mental disorders although it does include a miscellaneous diagnosis for sexual disorders.

Treatment for sexual addiction may prove tricky at first because many individuals with this disorder feel embarrassed and shameful, making it difficult for them to acknowledge that they have a problem. Once an individual admits they have an addiction, their recovery follows a similar plan to those of other addictive and behavioral treatments. Patients are encouraged to become involved in group therapy, a 12-step program, and one-on-one therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Medication may also be prescribed. The goal behind the therapy is for the patient to learn how to control their compulsive behavior while maintaining a healthy sexual lifestyle.

Overcoming any type of addiction is highly challenging and sexual addiction is no exception. Under the guidance of a physician or clinical therapist and by having the willingness to change, any individual dealing with this addiction can be treated.

Pornography feeds an addiction that produces a chemical reaction in the brain that is very similar to the reward experienced by drug users. The individual may or may not be also battling sexual compulsivity. A positive identification of this disposition as well can lead to an ongoing problem that extends beyond accessing images by way of a magazine or a computer.

The individual dealing with sexual compulsivity is more likely to act out the images accessed with one or more partners. This individual is also more likely to do so without protection, putting him or herself at risk, as well as every sexual partner who engages in such activities. For the individual who wishes to change their approach to pornography and sex, the good news is treatment is available.

Pornography can have significant power over an individual as it can tap into intense emotional, biological and chemical connections throughout the brain and the entire body. Sexual processes, including that of sexual compulsivity, trigger the brain as it narrows to focus the release of a tidal wave of endorphins and other neurochemicals such as dopamine, norepinephrine, ocytocina and serotonin.

Such natural drugs produce a significant rush or high for the individual. When these neurochemicals are produced as a result of sexual compulsivity, they are often referred to as the “fearsome four” as they can generate a severe addiction and promote negative consequences. In fact, the neurochemical release as a result of pornography viewing or acting on sexual compulsivity is viewed by some scientists as the most powerful drug available.

Researchers believe this sexual compulsivity that is driven by pornography – especially when there is the reward of masturbation – is extremely powerful to overcome. The immediate and powerful thrill the individual experiences highly motivates them to repeat the behavior. Therein lies the argument that individuals do not develop an addiction directly to pornography, but instead to the mood-changing feelings they experience when porn is used.

Not all individuals who view pornography develop an addiction or sexual compulsivity, yet researchers estimate 3% to 6% of the general population is addicted. To better understand how to recognize sexual compulsivity, look at how the activity affects the user’s life and then examine why the user is turning to the activity. Not everyone who views pornography will become addicted to the activity or the endorphin rush, but it is a dangerous game to play when the consequences can exceed the reward.
 

This preoccupation is also known as sexual compulsivity, a heterogeneous psychological construct that can lead to acting on certain sexual desires and result in disruptions in social relationships, an inability to maintain a job and even problems with living a normal life. Sexual compulsivity is not considered to be a formal psychiatric diagnosis and is not synonymous with sexual addiction or hypersexuality.

Research into sexual compulsivity has identified a correlation between HIV-AIDS and sexual risk practices, which can include activities that transmit the HIV virus to sex partners that are uninfected. A 1997 study by Kalichman, Greenberg, and Abel found that HIV-positive men who had engaged in unprotected sexual activities with a number of different sexual partners in recent months scored higher on the scale of sexual compulsivity than those who engaged in high risk activities that involved only one sexual partner.

Another study conducted by Benotsch, Kalichman, and Kelly found that these same men that scored higher and had HIV tended to engage more frequently in sexual acts with partners while unprotected. They also report a higher rate of cocaine use in combination with their sexual activity and considered their high-risk sexual acts as more pleasurable.

Focusing on the same issue in 2001, Benotsch, Kalichman and Pinkerton studied HIV-positive men and women to get a grasp on their sexual compulsivity. Those who scored higher in sexual compulsivity for both genders proved to engage in more anal and vaginal intercourse with sexual partners who were either HIV-negative or of unknown HIV status compared with individuals who scored lower on the sexual compulsivity scale.

According to predictions that emerged as a result of this study, four times as many new HIV infections were predicted among individuals with higher sexual compulsivity. Those who scored highly on this scale and were already HIV positive were more likely engage in cocaine use and return higher scores on psychopathology measures.

While it was easy to assume when HIV and AIDS first emerged on the scene that this was a disease that affected only the homosexual crowd, the findings of the studies mentioned here suggest sexual compulsivity played a much larger role than sexual orientation. And, while many of these individuals engaged in activities that put their lives – and the lives of others – at risk, the increased danger only seemed to heighten the pleasure of engagement.
 

Worth told Metro UK that he has been kicked off of Facebook four times. He now says he’s back on Facebook, posing as a woman named Carol Peters, with a photo of model Coralie Robinson. He told Metro that he hopes this tactic will help him attract more women.

Worth also claims to have been removed from dating sites PlentyofFish.com, DatingDirect.com, and Match.com. He says he has about three to four dates per week and collects undergarments as “trophies.”

Worth told BBC News in 2004 that DatingDirect.com removed him because women complained that he was only interested in sex, not commitment. At the time he told the BBC he would keep using dating sites until he’s 80.

Sources: Huffington Post, Catharine Smith, Clive Worth Claims He Was Booted Off Facebook for Bedding Women, July 20, 2010

Fox Chattanooga, Man Claims Facebook Banned Him for Sleeping with 300 Women, July 21, 2010

http://deadspin.com/5597595/a-return-from-gentle-path-the-humiliation-of-an-addict-in-sex-rehab?skyline=true&s=i

It’s an honest, eye-opening story of the process of getting clear on what sex addiction is and revealing the depths a person goes to when caught in the grips of this obsession.

When we think of Internet porn, we often imagine a 20-something guy in his room taking care of business while flipping through pictures and videos. However, more and more women are getting hooked on Internet porn. Teens are exposed to porn at a younger age than ever – and their curiosity often gets the best of them. This early exposure to porn could be detrimental to their sexual development.

Porn and sex addiction, like any addiction, gets worse over time. Many porn addicts will tell you they have to escalate the type of porn they view to get the same effect. Sounds a lot like drug addiction, doesn’t it? The brain reacts to the visual stimuli, the viewer becomes aroused, and endorphins are released. They might start with straightforward videos then move toward those with themes that would make the average adult cringe: animals, violence, feces, and other shocking topics

Rob Weiss of the Sexual Recovery Institute says that if you reach orgasm by viewing pornography on a regular basis, you will “attach to sex as object relationships as opposed to intimate relationships.” The obsession destroys intimacy because rather than relational it becomes object oriented.

Partners of those addicted to pornography may feel the other person is detached, even cold – and may not appreciate the “new ideas” they bring to the bedroom.

The Washington Times recently completed a survey and found that one in six women watch online pornography. In 2006, Internet Filter Review released survey results that showed 17 percent of women say they struggle with porn addiction. They also reported that over 9 million women access porn each month, and some 17 per cent accessed porn at work. Some studies suggest that over 30 percent of visitors to porn sites are now women.

One of the reasons for this increase in women’s interest in porn is likely the ease of accessibility. Certainly women are not comfortable walking into a sex shop filled with men so they can browse the magazines and videos. Now they can browse all they want, anonymously.

Some studies also suggest that the more women use pornography, the more likely they will be victims of rape, just as other studies suggest a correlation for men: the more porn they watch, the more likely they are to commit rape.

For this study, Dr. Lique Coolen and colleagues wanted to see whether the mPFC is involved in inhibition of sexual behavior. Using rats, the researchers found that lesions on the mPFC result in compulsive sexual behavior, but did not alter sexual performance of the learning associated with reward in the brain.

This suggests that the mPFC regulates impulsive sexual behavior once the behavior is associated with aversive outcomes. The rats with lesions were probably capable of associating the behaviors with aversive outcomes but couldn’t suppress seeking a sexual reward, even with negative consequences. This parallels compulsive sexual behavior in humans, as people are driven to compulsive sexual behavior regardless of negative outcomes.

The results may help researchers better understand a common pathology that underlies impulse control disorders.

Source: Science Daily, Frontal Cortex Dysfunction May Contribute to Compulsive Sexual Behavior, Study Suggests, June 10, 2010. 

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder that affects the central nervous system and is characterized by tremors and impaired motor skills, speech, and physical movement caused by a deficiency of dopamine in the motor cortex. There currently is no cure for the disease first identified in 1817 by English apothecary James Parkinson, but symptoms can improve with surgery or medications. Dopa-decarboxylase inhibitors are considered the ‘gold standard’ of medications in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease yet has the potential to cause problems of the liver, so dopamine receptor agonists are more commonly used for treatment. While both types of medications are prone to causing side effects, the latter has been linked with causing risk-taking behavior and impulse-control disorders such as problem gambling, sex addiction, and overeating. Pergolide, the second drug involved in the Australian lawsuit, was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2007 following several reports of heart valves damage caused by the medication in Parkinson’s disease patients.

The Federal Court in Melbourne will hear claims from several of the individuals involved in the lawsuit on Friday, June 11. Some claimants will describe to the court how the prescription medications caused them to experience increasingly progressive gambling addictions and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to their problem gambling. Others relate how the medications induced compulsive sexual behavior that led to such sex addictions as pornography addiction. Their addictions, the claimants state, shattered their home lives by destroying trust, safety, and wellbeing. The individuals were prescribed the medications from 1997 to 2009, and allege that their addiction disorders ceased after quitting their medications at the end of this time frame. Both Cabaser and Permax are typically prescribed to individuals under the age of 65 who are suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

The Melbourne law firm representing the claimants will claim that the two pharmaceutical companies breached their provision of care and safety to consumers by (1) failing to properly research the possible side effects of the drugs, (2) failing to provide proper warning about the increased risks of compulsive disorders, and (3) failing to withdraw the drugs from the market after becoming aware of these increased risks.

A recent study published in the May 2010 issue of the Archives in Neurology journal researched 3,090 patients prescribed dopamine receptor agonists for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, and found them to be 2 to 3.5 times more susceptible to impulse-control disorders. Around 13.6% of participants exhibited impulse-control symptoms, of which 5.7% engaged in compulsive shopping, 5% engaged in problem gambling, 4.3% engaged in overeating, and 3.5% engaged in compulsive sexual activity. Additionally, 3.9% had comorbid impulse-control disorders. 

The study concludes that additional research to improve prevention and treatment methods is needed. Dopamine receptor agonists are currently considered effective and preferred methods of treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Health officials are aware of the drugs’ potential to cause impulse-control behaviors, but patients may not recognize symptoms right away since they develop overtime. If patients are experiencing noticeable side effects from their medications, they should immediately consult their doctor. The current claim in Australia parallels other cases against Parkinson’s disease prescriptions that have passed in the United States, Britain, and Canada.

"It was a hell of an expensive party, let me tell you," Taylor told 60 Minutes in a 2004 interview. "That party never ended."

The former New York Giants linebacker had a highly publicized struggle with drug addiction and had multiple legal run-ins before he was arrested and charged Thursday in the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl. "I saw coke as the only bright spot in my future," Taylor told 60 Minutes, in 2004.

"I had gotten really bad. I mean my place was almost like a crack house, not where you sold it, but I had a lot of stuff in my house," Taylor said in the interview, adding that at the time he didn’t want to know anyone who wasn’t an addict, dealer, or hooker.

In 2001, Taylor was convicted of possessing drug paraphernalia in New Jersey. The conviction stemmed from the September 1998 discovery in a hotel room of a butane torch and other materials commonly used to smoke crack cocaine.

In 1996 and 1997, he was arrested in South Carolina and Florida on drug charges. In those cases, he either admitted his guilt or agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program.
In 2000, he drew five years of federal probation for filing false tax returns and for tax evasion.

Taylor was arrested Thursday in connection with the rape of a 16-year-old girl in a suburban New York City hotel room, and another man is accused of bringing her there, police said.

He was arrested at a Holiday Inn in Suffern, said Christopher St. Lawrence, supervisor of the town of Ramapo. The alleged victim, at 16, is one year below the legal age of consent in New York, St. Lawrence said.

I examined the toughest addictions to quit, and found that love was the worst. But recent research has indicated a seriously disturbing addiction that is more commonplace than most people realized: pornography.

Senator Chuck Grassley asked for an investigation of SEC computers. You know the SEC—the Securities and Exchange Commission—the group charged with policing Wall Street to enforce any new financial regulations that are passed?

What may give us pause is that the SEC is the group that was supposed to police all of those derivative instruments and credit default swaps. In fact, the SEC couldn’t catch Bernie Madoff despite being offered explicit road maps to his Ponzi scheme, as Harry Markopolos revealed in his book No One Would Listen. Markopolos believes—surprise!—that all kinds of fraud are going on in the financial industry and that SEC enforcement wouldn’t recognize a crime if they saw a bank being robbed.

But back to the Grassley-inspired investigation, which was conducted by the SEC Inspector General’s office (and what have they been doing up until now?). This vigilant watchdog found over 30 people repeatedly viewing porn on government computers—during the financial meltdown! Seventeen porn viewers were at senior levels of the SEC.

Here are the worst two cases involving senior officials, one a lawyer and the other an accountant:

• The attorney spent up to eight hours a day viewing and downloading pornography. When he ran out of hard drive space, he burned the files to DVDs, which he kept in boxes around his office. This man was promoted to head of the SEC (or is that SEX)—kidding!—he resigned. (Wonder what he’s doing with the free time he now has?)

• The accountant was blocked more than 16,000 times in a month from visiting porn websites, but by diligent application, he still amassed a large collection of porn on his hard drive. This guy is now head of the SEC! Not, but he still works there, after a two-week suspension.

Visualize, if you will, someone trying 16,000 times in a month to outwit blocks to his getting to his one true desire, or someone spending all day at work compulsively lusting over porn. Tell me—is that an addiction? Come on. You know what porn is when you see it. Surely you can detect when something’s addictive. Let’s just hope they don’t put Harry Markopolos in charge of investigating everybody’s computers!

And this porn-seeking behavior is at the top of the addictive pile (remember, these guys then went home to their personal computers). Heroin addicts don’t spend all day and night shooting up. They rest sometimes.