Compulsive Sexual Behavior and Sex Addiction
Compulsive sexual behavior and sex addiction are both serious psychological ailments that can lead to a ton of issues for the people affected by them. Compulsive sexual behavior and sex addiction affect all aspects of a person’s life – whether it is his or her personal life, career, social life, or health.
Yet, what are compulsive sexual behavior and sex addiction, how can they affect a person, and what treatment options are available? Let us have a look…
What Is Compulsive Sexual Behavior?
Compulsive sexual behavior can be characterized as an extreme and repetitive obsession with sexual urges, fantasies, and behavior, which might become a cause of distress for the person affected by it. Compulsive sexual behavior might result in psychosocial impairment; and even if the afflicted person realizes that his or her behavior is abnormal, he or she still might not be able to control it.
Individual with compulsive sexual behavior tends to act impulsively and have no control over it.Furthermore, individuals with behavioral disorders are plagued by compulsive and obsessive thoughts, and are driven by them. These behavioral issues might amplify to such an extent that they start to interfere with the smooth running of the affected individual’s daily life.
Compulsive sexual behavior can be classified into two categories — the paraphilic and nonparaphilic compulsive sexual behavior.
Paraphiliccompulsive sexual behavior or paraphilia include behavioral disorders that are socially unacceptable such as pedophilia, sexual sadism, zoophilia, objectophilia, exhibitionism, fetishism, and more.
Non-paraphilic compulsive sexual behavior, on the other hand, covers more conventional sexual desires such as compulsive use of pornography, excessive masturbation, compulsive sexual acts, intercourse with a willing partner(s), and fixation on an individual.
What Is Sexual Addiction?
Sex addiction consists of a range of sexual behaviors, where sex addicts indulge such behaviors excessively to the point where their lives start to get negatively affected. However, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V has not recognized sexual addiction in the list of diagnosable conditions.
There are many different types of sexual addictions plaguing people today, including addiction to pornography, masturbation, sexual fantasy, exhibitionism or voyeurism, sadistic behavior, masochistic behavior, prostitution, and excessive sexual pursuits.
How Can They Be Treated?
Therapy, counseling, support groups, and behavioral correctional programs are some options that help in the treatment of both compulsive sexual behavior (paraphilic and non-paraphilic) and sexual addiction. There are some facilities as well that work on curing these behavioral issues so they do not negatively affect a person’s life and relationships.
The purpose of these treatments is to help the patient find out more about:
- signs and symptoms of the disease
- possible triggers
- coping strategies to help deal with urges
- create and execute goals to lead a normal life
Apart from therapy, medication can also be used in the treatment of compulsive sexual behavior, depending on the patient’s level of addiction and the effectiveness of other treatment options. The medication prescribed for compulsive sexual behavior aims to stabilize the patient’s mood and reduce obsessive sexual thoughts, by limiting the production of testosterone. Furthermore, the expert might prescribe the patient with anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, anti-androgens, and naltrexone, depending on the patient’s condition.
Are you plagued by compulsive sexual behavior? Do you want to overcome a sexual addiction? If so, then call (805) 308-9800, or leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.