Hyper Sexual Addiction Is A Disorder Essay

The sexual sins become a heavy steel chain that we cannot break free of once entwined. Equally hard to break as any other addiction, is that of sexual addiction.

“It can snatch any kid out of the home…It snatched me out of mine 20 years ago.” (Final Interview, 2:54-3:02 minutes). The addiction to pornography is often likened to that of a drug, “One should become addicted to it, and I look at this as kind of like an addiction. Like other kinds of addictions…you keep…I would keep looking for more potent, explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep craving something that’s harder…something…which gives you a greater sense of excitement.” (Final Interview,

To begin, pornography has addictive characteristics and because of those characteristics intimate relationships often suffer. Today, men and women tend to become addicted to watching pornography and use it to masturbate. It has been proven that “problematic pornography is characterized by a predominant urge for behavioral engagement, referred to as a craving” (Allen 67). If both parties of a relationship have this urge or craving for pornography, this could cause their relationship to suffer. The sexual act lacks love and intimacy and becomes mechanical or second natured. Pornography has been compared to addiction and people who are addicted enable each other. Therefore, there is no

Mark Lasser’s book “Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction” there are 4 major themes being explored, Part One: What is Sexual Addiction? Here Dr. Lasser explains what sexual addiction is, and what the three building blocks of sexual addiction are “Sexual Fantasy, Pornography, and Masturbation”. (Lasser, 2004, pp 28)Lasser expands on the different types of sexual addiction, and give us understanding of the different characteristic of the addiction. Major theme part 2: “The Roots of Sexual Addiction”, here Lassser gives the roots of sexual addiction and explains the reasons

This critical review will attempt to summarize the book “Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction” written by, Dr. Mark R. Laaser. Highlighting all the central themes and giving an in-depth analysis of Dr. Laaser’s work on the subject of sexual addiction. It will give his perspective and evidence to support it from the book and other sources. In this review you will find that

Prior to venturing into the depth of sexual addiction, defining addiction seems like a logical step. Working through various dictionary definitions and real world applications, a working definition of addiction; a repeated and continuos behavior demonstrated despite negative outcomes (Hyman 1994). Behaviors that can also be a result of one or more neurological impairments (Hyman, 1994). Symptoms of addiction include and/or limited or impaired control over substances (in the case of substance addiction) or behavior, preoccupation, worry,

These behaviours are often used as coping mechanisms to manage dysphoric affect, as they lack the ability to cope with the emotional pain and shame caused by their behaviour (Carnes, 1999; Kennedy & Pendley, 2002). Greiner and Carroll (2008) found that sexually addicted men had higher levels of anxiety, were more likely to have an insecure attachment style, and were distant and avoidant in their close relationships. The mean age of onset is 18.7 years, however, sufferers are most likely to seek treatment during their forties and fifties (Kafka, 2010). Common comorbidites associated with sex addiction include other addictive disorders such as gambling and substance abuse (Kaplan & Krueger, 2010), major depression, anxiety and ADHD (Bancroft, 2009).

Patrick Carnes, a counselor was the leading man in the Sexual Addiction Theory and even coined the term “Sex Addiction”. His claims of how sex addiction is no different from alcohol addiction helped put the issue on the mainstream media of discussion and debate. His work let him to believe that a person’s addiction is rooted to the addict’s belief system. In his book Out of the shadows: understanding sexual addiction, he states "Generally, addicts do not perceive themselves as worthwhile persons. Nor do they believe that other people would care for them or meet their needs if everything was known about them, including the addiction. Finally, they believe that sex is their most important need. Sex is what makes isolation bearable. If you do not trust people, one thing that is true about sex – and alcohol, food, gambling, and risk – is that it always does what it promises--for the moment. Thus, as in our definition of addiction, the relationship is with sex – and not people."(Carnes,

Dr. Mark Lasser’s book “Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction” gives hope for those who are in the throes of sexual addiction and those who suffer with them. Laaser feels that this book is important because of the pain and desperation that he experienced from sexual addiction; he now wants to share what he has learned about the power of the Lord and healing. In this book he relates how sexual addiction has grown to epidemic proportions (Laaser, 2004, pp.17). The Internet has been the source of much of that growth, with a bevy of materials of a sexual nature being readily available to everyone with computer access. The Internet has just what they are looking for in the form of pornography for sexual

Sexual addiction is a complex disorder that has received a lot of attention in the past couple of years, largely due to celebrities who sought treatment for it after their extra-marital affairs were exposed. Many people assume that a sexual addiction involves an out-of-control drive to have sex (i.e. intercourse or oral sex) with a variety of different partners. While this may be true in many cases, there are actually many different types of sex addiction. In other words, this particular addiction can manifest in a variety of ways besides what most would deem “traditional” sexual activity. This is one of the things that sets sexual addiction apart from addictions like alcoholism and

However, for the purpose of this paper, sexual addiction will be defined as a dysfunctional preoccupation with sexual fantasy, often in combination with the obsessive pursuit of casual or non-intimate sex; pornography; compulsive masturbation; romantic intensity and objectifies partner sex for a period of at least six months. This issue could be described as a prescriptive issue because it is addressing whether or not sexual addiction should be considered as an official disorder that is diagnosable and treatable. It can also be described as a descriptive issue in the way that sexual addiction is not currently explicitly listed as a subcategory of addiction in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is problematic due to the generational changes in technology that has now allowed individuals to avoid the usual social inhibitors, and as a result has created a reality where sex is more available, accessible, and anonymous than ever before, (Hall,

My name is Jimmy Baker and I am addicted to pornography. Some consider sex addiction to be an excuse for inappropriate behavior, which from the viewpoint of an outsider is a reasonable misconception. However, these outsiders are unable to comprehend the incessant craving for sexual activities. A sex addict has often been defined as ‘a person who is obsessed with some type of sexual behavior, and whose behavior is compulsive and is continued despite significant adverse consequences’(@).(Question 1) Day to day life as a sex addict consists of activities that are common to most middle aged men of this era like watching football on Sundays or taking my dog for a walk with the exception of sex dominating your waking thoughts.(Question 7)

Mark Lasser’s book “Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction” there are 4 major themes being explored, Part One: What is Sexual Addiction? Here Dr. Lasser explains what sexual addiction is, and what the three building blocks of sexual addiction are “Sexual Fantasy, Pornography, and Masturbation”. (Lasser, 2004, pp 28)Lasser expands on the different types of sexual addiction, and give us understanding of the different characteristic of the addiction. Major theme part 2: “The Roots of Sexual Addiction”, here Lassser gives the roots of sexual addiction and explains the reasons why it happens, these reasons as listed are Unhealthy Family Dynamics, and Family abuse,

Before one can begin to understand the complexities of sexual addiction it must be adequately defined. The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity has defined sexual addiction as “engaging in persistent and escalating patterns of sexual behavior acted out despite increasing negative consequences to self and others.” (Herkov) It is important to note that this means that sexual addiction isn’t just the desire to have sex more than normal but also that the addict engages in activities regardless of and consequences. The addict must also escalate their behaviors over a period of time in order to be considered an addict. This doesn’t mean escalating it to illegal actions but merely increasing the rate at which they engage in the

Prior to the death of Mr. Collins father, his consumption of Internet pornography and sexual chatting was not considered remarkable. He appeared to be able to function sexually while masturbating and during sexual intercourse with the partners in his life prior to this life-altering event. Mr. Collins expressed a relatively normal desire for sexual contact as a teenager as well as desire to couple with partners his age in traditional ways, but after the death of his father, what normally produced the arousal necessary to ejaculate while masturbating and having sexual intercourse, no longer appears to have had the desired effect. It is at this time that it appears that the symptoms of depression began to manifest in Mr. Collins life, depressed mood, decreased interest or pleasure, change in sleep, change in activity, and concentration. As these symptoms manifested, it appears that the indicators of Hypersexual Disorder began to develop; excessive masturbation, obsessing about sex to the point that it interfered with his life, spending significant time planning their sexual activity, frequent viewing of pornography or use of sexually explicit websites or other online services including adult chat rooms, frequent one-night stands with strangers, staying emotionally detached from sexual partners, frequently engaging in paraphilias, and inability to stop despite the consequences.