Question by In a Quandary…: How can one get over SEX ADDICTION?
This is a serious query. I am genuinely seeking help in getting over my excessive promiscuity. I need practical advice to overcome my sexual addiction which seems to have invaded my senses. I am unable to put my mind elsewhere and spending all my free time to search for new partners.
Is Sexual Addiction a disease which can be cured through medication? Or can some counseling help in any way?
I am guy in India where there is lack of support for such issues. And the fact that I am gay, adds to my problems.
Best answer:
Answer by the guy behind the camara
try to get to a 12 step sex program in your state
Add your own answer in the comments!
Yes……………sex addiction is just like any other addiction.
You may be Bipolar, OCD, Anxiety…..
I’d see your family doc first………see if you have any underlying conditions then seek a Psychiatrist and/or Psychologist if needed.
Good Luck!
Check out the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, they are the same for sexual addiction. You need to pray to God/ Higher Power for help, and confide in another human being about your problem and be responsible to that person to start changing your behavior by talking with them daily (“one day at a time”) and eventually you can reduce that to less frequent contact.
Realize that you will regress sometimes but that the problem can be overcome with God’s/Higher Power’s help. Take it to a spiritual level by meditating and talking directly to your Higher Power who helps you. You can actually “talk” to God/Higher Power if thinking a thought doesn’t work for you.
Start doing something else other than searching for and viewing porn online, or seducing or being seduced by people. Cancel all websites that have online dating services. Try a long term relationship and being loyal to that person. Volunteer at a library, nursing home, or church to do some activity. Get with friends that don’t focus on sex talk but are active in other activities besides sexual encounters (sports activities like running, soccer, volleyball, etc. )
honestly you really need to find a hobbie that you find just as interesting and focus on accomplishment try it it really works…or get slap in the face with child support while some other guy raises your children…GOOD LUCK!
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I am not a psychiatrist, but i have studied that subject. You should try to quit slowly. Here are the facts:
Sexual expression is a natural part of a well-rounded life. But if you have an overwhelming need for sex and are so intensely preoccupied with this need that it interferes with your job and your relationships, you may have a problem called compulsive sexual behavior.
You may spend inordinate amounts of time in sexually related activities and neglect important aspects of your day-to-day life in social, occupational and recreational areas. You may find yourself failing repeatedly at attempts to reduce or control your sexual activities or desires.
Health experts use a number of labels for this potentially serious condition. Compulsive sexual behavior is sometimes called hypersexuality, nymphomania or erotomania. Others use the term “sexual addiction,” comparing it with the uncontrolled use of a drug. Others argue that it’s an issue of impulse control or obsessive-compulsive behavior.
No matter what name is attached to the behavior, compulsive sexual behavior is a very real affliction that interferes with everyday living. Current research indicates that compulsive sexual behavior is most common among men. Treatment may involve individual or group therapy and medications.
Signs and symptoms
Sexual behavior becomes a problem and is considered compulsive when it’s repeated often enough to interfere with your normal daily living and with your relationships. If your sexual behavior is compulsive, you may display it in a number of ways, including:
Having multiple sexual partners or extramarital affairs
Having sex with a succession of anonymous partners or prostitutes and treating them as objects to be used for sex
Using commercial sexually explicit phone lines and Internet chat rooms
Engaging in excessive masturbation
Using pornographic materials frequently
Engaging in masochistic or sadistic sex, such as experiencing sexual excitement by inflicting or receiving pain during sex
Exposing yourself in public
Often feeling compelled to engage in sexual activity when you’re stressed, anxious or depressed
People who are sexually obsessed can be married and appear to live otherwise normal lives, though they may have difficulty establishing and maintaining emotional intimacy.
Sexually obsessive behavior tends to be chronic, intense and beyond your control. Although you may seek gratification through sexually compulsive behavior, you’re unlikely to achieve fulfillment over the long term. In fact, you may feel that your life is becoming increasingly empty. People with compulsive sexual behavior often use sex as an escape from other problems, such as loneliness, depression, anxiety or stress.
Causes
Many experts believe that other psychological disorders underlie sexual obsessions and compulsions. Compulsive sexual behavior may be a maladaptive coping mechanism for other emotional problems, including mood and personality disorders.
For example, if you grew up in a dysfunctional family or were sexually, emotionally or physically abused as a child, you may have developed an unhealthy attitude toward sex. These early traumatic experiences may lead you to feel shameful and unworthy; these emotions can inhibit normal sexual expression and intimacy and can result in extremes in sexual activity. Many people who engage in compulsive sexual activity report a past history of sexual or physical abuse.
If you’re feeling lonely and depressed, you may perceive your sexual compulsions as a way of filling the voids in your life. But even if compulsive sexual behavior brings you short-term relief, your negative feelings are likely to return, often at an intensified level.
In some cases, the cause of compulsive sexual behavior can be a neurological disorder, such as epilepsy or dementia.
When to seek medical advice
Most people with compulsive sexual behavior need professional treatment. Attempts at self-care are usually unsuccessful because, by definition, a sexual compulsion tends to be beyond a person’s control.
Some questions you can ask yourself are:
Can I control my sexual behavior?
Is my sexual behavior hurting my relationships with friends and family, affecting my ability to work, or resulting in negative consequences, such as getting arrested?
Is sex constantly on my mind, even when I don’t want to be thinking about it?
If you’re concerned that you’re obsessed with sex, look for a doctor who specializes in treating sexual behavior disorders. Your family doctor may be able to give you the name of such a specialist, or you can contact a nearby major medical center and ask for a referral.
Complications
If you experience sexual obsessions and compulsions, you run the risk of wide-ranging negative consequences. For example, you may:
Neglect your partner or become deceitful in your marriage or other primary relationship. This can jeopardize or destroy the relationship.
Accumulate large financial debts in pursuing your sexual impulses by spending money on prostitutes, pornography and phone-sex lines.
Contract sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and place other partners at risk.
Be arrested for sexual offenses, such as exhibitionism or solicitation of prostitution.
Lose your focus at work, risking your job.
Cause an unwanted pregnancy.
Engage in other high-risk behaviors, such as abuse of drugs or alcohol.
Feel shame and guilt over your inability to control socially unacceptable behaviors that interfere with normal relationships.
Treatment
Fear, shame or embarrassment may make it difficult for you to initially seek treatment for compulsive sexual behavior, but it’s important for you to get help. Your doctor may suggest one, or a combination, of the following treatment options:
Psychological treatment. Individual or group therapy helps many people manage their sexual obsessions. In therapy you can begin to acknowledge that sex should be part of a loving relationship. You can also start to deal effectively with developmental or interpersonal issues instead of acting out in a sexual manner. Doctors sometimes recommend inpatient treatment, but most people do well in outpatient settings.
Marriage counseling. Marriage counseling is often necessary to help resolve the relationship problems that arise from sexual obsession.
Self-help groups. Groups such as Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA), Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) and Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) are modeled after the successful 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and may be helpful for some people who engage in compulsive sexual behavior.
Antidepressant medications. Your doctor may prescribe a drug such as fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) or sertraline (Zoloft) to reduce the anxiety and depression that are often associated with sexual obsession. Additionally, a decreased libido is often a side effect of these medications.
Naltrexone. This medication is used to help people addicted to drugs or alcohol. It blocks the pleasurable feeling or “high” associated with using these substances. There’s some evidence that naltrexone (ReVia) may also be helpful for treating people obsessed with sex.
seek medical attention by seeing a psychiatrist, therapist, psychologist, or counselor. my preference would be to see a psychiatrist. sex addiction sometimes is related to a chemical imbalance in the brain. only a psychiatrist can diagnose this and make proper recommendations for therapeutic recovery via medication and talk therapy.