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Is Sexual Addiction a Reality or an Excuse?

Big news in the sporting world today…Tiger Woods held a press conference! He had to discuss his infidelity, his temporary fall from grace and what he is doing moving forward to make life better for himself and his family.

Tiger has acknowledged that he is receiving treatment for Sexual Addiction. This “addiction” has received a lot more attention lately as celebrities – most notably – who have been caught cheating state that they have a sexual addiction and enter rehabilitation.

Some, including Tiger, may truly have a sexual addiction. We are not privvy to his private health information. What we do know is that he is receiving treatment for this condition.

So, what exactly is sex addiction? According to www.psychology/wikia.com, sexual addiction is a controversial diagnosis. Some experts feel that it is a disease similar to alcoholism or drug addiction. Others believe it is more of a facet of obsessive compulsive disorder, even others believe it is not a true diagnosis.

Utilizing established addiction models, sexual addition is a condition in which some form of sexual behaviour is employed in a pattern that is characterized at least by two key features: recurrent failure to control the behaviour and continuation of the behaviour despite harmful consequences.

Most addiction and mental health conditions are diagnosed using DSM-IV criteria. This is a series of questions and observations that help mental health experts determine a person’s addiction or mental health status. Currently, there is no DSM-IV criteria specifically for sexual addiction, although some modifications can be made to the test to identify sexual compulsions.

Patrick Carnes, Ph.D., co-editor of Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, the official journal of the National Council of Sexual Addiction/Compulsivity, has written about sexual addiction and has designed an assessment tool called the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST).

Here are some of the criteria identified:

Recurrent failure (pattern) to resist impulses to engage in extreme acts of lewd sex.

Frequent engaging in those behaviors to a greater extent or over a longer period of time than intended.

Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to stop, reduce, or control those behaviors.

Inordinate amount of time spent in obtaining sex, being sexual, or recovering from sexual experience.

Preoccupation with the behavior or preparatory activities.

Frequent engaging in violent sexual behavior when expected to fulfill occupational, academic, domestic, or social obligations.

Continuation of the behavior despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, financial, psychological, or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by the behavior.

Need to increase the intensity, frequency, number, or risk of behaviors to achieve the desired effect, or diminished effect with continued behaviors at the same level of intensity, frequency, number, or risk.

Giving up or limiting social, occupational, or recreational activities because of the behavior.

Distress, anxiety, restlessness, or violence if unable to engage in the behavior.

Questions arise as to when is someone truly addicted to sexual behaviors and when is it an excuse to gain sympathy when caught in an adulterous affair. Many believe that like most addictions, sexual addiction must cause a disruption in one’s daily life: family, work, friends, etc. However, having an affair(s) may not quite constitute addiction as we know it.

The bottom line is this:  I hope that the media, celebrities and other public officials who continue to be caught in adulterous situations do not rely on “sexual addiction” as their excuse to gain sympathy from the public, as well as a way to shirk their responsibility in the situation.

My concern is that the seedy attractiveness to utilizing “sexual addiction” as an excuse will only demean the condition for those people who truly do suffer from this addiction. Let’s hope that true addicts receive the necessary treatment that they need and the others will simply correct their behavior and not hijack the term “sexual addiction.”