jakec: Sexy AddictionAfter reading Russell Brand’s autobiography, I’ve been thinking a lot about sex addiction. Ever since I heard the term years ago, I’ve never questioned its legitimacy, but recently I’ve found that a lot of people, including sexologists, are skeptical about its existence. This evening I was occupying my time with the anti-intellectual crusaders that are the hosts of The 7PM Project when they broached this very subject. The show’s “resident medico”, slang for pretend doctor apparently, stated that sex addiction was not real. Why?In defending the existence of his own sexy disorder, Brand defines an addiction thusly: “[It] is a compulsive behaviour that you cannot control or relinquish, in spite of its destructive consequences” According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or DSM-IV, the psychologists bible), that is not an incorrect definition, though it is narrow. However, many believe that the behaviour Brand refers to is actually a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder and refer to it as “sexual compulsivity”. In rebuttal, Patrick Carnes, a doctor from Mississippi, adapted the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence to demonstrate the plausibility of sex addiction. Looking at the criteria, the main difference between the arguments for addiction and those for obsessive-compulsive disorder is the need to increase the intensity of the behaviour to achieve the desired effect. Therefore it seems logical that there are sufferers of either. I think our understanding, or at least our beliefs, of addiction are incredibly narrow if they can only be applied to drugs and alcohol. Why stop there? Why can’t people be addicted to sex? In what way is it different to drug addiction? These are not rhetorical questions, my friends, and I’d very much like to hear other opinions. Because if somebody doesn’t validate sex addiction soon, I’m gonna have real problems to deal with. Sex addiction definitely exists. Just as porn, gambling, and of course drugs and alcohol addictions exist. Your body because addicted to the feelings it makes you feel and craves more.

jakec:

Sexy Addiction

After reading Russell Brand’s autobiography, I’ve been thinking a lot about sex addiction. Ever since I heard the term years ago, I’ve never questioned its legitimacy, but recently I’ve found that a lot of people, including sexologists, are skeptical about its existence. This evening I was occupying my time with the anti-intellectual crusaders that are the hosts of The 7PM Project when they broached this very subject. The show’s “resident medico”, slang for pretend doctor apparently, stated that sex addiction was not real. Why?

In defending the existence of his own sexy disorder, Brand defines an addiction thusly:

“[It] is a compulsive behaviour that you cannot control or relinquish, in spite of its destructive consequences”


According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or DSM-IV, the psychologists bible), that is not an incorrect definition, though it is narrow. However, many believe that the behaviour Brand refers to is actually a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder and refer to it as “sexual compulsivity”. In rebuttal, Patrick Carnes, a doctor from Mississippi, adapted the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence to demonstrate the plausibility of sex addiction.

Looking at the criteria, the main difference between the arguments for addiction and those for obsessive-compulsive disorder is the need to increase the intensity of the behaviour to achieve the desired effect. Therefore it seems logical that there are sufferers of either.

I think our understanding, or at least our beliefs, of addiction are incredibly narrow if they can only be applied to drugs and alcohol. Why stop there? Why can’t people be addicted to sex? In what way is it different to drug addiction? These are not rhetorical questions, my friends, and I’d very much like to hear other opinions.

Because if somebody doesn’t validate sex addiction soon, I’m gonna have real problems to deal with.

Sex addiction definitely exists. Just as porn, gambling, and of course drugs and alcohol addictions exist. Your body because addicted to the feelings it makes you feel and craves more.