Sex Addiction Increasing, Reaching More Age Groups

Sex addiction is probably more common than most people believe and may affect up to nine million Americans, according to a report in Newsweek.

Sex Tourism Industry May Attract as Many as 40 Percent of International Tourists in Some Countries

In a shocking statistic, a recent philStar news report says that as many as 40 percent of men who travel to the Philippines for recreation are seeking sex. Officials are striving to toughen penalties and investigations for what they describe as human trafficking. The practice has also been referred to as sex tourism, and officials could also create new prosecutions for people who engage in cybersex.

Art Imitates Life in Struggle with Sex Addiction

People have been struggling with relationship, love and sex addiction for decades, but it has taken awhile for public awareness to catch up. As celebrities come forward and sex addiction treatment programs spring up around the nation, the dark and painful world of sex addiction makes its way to film and theater.

Counselor Says Sexual “Hook-Up” Sites Can Be Addictive

Millions of people engage in sexual conversations, sex acts or photo exchanges online, but now experts are asking whether these sites could be addictive. The sites are designed to join strangers together, many times at random, for the goal of engaging in sexual activities online. While some say the sites are harmful as a distraction from real-life relationships, others say the use of online sexual hook-up sites leads to sexual addiction and carries serious emotional consequences.

Sexting Affects Adults with Lifetime Consequences, and Not Just Teens

Sexting isn’t just a behavior teens get caught up in, say experts. Sending illicit photographs or messages via a cell phone is a behavior many adults can also find becomes addictive.

The term “sexting” is gaining recognition nationwide, in light of the recent report of Congressman Anthony Weiner sending sexual photographs of himself to multiple women. Weiner is alleged to be seeking professional help for a problem that has not been officially named, creating questions around the behavior of sexting and the topic of sexual addiction.

Sexual Addiction Comparable to Drug Addiction

Sexual addiction: its effects are catastrophic, and it’s a serious condition comparable to drug addiction. Even so, as numbers of treatment centers for sexual addiction increase, along with media attention toward celebrities with the addiction, the seriousness of the disorder has yet to be grasped by many sectors.

Both drug addictions and sexual addictions cause dopamine levels to increase in the brain, creating a sense of pleasure and release. Over time, people with sexual addiction can build a tolerance to pornography, sex with their partner or multiple partners, masturbation or other outlets – needing more of the material to get the desired high.

Founder of Sexual Recovery Institute Explains Sexual Addiction as True Diagnosis

The most recent celebrity to grab media attention for sexual behavior is Arnold Schwarzenegger, prompting more experts to debate the difference between sexual addiction and poor decision-making related to sex. Some speculate that if the terms "sexual addiction" and "hypersexuality" join the official listings of diagnosable disorders in the forthcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-V, people will fall back on these titles as an excuse for sexual promiscuity, infidelity or even sexual assault.

People Seeking Sexual Addiction Treatment, Including Celebrities, Fueling More Research into the Disorder

It’s straight from the mouths of the experts at addiction treatment centers – the numbers of people with sexual addictions are rising.

Even though addictions to sex, hypersexuality and sexual compulsivity have been the source of debate over official diagnoses, addiction experts say the numbers of people seeking treatment for the conditions continues to grow, as noted in an April 2011 article on the Online Journal.

One-Stop Clinics Claiming Injections for Male Sexual Dysfunction are Source of Legal Action

A “one-stop’ treatment for erectile dysfunction is luring men in to a California clinic and then encouraging them to spend large amounts of money on continual injections for impotence – without warnings of the potentially life-threatening consequences, such as priapism.

Addiction, Including Sexual Addiction, Becomes Even More Complicated in Light of “Natural Addictions”

The definition of addiction is becoming broader, and perhaps more convoluted as American adults work through addictions to sex, alcohol, drugs, food and prescription painkillers – a topic addressed recently by Maia Szalavitz writing for a Time Healthland report.  Addiction is a mainstream topic among celebrities and laypeople; it’s boosting the numbers of treatment centers; and it’s popping up with Senators and lawmakers nationwide.

Still, the topic of sexual addiction continues to raise eyebrows and generate new concerns for the health of families across the country. In April 2011, more than 40 Senators asked Eric Holder, Attorney General, to strengthen the legal consequences for pornography for its link to sexual addiction, Cybersex and online sexual crimes. 

In the statement from Senators to Holder, sexual addiction is described in the same terms as substance abuse addictions, in which the brain begins to believe that the activity is needed in order to exist. Research is backing theories that sex causes a similar brain-level response as does illegal drugs, coining the phrase “natural addiction” – referring to addictions that come from typical, natural behaviors like eating or sexual activities. However, for the person with sexual addiction or compulsive sexual behaviors, the ability to stop the behavior once the negative consequences set in has been lost.