Do I have a Sex Addiction?
Sex addiction is not formally diagnosed under DSM 5. Whereas, ICD-11 has added Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder (CSBD) as a mental health condition recently. This is the closest diagnosis to sex addiction. This gives us some confidence to understand if a person might suffer from sex addictions. In this article, I will use CSBD and sex addictions interchangeably.
Sex addiction
An individual might have a sex addiction problem when he/she displays a pattern of sexual acting out behaviours. This individual is ‘unable to control his/her intense and repetitive sexual urges and impulses’. There are 3 ways this lack of control is manifested.
Engaging in repetitive sexual behaviour has become a central focus of the individual’s life to the point of neglecting health and personal care or other interests, activities and responsibilities.
The individual has made numerous unsuccessful efforts to control or significantly reduce repetitive sexual behaviour.
The individual continues to engage in repetitive sexual behaviour despite adverse consequences (e.g., marital conflict due to sexual behaviour, financial or legal consequences, negative impact on health).
(cited from ICD-11)
Let’s breakdown what these 3 symptoms mean.
First, the act of seeking sexual pleasure has taken centre stage in the individual’s life. He/she is thinking and acting on the sexual impulses while ignoring other responsibilities / commitments. For example, a male employee might start flirting with numerous female colleagues or business partners. He gains sexual excitement when flirting. He ignored his professional duties. Giving in to sexual impulses is more important than work.
Second, when he is aware of the consequences, he tries to cut down or eliminate these acting out behaviours. He might be able to pause these acting out behaviours for a while. However, these behaviours resurface. Often, they take on a different form - like moving to a safer platform, aka online dating sites. The sexual chase intensifies.
Third, this sexual chase has affected the individual’s life. Usually, they suffer from martial problems as the spouse would view their sexual acting out behaviours as a sign of betrayal. Using the above example, he might get called in by HR for sexual harassment and face legal consequences.
What you can do
If you identify with the 3 symptoms of sex addictions, get help fast. You might not suffer from serious legal or financial consequences right now. There is a part of you that knows that if you continue on giving in to your sexual impulses, you are likely to get into trouble.
To find out more about our sex addiction treatment programme, click here.
To book an intake session with me, click here.
or email me at alex@insight-therapy@com.sg for any queries.
