Table of contents:
- What is sex addiction or hypersexuality?
- Does sex addiction really exist?
- Causes of sexual addictions
- Hypersexuality: main causes
- Hypersexuality: symptoms
- Diagnostic criteria for hypersexuality
- Treatment of sex addiction or hypersexuality
- How to treat sexual addictions?
By Inma Ortega López. Updated: 9 January 2019
Sex addiction or hypersexuality is a disorder characterized by an urge and an urgent need to have sex. A person with a sex addiction desperately seeks to have relationships, these are usually risky and with a loss of control in the sexual act. This problem can have different causes and must be treated before it generates problems in our intimate life.
Like other types of addiction, hypersexuality can lead to tolerance and dependence. Therefore, a person addicted to sex can end up not enjoying sex and feeling a deep discomfort when they are not intimate. Do you want to know more about sex addiction, its causes, symptoms and treatment ? Then keep reading what you will find below. In the following Psychology-Online article, we are going to talk in detail about sex addiction or hypersexuality.
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- Causes of sexual addictions
- Hypersexuality: symptoms
- Diagnostic criteria for hypersexuality
- Treatment of sex addiction or hypersexuality
What is sex addiction or hypersexuality?
Also known as satiriasis or nymphomania, this sexual conduct disorder is characterized by an uncontrollable urge to have sex. It is also defined as
A very curious characteristic of sex addiction is that pleasure during sexual intercourse tends to decrease (tolerance) and the feeling of discomfort increases in periods when intercourse is not maintained (dependence).
This process can be observed in other addictions, such as addiction to marijuana or morphine, where the pleasant effects of the substances decrease and discomfort increases when the drug is not consumed.
Does sex addiction really exist?
For a long time this disorder has not been clinically recognized as such, being in most cases hidden by shame of those who suffered from it, and treated from society with frivolity. Known for many years under the names of nymphomania (uterine rage) in the case of women or satiriasis (of satyr) in the case of men, currently, it is encompassed under the name of hypersexuality.
Despite the fact that the DSM-V manual does not recognize this problem, the WHO has decided to include the term hypersexuality and high sexual behavior in its international classification of diseases.. So it is established as a risk disorder that must be treated.
Causes of sexual addictions
Although there is still no clear profile of the sex addict, it can be pointed out that it affects approximately 6% of the population, most of them being men between 20 and 40 years old, although it also affects women, in both cases without distinction of social class or education.
As well pointed out by addiction experts (Echeburúa and Corral, 1999; Potenza, 2006) the causes of sex addiction are more linked to the relief of discomfort than to the search for sexual intercourse itself. Sex addiction is also characterized because the behavior is not purely sexual (there is no activation of desire), but rather the intimate relationship is sought to try to "escape" from a situation of internal discomfort or reduce a state of anxiety.
Hypersexuality: main causes
Normally, this pathology does not appear in isolation, but is usually one more symptom, generated and maintained by other types of problems such as anxiety disorders, low self-esteem, abuse in childhood, deficiencies in social skills, difficulties in controlling impulses and even bipolar disorder, alternating periods of high activity and lack of control in sexual behavior with others of relative calm, and even abstinence, related to the constant mood swings that these people usually suffer.
Hypersexuality: symptoms
We can ask ourselves when a sexual behavior, no matter how common it is, crosses the threshold of being considered normal to be considered a pathology. Well, here Rojas Marcos helps us with its definition to delimit it "Any type of obsession that interferes with the person's ability to lead a normal life, and that harms them in their personal and work relationships is a pathology."
- We can expand the concept by specifying that this specific pathology begins to be such when sex ceases to be used as a source of pleasure to become a way of avoiding other types of problems, we are unable to control the impulse, and carry it out Not only does it not produce satisfaction, but it also makes us feel guilty and increases our discomfort, entering a spiral where to reduce that discomfort we fall back into the behavior that produced it.
- In reality, hypersexuality in its origin is comparable to any other type of dependency, such as drugs, alcohol or gambling; We could talk about addictive personalities with a tendency to develop addictions, substitute one for another, or even a combination of several at the same time, so the problem is more basic, and cannot be treated in isolation.
- Like any other dependency, it is related to the neurochemical changes that occur in our brain, in this case caused by sexual intercourse, continuously looking for the sensations that these changes report, which are not only related to pleasure itself, and treating to eliminate withdrawal syndrome.
In this addiction, there is also a progressive escalation looking for increasingly intense stimuli, if the first step can be fantasies, soon one passes to compulsive masturbation and massive consumption of pornography, when this is not enough, disorderly sexual relations begin. and without control, in appointments or one-night stands both with strangers wanted anywhere and going to prostitution, and in many cases even leaving aside protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
Diagnostic criteria for hypersexuality
As we have said before, the DSM-V diagnostic manual ended up declining the proposal to introduce sex addiction in its new edition. However, in that same incorporation proposal, the following diagnostic criteria were defined:
A. For at least six months, recurring and intense sexual fantasies and sexual urge, as well as sexual behaviors associated with four or more of the following five criteria:
- Excessive amount of time spent on sexual fantasies and desires, as well as planning and performing sexual behaviors.
- Repeated sexual fantasies, desires, and behaviors in response to dysphoric moods (eg, anxiety, depression, boredom, irritability).
- Repeated sexual fantasies, desires, and behaviors in response to stressful life situations.
- Persistent but unsuccessful attempts to control or significantly reduce sexual fantasies, desires, and behaviors.
- Repeated involvement in sexual behaviors ignoring the physical, mental or emotional risk that it may pose to oneself or to other people.
B. The frequency or intensity of sexual fantasies, desires, and behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of the person's activity.
C. Sexual fantasies, desires, and behaviors are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (eg, a drug, a medication) or to manic episodes.
D. Subject is over 18 years of age.
Note: these diagnostic criteria have been fully extracted from the report " Does sex addiction really exist? " (Echeburúa, 2012, p.3)
Treatment of sex addiction or hypersexuality
It is important to re-emphasize the difference between a more or less promiscuous very active sexual life that does not pose problems for us and where we are satisfied with ourselves, from the cases in which this activity dominates us, controls us and brings us negative feelings.
Normally, a consultation is made when personal problems with our partner and our environment have become untenable, or we have even had problems with the law due to some type of sexual abuse, dealing with minors, voyeurism, public scandal, etc.
How to treat sexual addictions?
Whether for male hypersexuality or treating female hypersexuality, the treatment should be tailored to the case and not to the sex or gender of the person.
As always, the main thing is to admit and accept the problem, from there treatment is usually based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, combined in many cases with drugs and sexological counseling, and on a fundamental and specific basis in this addiction: an alcoholic can and should give up alcohol, like a gambler gambling, however a bulimic cannot stop eating to cure the addiction, nor can a sex addict do without it completely, because it is a fundamental part of the human being, and this It would be to skirt the problem without solving it, therefore it is about identifying what triggers this compulsion and learning to control the impulse when it is not appropriate.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Sex addiction or hypersexuality: causes, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our Addictions category.
References- Ministry of Health. (2010). International classification of diseases.
- Echeburúa, E. (1999). Addictions… without drugs? The new addictions (gambling, sex, food, shopping, work, Internet). Bilbao: Desclée de Brouwer
- Potenza, M. (2006). Should addictive disorders include non-substance related conditions? Addiction, 101 (Suppl. 1), 142-151.
- Echeburúa, E. (2012). Does sex addiction really exist? Addictions , 24 (4), 281-286.