Sex Addiction Facts – Signs of Sexual Addiction – Types of Sexual Addiction
Licensed to support clients in Washington, Georgia, Virginia, Vermont, South Carolina and Oregon
Sex Addiction Is Not Really About Sex
Sexual addiction is estimated to afflict up to 3-6% of the population. Any person struggling with addiction will begin to notice there is a problem when negative consequences come knocking. Examples include relationship challenges, mood disturbance, poor sleep, poor concentration, inability to quit behaviors despite consequences, financial trouble feelings of shame and disgust.
I provide online sex and love addiction counseling. I can help you decipher your history, identify triggers for acting out, and offer guidance and solutions to reduce problematic behaviors.
Sex and the desire for sex is natural and normal, but when we use it to escape our problems, things only get worse. Without treatment, sex addicts try to quit compulsive masturbation, porn viewing, paying for sex, purchasing erotic material, fantasizing about sex with others, with little success.
The goal for someone in active addiction is to feel less. When you can’t stop, you feel trapped. Men tend to objectify the object of their desires. Women often romanticize. If you are a woman, you might even relate more to the idea of “love addiction” better than sex addiction. Either way, no one is immune from sex addiction. These symptoms can manifest for anyone no matter sex, gender, race, or socioeconomic status.
Studies show that addictions have genetic factors, as well as environmental factors which cause someone to become susceptible to any addiction. Behavioral addictions (like sex addiction) do not require the ingestion of an outside substance. Sex addicts learn to manipulate the chemicals in their brains to get high. Addiction is often rooted in early childhood abuse and/or emotional, physical, spiritual, or sexual trauma.
A sex addict is someone who experiences life disruption or dysfunction due to habitual sexual obsessions and the compulsions of sexual addiction become progressively worse over time. A person engages in sex to “numb out” or feel high to escape problems or avoid intimacy, but the consequences of shame, guilt, or broken relationships incite more and greater acting out behaviors.
A love addict is someone who experiences an intoxicating rush when engaged in seduction or lust. It can also be exhibited as someone who has a pattern of intense, painful, or obsessive relationships; or who is clinging, desperate, and insecure in a current relationship. A love addict may also be someone who is love-averse or “love avoidant” (incapable of lasting feelings of attachment) but who is either addicted to a pattern of usually unsuccessful relationships, or who has what is termed “emotional anorexia” and may avoid relationship or commitment altogether.
Ten Signs of Sexual Addiction
A pattern of out-of-control behavior
Severe consequences due to sexual behavior
Inability to stop despite consequences
Persistent pursuit of self-destructive or high-risk behavior.
Ongoing desire effort to limit sexual behavior.
Sexual obsession and fantasy as a primary coping strategy.
Increasing amounts of sexual experience because the current level is no longer sufficient.
Severe mood change around sexual activity.
An inordinate amount of time spent obtaining sex being sexual or recovering from sexual experiences.
Neglect of important social, occupational, or recreational activities because of sexual behavior.
Carnes, 1988
There is a Solution
I offer two online groups for sexual addiction recovery. Mondays 6-8 pm PST and Wednesdays 3-6 pm EST. A pre-group individual appointment is required before admittance to the group. Please be ready to address problematic behaviors. The group meets weekly and requires a three-month commitment. Group fees for the month are due on the 1st of the month. Learn more. Schedule today.
Self-Diagnosis
I offer two online groups for sexual addiction recovery. Mondays 6-8 pm PST and Wednesdays 3-6 pm EST. A pre-group individual appointment is required before admittance to the group. Please be ready to address problematic behaviors. The group meets weekly and requires a three-month commitment. Group fees for the month are due on the 1st of the month. Learn more. Schedule today.

