SEX ADDICTION

What is Sex Addiction?

“Sex addiction is a persistent and escalating pattern or patterns of sexual behaviours (such as masturbation, prostitution, pornography) acted out despite increasingly negative consequences to self or others.

Compulsive sexual behaviour — sometimes called hyper-sexuality, hypersexual disorder or nymphomania — is an obsession with sexual thoughts, feelings or behaviours that affects your health, job, relationships or other parts of your life.”

Understanding Sex Addiction

Compulsive sexual behaviour may involve a normally enjoyable sexual experience that becomes an obsession, and then prevents the forming of healthy relationship with others, or negatively impacts existing healthy relationships.

Compulsive sexual behaviour might also involve activities outside the bounds of culturally, legally or morally accepted sexual behaviour or fantasies. No matter what it’s called or the specifics of the behaviour, untreated compulsive sexual behaviour can damage a person’s self-esteem, relationships, career and other people.

Fortunately with treatment and self-help, compulsive sexual behaviour can be managed and urges controlled. If you enjoy sex, it does not mean you’re addicted.

If, however, your sex addiction is negatively affecting your relationships, is preventing you from forming a long-term, honest, loving relationships, or compels you to be deceptive, you may have an addiction and you should seek specialized help.