Exploring Love, Sexuality, Out-Of-Control Sexual Behaviors

The quest for love, passion, lust, desire, and living a healthy sexually satisfied life is a life-long journey. In a person’s life, there can be instances when sexual vitality and aggressiveness is no longer the same as it used to be. This may happen due to several factors such as aging or diminishing mental/sexual health, and could result in depression, anxiety, stress, and mental and physical traumas, among many other issues. Similarly, too much sex, alcohol, and drug intake can also lead to self-destructive sexual behavior, porn/love/sex compulsivity, dependency, or sexual dysfunctions or disorders.

Sex Addiction

Sex addiction, like any other form of addiction, is harmful for both the physical and mental health of a person. Furthermore, it has a very negative impact on the life and relationships of the addicted person. For example, having sex multiple times a day can leave a person exhausted, which can lead to lower productivity at work.

Types of Sexual Addictions

There are different kinds of sexual addictions found in people. While these sexual addictions can vary greatly from one another, they have one similarity – these addictions give rise to urges which the addict cannot control.

The main kinds of sexual addictions include:

  • Addiction to pornography and pornographic material
  • Excessive and frequent masturbation or sexual fantasy
  • Exhibition or voyeurism, which is a crime in some states
  • Sadistic behavior that can harm oneself
  • Masochistic behavior that can harm others
  • Prostitution that can result in contacting sexually transmitted diseases
  • Excessive sexual pursuits with multiple partners that can lead to issues committing to and maintaining a single relationship

Symptoms of Sexual Addiction

Sexual addiction can be confused with compulsive sexual behavior disorders, due to their similarity. However, there are some signs and symptoms that can be used to identify sex addiction, including:

  • Feeling depressed, lonely or sad
  • Having a negative self image and low self worth
  • Frequently indulging in various sexual acts, sometimes with multiple sexual partners
  • Having trouble maintaining a healthy or long-term relationship
  • Being a serial dater or have a string of past relationships
  • Having trouble committing to a partner, especially if they are not interested in having frequent intercourse
  • Being prone to other addictions apart from the sexual addiction
  • Having a compulsive and reckless behavior towards most things
  • Viewing sexual intercourse more as a pleasure act rather than one requiring an emotional connection
  • Might require frequent sexual intercourse to the point where it hinders daily life
  • Being told by previous partners that one has a problem or sexual addiction

How Can Sex Addiction Groups Helps?

Sex addiction groups help the affected person move towards a healthier path by helping them counter the root cause of their addiction. The aim of these groups is to help addicts find the healthiest way to counter and rid themselves of this sexual addiction, by identifying:

  • Cause of their addiction
  • Underlying emotional and psychological factors
  • Possible triggers
  • Ways to control their urges

Other things that might help are medication prescribed by psychiatrists to subdue the sexual drive, and counseling or therapy sessions with psychologists. Joining are rehabilitation center is also a good idea, since these centers have the necessary equipment, staff, and techniques to break all kinds of addictions.

We Help Rebuild Psychological Strength

Addressing your sexual problems is no easy feat. Whether you are going through an awkward phase or experiencing significant life changes such as loss, counseling can make things easier.
Not all sexual behaviors show up as an addictive disorder. Sometimes you have to make an in-depth analysis before providing a diagnosis for treatment. At Counseling Center for Sexual Health (CCSH), we help find a diagnosis of sexual addiction or sexually-related compulsive behavior via basic 3 C’s characteristics model; Control, Consequences and Compulsivity.

First, two C’s are rather simple and easily understandable. However, compulsivity is all about continually thinking out-of-control sexual behavior even if a person does not want to. At CCSH, we provide custom-tailored counseling or therapy to individuals who have different sexually-related compulsive behavior disorders.

Professionals or clinical therapists from all across the globe use these 3 C’s to assess and determine one’s range of sexual compulsivity and decide whether a problem may exist. There is a continuum of behaviors that range from masturbation and pornography through sexual exploitation. All can be determined through this test developed by Dr. Patrick Carnes, who is the pioneer to work with individuals exhibiting compulsivity around their sexual behaviors.

At CCSH, we specialize in sex therapy in Westlake Village and cater to the entire continuum of sexually-related issues, from mental health, sexual health, family, and marriage counseling issues. We also specialize in treating sexual dysfunction, porn addiction, love addiction, and sexually compulsive behaviors/addictions.

If you want to learn more about sexual addictions or other sexual disorders, and the best way to deal with them,then call us on (805) 308-9800, or leave us a message and we will get back to you on it as soon as possible.